CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37: EAT BEFORE IT GETS COLD

"Okay."

Philip Paxton always listened to her, though he didn’t understand why she did it.

He put down what he was holding, pulled out a tissue to wipe his fingers, and tossed it into the trash can beside him.

Seeing Philip Paxton walk into the bathroom, Simon Sterling also stood up.

"I’ll go too."

He wasn’t familiar with every room in Jean Ellison’s house, so naturally, he followed Reporter Ellison’s brother.

Her brother was a police officer, with excellent counter-surveillance skills, and could hide very well.

In the bathroom, there was a blackout curtain with two big men standing face to face.

"Brother, can you move away? You smell like sweat."

"What are you babbling about?"

"You smell like disinfectant, worse."

The apartment was too small, and the walls weren’t soundproof. Jean Ellison yelled from the living room, "Stop arguing."

She walked to the door, placed her hand on the door handle, and gently pushed it open.

Justin Holden stood in the door frame, backlit, with a cold, hard silhouette.

He was wearing a dark gray suit, a three-piece combo, with sharp shoulders and a trim waist.

He kept a straight face, expressionless, with thin lips tightly pressed.

Jean Ellison met his gaze and swallowed; his eyes were cold like water beneath the ice, staring straight at her face.

"Do you have a guest?"

She hesitated for quite a while before opening the door, and there was an old car occupying his parking spot downstairs.

Jean Ellison lowered her gaze, her eyes darting.

"No, I’m having dinner alone at home."

Justin Holden walked past her into the living room, stopping in front of the dining table.

"You’re eating alone and you steamed so many crabs."

Jean Ellison had already cleaned up the dishes, but there were too many crabs on the table for her to handle in time.

"Delicious, love them, eat more."

She walked beside Justin Holden, rested her hand on the table, and forced a smile.

Justin Holden stared at her face, his Adam’s apple moving, and sat in the seat she had just vacated.

"Lawyer Holden, you’re here for dinner?"

Jean Ellison hadn’t checked her phone and didn’t know why he came.

What day is it today, with one, two, three people coming to her house.

"Didn’t see the message?"

Justin Holden’s tone softened upon realizing she hadn’t seen it rather than ignored it.

Jean Ellison nodded numbly, stepped aside, and rummaged through her bag for her phone.

She opened her lips in astonishment, her pupils dilating instantly.

There were only four or five messages, but they came from three different people, only seconds apart.

She quickly put her phone back in her bag and walked up to Justin Holden to say, "I can’t use the bracelet; it’s too expensive. Take it back."

Justin Holden stayed silent, his inner rejection unspoken, surrounded by a cold aura.

"In the bedroom, let me get it for you."

She turned to leave, but a magnetic male voice came from behind.

"I’ll go with you."

"There’s no need!"

Jean Ellison immediately turned, blocking him with her body, her tone urgent.

She was a bit worried, as someone was in the bedroom.

"So there really is someone here, in the bedroom, and I, as your lawyer, can’t see?"

Justin Holden stared down at her, eyes cold, and his eyelids blinked slowly with a deliberately suppressed awkwardness.

Jean Ellison’s heart raced, and her fingers twisted like a pretzel behind her.

She inadvertently glimpsed a shadow in the bathroom, which vanished in a blink; apparently, they were hiding in there.

"How could that be, come on, let’s go to the bedroom now."

She raised her voice, not realizing Justin Holden was right next to her, seemingly hard of hearing.

The two entered the bedroom one after another, and she had forgotten where she put the items.

She thought these bracelets were too precious and had specifically stored them away, which, ironically, made her forget.

At night, the bedroom’s bay window curtains were tightly drawn.

"Need help finding it?"

Jean Ellison opened the wardrobe and rummaged through it, pulling her head from a pile of clothes and looking at him.

"No need, no need."

"I’ll do it myself; you mustn’t move, it’s impolite for a man to rummage through a woman’s room."

Justin Holden leaned against the dressing table, one hand in his pocket, his gaze resting on the curtains, tapping the table lightly with his hand.

"Go pull those curtains open."

"I remember there’s a view of the Corvin River from here; it’d be a shame not to see it at night."

Jean Ellison turned around, thought for a moment, and walked slowly to the window.

She reached out, slowly pulling open the curtain, as the wind blew in. Looking down, she saw several bags piled in the

corner of the bay window.

As she pulled the curtains halfway, she stretched to reach the bags.

She looked up and locked eyes with Simon Sterling, her blood freezing, and time seemed to stop.

Jean Ellison, caught in a dilemma, glanced at him questioningly, why was he hiding there, of all places.

Simon Sterling gestured as if holding a gun.

Apparently, Philip Paxton had chased him out of the bathroom; with a gun on him, he had no choice but to hide elsewhere.

Jean Ellison couldn’t bear to look, closing her eyes, quickly grabbing the bags from the bay window, and instantly shutting the curtain with her other hand.

"I found it."

Her face pale, she looked at Justin Holden, her gaze darting.

Justin Holden’s brow furrowed, having handled many cases before; clients who liked to hide key information often had her kind of expression.

He took the bag Jean Ellison handed him, glanced inside, and said, "One’s missing."

Before Jean Ellison could react, he strode to the window, grabbing the curtain and pulling it open with force.

The night view was beautiful, with boats on the river.

The cool evening breeze rushed in, blowing Jean Ellison’s hair across her eyes.

Simon Sterling stood on the bay window, as if immobilized, staring at Jean Ellison.

"Lawyer Holden, we meet again."

He held a bag in his hand, filled with bracelets he hadn’t had the chance to give Jean Ellison.

She had been too flustered earlier and missed one.

Justin Holden adjusted the rimless glasses on his nose, his cold gaze sweeping over Simon Sterling briefly, before settling on Jean Ellison.

"Your hospitality seems inappropriate."

He turned to leave, clearly not wanting to greet the man on the bay window, especially not in this manner.

Jean Ellison waved to Simon Sterling.

"Sorry, Doctor Sterling, I’ll explain today’s events to you later."

"Are you alright?"

Simon Sterling, freezing cold, with slightly pale lips, felt warm inside for the first time as Jean Ellison expressed concern for him.

He had seen Lawyer Holden before, not a stranger.

This man had a bad temper; Jean Ellison must have been worried that he would speak harshly to Simon, hence hiding him away.

Reporter Ellison was kind, Lawyer Holden wasn’t.

"I’m fine."

He gave Jean Ellison a reassuring look, adjusted his clothes, straightened his back, and walked out of the bedroom.

After all, everyone was friends, and Lawyer Holden wasn’t Jean Ellison’s boyfriend, nothing to be embarrassed about.

The two of them walked to the dining table, with Justin Holden already seated.

He lounged lazily in the chair, left elbow on the armrest, right arm draped over the other side, hand spread out.

His right leg crossed over his left knee, the angle sharp, the fabric of his trousers taut across his thigh, the shoes beneath polished to a gleam.

He looked at Jean Ellison, his gaze cold, with a light laugh.

"Just him?"

"If there’s anyone else, call them out. The crabs will get cold."