Chapter 118: One unanswered moment

Tom blinked then answered Josie very gently like someone explaining thing to a little child who had never witnessed such before.

"It did..."

Josie was still looking at him as if the front of the building might fill back up with those men if she turned away too quickly. The shock had not left her face. It had only settled into a more assessing look.

Tom cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable at her piercing gaze.

"So..." He began.

"I’ll follow up. I’ll get through to the boss, arrange a physical meeting, and make sure you get the chance to speak with him directly."

"You will?" Josie breathed out, the sound was low and still laced with disbelief.

"Yeah, I will." Tom replied, the words thick with assurance.

She heaved a heavy sigh then turned from him and went to her manager. The man still looked shaken, his suit was still in his hands, but hanging loosely as if he didn’t have the strength to hold it properly.

"Take the rest of the day off. Go and rest." she said to him gently.

"Yes, ma’am." The manager’s voice came out weakly then he turned andvgot into his car. He started the engine in a hurry and left in the movements of someone who wanted distance from the scene more than he wanted dignity restored in public.

Josie faced the construction workers next. They were still grouped near the side of the building, uncertain whether the sudden quiet could be trusted.

"You can all go home for today," she told them. "I’ll communicate when you’re needed again."

There was a murmur of relief, then movement. The men gathered their tools and lifted their bags. One by one, the stalled workforce began dispersing from the site they had not been able to touch properly for days. Only when the front of the building had emptied of both enforcers and staff did Josie walk back to Tom’s car.

He started the engine and pulled away.

For a stretch of road, neither of them spoke. Tom drove past the city which was moving through the windows in ordinary Sunday rhythm, completely at odds with what had just taken place behind them.

Josie sat with her bag against her side, her eyes were fixed forward while one hand held her phone making it obvious that her thoughts were still arranged around the men who had left on Tom’s word alone.

After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth and the words slipped out before she seemed to decide whether she should say them;

"Do you belong to any group?"

Tom furrowed his brows for a split second like doing that would make the words suddenly meant another thing, it didn’t. A laugh escaped Tom’s throat.

Josie looked at him, and after a second the corner of her mouth moved as well. She joined the laugh, shorter than his, but loud enough to ease some of the remaining tension in the car.

"I just don’t know what to ask," she admitted simply.

"I understand," Tom replied, still amused. Then the silence settled again.

Tom cleared his throat as he felt Josie’s gaze burning through him from the side. He knew she believed he should provide an explanation.

"Okay, here’s the thing... My eyes usually turn very red when I’m angry. People tend to fear that. Maybe that was what happened." he said, glancing at her while trying to keep his eyes on the road.

Josie let out a disbelieving scoff. "I was standing right there. There was no fire in your eyes."

Tom laughed again. "That was a joke."

She pressed her lips together, giving him a look that said the joke had not been particularly impressive. Tom let his hands rest more loosely on the wheel and shook his head once.

"Honestly, I don’t know what to say. I only realized I did that while it was happening."

Josie watched him for a moment longer, then nodded. "Right. Some people just carry that kind of presence. They walk into a crisis and the room changes. I understand that." Her voice lowered slightly, more intentionally.

"Thank you for the help."

"I was glad I could do something. Even if it was small." he replied.

By the time he finished the sentence, her company building was already coming into view. Tom slowed as they approached the entrance and brought the car to a stop where she could step out.

"Give me your card, I’ll keep you updated on how it goes with the mafia boss." he said.

Josie blinked, she hadn’t thought of that, then nodded. "That’s right."

She opened her bag, brought out a card, and placed it in his hand. Their fingers only touched for a second. However, Josie didn’t act like she felt it.

Then she opened the door and got down, one hand still on the frame as she leaned in slightly.

"Thank you again."

"Anytime."

She shut the door and walked toward the building with her usual composed stride, the boss-lady posture back in place even if the afternoon had clearly left a mark underneath it. Tom waited until she had gone inside before looking down at the card once and setting it in the console.

Then he started the engine again.

The club property was still waiting. One meaningful step toward setting it up remained on his list, and the day’s window was not finished. He pulled into traffic with that destination settling into his mind.

The System dinged as he drove.

[That was a major move on Josie’s recruitment.]

A panel opened in his vision after that;

```

[TARGET: JOSIE HALE]

Curiosity: 15%

Attraction: 1%

Love: 0%

Obsession: 0%

```

Tom read the numbers and shook his head slightly. Fifteen percent curiosity and nothing else. He counted the attraction as zero too because one was just nothing to write home about. For a woman like Josie, even that much had required a public crisis and a result she could not ignore. The recruitment was going to be harder than Stella’s. He could already tell.

He was still turning that over when his phone beeped.

It was message from Stella. It read;

’Really?’

Tom’s stomach dropped as he remembered what he had forgotten, what he shouldn’t have forgotten; the parlor. He had ended the call without saying anything to Stella and when she called back, he had rejected the call.

"Shit." He groaned.

But before he could type anything back, the System opened again, this time bringing information about relationship maintenance;

```

[RELATIONSHIP METER — STELLA MARCHETTI]

Affection: 35%

Loyalty: 25%

Stability: 29% (-1%)

```

Tom stared at the drop and bit the corner of his lower lip...

One unanswered moment had already started costing him.