Chapter 50 A Call For Help

The way Curtis spoke shocked Sabrina. Wait… Was that how he spoke in front of his own boss all the time?! Even Curtis realized he had a tonal problem. "M-May I request a leave?" he looked at Victor and added belatedly. Victor was obviously unaccustomed to this dynamic. He gulped and nodded. "Uh, yea. We have a lot of people to cover for you anyway. I don't think anyone will miss you." Sabrina honestly thought this reflected poorly on them, but she did not know how to react when Victor had already okayed Curtis' unreasonable work leave. Yes, they were best friends outside of work, but private friendship should never get in the way of professionalism. Despite her unease, Sabrina decided to keep quiet. She was not as close enough to Curtis as their apparent relationship would suggest, so she couldn't just nag him into submission. Her advice might just rub Curtis the wrong way, too, and Sabrina did not want that. The journey home was a silent one. As usual, Curtis never spoke unless Sabrina started it. Daniel was bewildered to find them home. His first instinct was that these two had a fight at work and had to bring it here to be settled! "She ran into some problems at work, so she's taking a break while the company restructures itself. She will return once it's done," Curtis replied nonchalantly. Daniel believed him. Well, if that was what the CEO decided, so be it. Sabrina was relieved. She had worried about how to explain it to him, but Curtis constructed such a great cover-up that she could just nod enthusiastically in agreement. Daniel had a sneaky suspicion that the "trouble" Sabrina went through was not as simple as Curtis painted, but he stopped shy of prying. If the two wanted their privacy, well, he would grant him that. "Okay. Can't hurt to take some breaks every now and then. On that note… Ada went out, Sabrina. I don't know where she went, but I think you should pay some attention to her nonetheless. Just my advice." "Got it. I'll talk to her tonight." By this point, Sabrina wished Ada was just some normal young woman. Please, please, please, don't make her some sort of ex-convict or mafiaso! Barry would not take this kindly if Ada turned out to be trouble, and she really did not want Barry to be crushed. Sabrina had assumed Curtis would return to the office, but as it turned out, the man simply worked from home. Even his silence did nothing to mask his presence at home. She had been side-eying Curtis a bit more times than she usually did. She could not help it—he had been acting so strangely today. Daniel noticed both Sabrina's furtive glances and Curtis' abnormal behavior. He wondered if some sort of genuine relationship was starting to bud between these two. Maybe it could blossom into something genuinely amazing, after all! Even if it did not, Daniel was quite satisfied with what he was seeing right now. He was sure more good news about their relationship was on the way. "What do you two want for dinner? I'm cooking!" Sabrina and Curtis raised their heads questioningly. Well, someone was in a good mood. "I'll help!" Sabrina chirped and went into the kitchen with him. Curtis paused in his work pensively. Then, he closed his laptop and went into the kitchen too. The place was not big enough for three—especially when Curtis was a towering figure. His presence added an extra weight to the air that Sabrina was starting to feel a little… heavy. In the end, she showed him out. The man was confused. Sabrina had to explain to him, "I know you want to help, but didn't you notice how, uh, much you're hindering us?" "I was just standing there. How does that make me an obstacle?" Sabrina hardly had the time to reply when Daniel butt in, "Uh, how do you youngsters say it? 'Duh?' You stand like a lump of wood blocking the way. You're a hindrance here, so maybe stand outside?" Curtis and Sabrina fell silent. Well, Daniel certainly did not mince meat. She flashed him an apologetic smile and rushed back into the kitchen. Curtis had no choice but to return to work. A while later, Sabrina's phone suddenly rang. The name of the caller showed "Felicia Green"—someone Curtis did not know. She had never mentioned about this person before. Was she a friend? A colleague? "Sabrina? A Felicia is looking for you." Sabrina wiped her hand clean and picked up. "Help me! Help!" Felicia sounded agitated and panicked. "They are… going to… I can't take it anymore!" "Wait, what's going on? Where are you? Who's with you? Who's 'they?'" Sabrina asked quickly. Felicia did not answer, but Sabrina could hear her sobs. Then, finally, she spoke, "I don't know! I w-was just… working with the P-PR team… I didn't think I'd see S-Steven… He's… Please just help me!" Steven? Who was that? Felicia's call was brimming with mysteries. She should have someone more suited to help her, so why call Sabrina? "Who's Steven?" "I'm at 125 Wendy Street! Please, hurry!"