A Job With Him

Rejection

I held onto my boyfriend's arm tightly as the police went around the house and the entrance. We reported the parcel and they came to check whether any other clues were left behind like footprints or fingerprints. However, their efforts were in vain. The officer who we talked to before, Officer Zeph, came to the sofa where we sat. Apparently, he was also in charge of this case. He asked if I was okay and other questions about the parcel. I couldn't answer most of them since I didn't see the person who left it at my doorstep. The officer sighed.

"Do you live alone?" He asked.

"Yes." I replied shortly. I could still feel the tears threatening to come out.

"It's too dangerous. I suggest that you live with a friend or family member until we arrest the killer. It's for your own safety." I sighed. My sisters were already married and I didn't want to move there and disturb their peace. Mildred wouldn't mind letting me stay there for a while but it would be such a trouble to her family. In addition, what if this case goes on for too long? Josh saw my worried expression when the officer gave his suggestion. He squeezed my hand.

"Did you forget? I said I'll protect you. You can move into my place," Josh said and I was about to protest since I really didn't want to be a burden to him. But Officer Zeph enthusiastically clapped his hands and exclaimed, "It's settled then!"

I stared out of the window as Josh drove us to his penthouse. I didn't bring much, just a small suitcase of mostly clothes and books. Josh wouldn't let me bring a lot of my studying materials since I would have better things to do. Well, he was right, I needed to practise for auditions now.

"Amber? Are you alright?" Josh asked in a concerned tone as he stopped at a red traffic light. I turned to him and gave a small smile.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just... I hope this is over soon..." I mumbled the last part. However, Josh heard it and took my hand, giving it soft strokes with his thumb. He then kissed it and reassured me that everything would be okay.

We reached his place and I waited for him as he helped me with my bag. He then unlocked the door and we entered the penthouse. I was about to walk to a room to see if it was a guest room when Josh held me back.

"Where are you going? Even though this penthouse is very secure, who knows what might happen? You're staying with me, in my room." My eyes widened and I moved back.

"No, it's fine! I mean, it's not like the killer knows where we are anyway," I chuckled and opened the door of the guest room. But before I could even enter it with my luggage, Josh dragged both me and my suitcase to his room. I tried to get out of his grip but he was too strong. He pushed me onto the bed and I sat on it, questioning what he did. He gave me a playful grin and went to take a shower. I sighed and started looking around his room. I couldn't get a good look at it when I first came here. May might as well familiarize myself with my new temporary home. My hands ran through the spines of books on his shelves. It seems like he liked reading a lot. However, why were they all murder and mystery books? Huh, I guess he must be really into that genre. One of the books caught my eye and I pulled it out. The title of it was 'Drugs And Their Uses'. It was a medical book. I noticed a sticky tag attached to one of the pages and opened it to that marked page. It was about the drug called 'Propofol'. Wait, wasn't that the drug that the attacker tried to kill me with?

I heard the shower stop and hurriedly returned the book back to its original place. I took out the sheet of a song I printed out and pretended to be practising. Josh came out of the shower and smiled at me as he ruffled and dried his wet hair with a towel. He told me to go shower and I just nodded with a smile. I shouldn't jump to conclusions for now. After all, he would never do something like that, would he? I pushed those thoughts aside and went to take a nice cool shower.