Xavier thought she was trying to help him because of his charms and broke into a wide grin. “That’s okay, Ms. Helen can call me whatever she likes!”
Anything I like? Please, I wasn’t even calling out to you! What are you getting so happy about? Helen thought to herself as she flashed Xavier an awkward smile, but he simply stared at her like he wanted her to say it again.
“Oh, my! It’s a little stuffy in here! I’m going out to get some fresh air, so you two please carry on!” Helen blurted when she recalled what he was here for and began walking towards the door.
“I’ve done what I can to help you out, Mr. Jackson. Everything else is up to you now. Just make sure you don’t expose me, okay?” she whispered at Xavier as she passed him by.
Xavier shot her a reassuring glance in response that said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this! Just leave it to me!”
Helen then left the ward as quickly as her legs could carry her before Hannah noticed anything suspicious.
Hannah cleared her throat trying to get her to stay, but Helen ignored her and ran off anyway. Damn it, Helen! Why are you running away when I’m not even mad at you? Now I’m stuck here with this guy. Oh boy, this is so awkward.
She was under the assumption that Helen left because she felt embarrassed for mistaking Xavier for Fabian. Little did she know, Helen had done it on purpose so Xavier could have some time alone with her.
“Please take a seat, Mr. Jackson,” Hannah said feeling odd. Then, she realized that Fabian was most likely on his way back from buying breakfast.
Oh, no… If he comes back and sees Xavier in here while Helen is gone, he’ll think I sent her off on purpose! Nothing I say will be able to clear my name then! Hannah began sweating nervously at the thought of that.
“Hannah, please, drop the formalities! We’re friends, remember? You can just call me Xavier!” Xavier was feeling extremely confident because he had Helen’s help as well as twenty years of experience in flirting with women.
Hannah nearly choked when she heard what he said. Hannah? Xavier? Isn’t that how close friends address each other? Wasn’t he still calling me ‘Ms. Young’ yesterday? Since when did we start addressing each other with our given name? We don’t even know each other that well. Does he know he’ll get me in deep trouble by addressing me like this?
“M-Mr. Jackson… I think you should just stick to calling me ‘Ms. Young’… I’m more comfortable with that form of address…” she suggested sheepishly. Damn it, why do I feel like we’re having an affair or something?
“I see… My apologies for being a little too brusque, Ms. Young…” Xavier quickly went back to being more formal when he saw how uncomfortable she was. It’s only a matter of time before I’ll be calling her by her given name anyway, so I don’t mind waiting a little while longer!
“How are you doing? Are you feeling any better?” He was so concerned.
“Yeah, I’m a lot better now. In fact, I should be able to get out of bed soon,” Hannah replied honestly.
Helen was wandering around the corridor when she bumped into Fabian and Jason on their way back from buying breakfast.
With an excited smile on her face, she ran up to them and whispered into Fabian’s ear, “Mr. Jackson is here!”
Jason spoke up before Fabian could even say anything in response, “Mr. Jackson? What’s so great about him showing up? Don’t you know that he’s Fabian’s rival? Why are you so happy that he’s here?”
