Chapter 18 Hand-held Fireworks
Luke said it very calmly without any ambiguity in his tone as if he were talking about the weather because he did not have any evil designs
Knowing that he hated noises, Mark booked a suite on the top floor for him which had a private hot spring and was very quiet. Luke didn't want to take a bath in the hot spring at all, so he just chose a room as his bedroom and didn't go to the private hot spring himself.
Therefore, he offered to let her use it.
Luke would just lead the way and let her enjoy herself alone.
But his voice was deep. Even if he did not have any evil intentions, his words would sound frivolous and make people misunderstand.
Natalie had deeply misunderstood.
She froze for a moment and suddenly stood up.
"Pervert!" Natalie threw his phone at him and ran away with a flushing face.
When the phone was smashed over, Luke nimbly caught it, and when he raised his eyes again, Natalie had slipped away without a trace.
He frowned for a moment.
Pervert?
He was full of good intentions. Moreover, she had taken a bath in the hot spring with six men. Even if he wanted to bathe together with her, she should not have cursed him!
He thought he had never seen such an annoying girl before.
-
Mia hadn't returned yet, so Natalie was alone in the room.
A small nightlight beside the bed was on, and the gray-blue curtains of the hotel were open, so she could see the heavy snow outside.
She wrapped herself in the duvet and thought about what happened in the piano room.
She knew the true face of the people in that circle because she had often met businessmen with Forrest. But no one else was so blatant, so she thought Luke's private life must be very indiscreet.
Natalie had a vague feeling that she misunderstood him, but she could not figure out why he said that. Maybe he just tried to be nice and wanted to lend his private hot spring to her?
She would never believe this kind of nonsense.
She firmly labeled Luke as a beast in human clothing.
But as soon as she thought of how Luke invited her to his room, her heart began to race, and her face blushed. She felt so hot that she kept tossing and turning on the bed.
She felt annoyed because she had hesitated then.
When she cursed him, she was also angry with herself because of the hesitation.
Natalie had difficulty falling asleep, so she took over the phone on the bedside table.
Only then did she find that Luke had sent her a message at zero o'clock.
There were only three simple words "Happy New Year".
The message was very succinct, and there was even no punctuation, so Natalie suspected that it was not a mass texting. Had he specially sent such a message to her?
But they were just net friends, so Natalie thought she was flattering herself to think so.
After a while, Natalie edited a long message with all kinds of blessing phrases, and it was polite and common like a mass message very much.
Then, Natalie sent it to Luke with satisfaction.
After half a minute, he replied, "Thank you."
It was nearly 3 am now, and Natalie didn't expect that he was not asleep. His prompt reply put her in a dilemma.
Why had he replied to a mass message?
Natalie buried her head in the quilt and bit the bullet to reply, "Good night."
Before falling asleep, Natalie found that the snow seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, and she was afraid that they would not get down the mountain on time tomorrow...
She woke up at noon the next day.
Mia had probably spent the whole night playing with them, so she was still asleep. Natalie got up and went out quietly so as not to wake her up.
After she ate something in the restaurant, she passed by the lobby and heard the front desk staff say to a guest that the snow blocked the road down and persuaded him not to go down the mountain now.
Natalie was stunned and subconsciously walked out of the hotel to take a look.
The outside was in endless whiteness because the snow had fallen for a whole night. Although it stopped now, the snow was too deep, so it must be difficult to drive now.
In this case, she might have to spend one more night here.
Natalie became worried because tomorrow she would be on the night shift.
When the army green off-road vehicle drove past her, she was squatting beside the flower bed outside the hotel, making a little snowman dejectedly.
When the car stopped, the window was rolled down.
Hearing the sound, Natalie raised her head and met Luke's gaze.
He was sitting in the passenger's seat with his arm resting on the window and was looking at her with a cigarette between his fingers.
Mark did not know she was also here, so he stuck his head out of the window in surprise and said hello to her, but Charlie in the back seat was much calmer.
As a wisp of smoke was rising from the cigarette, Luke raised his hand and asked in a low voice, "We're going down the mountain. Do you want a ride?"
His eyes were too attractive. No matter how calm he was, his every glance made people feel as if he were flirting.
When their eyes met, Natalie felt the movement of the air, and she recalled what happened at 2 am. In the dim light, he was leaning on the piano, and two buttons of his black shirt were unbuttoned. He said that there was a private hot spring in his room...
Natalie abruptly stopped thinking about it, bowed her head to look at the snow, and said, "No, thanks."
"If you don't leave now, you will have to wait until tomorrow. If it snows again, you'll not be able to go back tomorrow either," Luke reminded meticulously.
Natalie repeatedly told herself in her heart that he was a scumbag with a good appearance and that he was very bad. And she thought he must have some evil intention to offer her a ride.
So, she refused coldly again, "I will go back with my friends. We have cars."
After two seconds of silence, Luke sneered, "What kind of cars do you have? Sports cars? With such chassis, can they run on snowy roads? Do you want to shovel snow?"
Natalie was speechless, thinking it was none of his business.
She stood up with some snow in her hand, imitated his sarcastic tone, and said, "Mr. Bennington, we're not close, so I don't want to bother you. I wish you a safe journey."
Luke looked down at her, thinking why they were not close again.
After finishing speaking, Natalie walked away.
After walking past the back of the car, she turned around and secretly smashed the snowball at the tire with a muffled thud.
When it was done, she ran away.
Mark noticed that Luke's face was gloomy, so he asked, "Luke, is Dr. Moore mad at you? What have you done to her?"
"I don't know."
He looked so angry that Mark didn't dare to ask any more questions.
-
Missing Luke's car, the snow on the mountain road didn't thaw until the next day. Fortunately, Natalie changed her shifts with Sherman, so it did not affect her work.
After Kingsley sent her home in the afternoon, she originally wanted to have a good rest, but before the joy of the holiday dissipated, something unpleasant happened.
Sherman sent her a five-minute video and asked her to watch it.
Natalie sat on the sofa in a daze for a long time after watching it.
It was the scene in the parking lot that night, but the video was edited. It started when Forrest had grabbed her and ended when Luke had shown up and taken her away.
The shooting angle was very strange. She guessed the person should be hiding in a car while recording this video.
Natalie asked Sherman how she got it, and the latter said it had been posted
in the hospital forum this morning by an anonymous user, and the title was "A resident doctor cheated on her boyfriend, and he came to the hospital to make trouble."
Sherman send her a link and said, "Your face is clear in the video, and I think that poster even wanted to put your full name in the title. What a vicious person!"
Natalie opened the link and saw the comments on the thread.
"Is she Natalie who works in the orthopedic department?"
"The man next to Cayenne is the president of the Hart Group. He is often seen on the financial channel. Interesting."
"The man in the black jacket is handsome!"
"F*ck! The man in the black jacket is Luke! He was hospitalized here a month ago, and I met him twice! Natalie is his doctor, right?"
"Natalie is working in the same department as me. She is pretty and well-behaved. I don't think she would cheat on her boyfriend."
"Natalie is quite nice."
"I agree."
"Don't be in a hurry to defend her. Have you watched the video? I guess that she has hooked up with Luke, so she wants to dump Forrest. After all, everyone wants a better life."
"Interesting. It is said that the Hart Group has been involved in the acquisition of the hospital, and the Bennington Group also has an internal conflict now. If the two sides fight, the hospital will be greatly impacted, right?"
"Sure! The acquisition is annoying..."
The problem became more serious, so Sherman directly called Natalie. She was in the hospital, so she asked in a low voice, "Nata, what happened?"
Natalie felt numb and replied in a weak voice, "I broke up with Forrest."
Sherman was surprised to heart it and then ventured, "Then, you and Luke..."
"It has nothing to do with him," Natalie said honestly.
She then closed her eyes. She wanted to solve the problem, so she said, "It's hard to make it clear on the phone. I will go to the hospital now."
"Don't come!" Sherman advised, "The acquisition is a sensitive topic. Now, you are in the teeth of the storm. I heard that our department intends to temporarily suspend you from your job until the tempest ended."
A moment ago, Natalie was still thinking about recharging her energy today and working hard tomorrow. After she ended the call with Sherman, she received a from Joyce and was suspended.
It was too sudden, so Natalie's mood had changed abruptly.
She was very happy at Mt. Waters but was very upset now.
Natalie had a hunch that this matter would be blown up. Although the rumor was currently circulating within the hospital, Luke was involved.
If she wanted to solve it, asking Luke for help would be the best way.
But she did not want to be too close to him.
Luke did not do anything wrong, but she was ungrateful. She owed him several favors but was eager to draw a demarcation from him.
Natalie was deliberately trying to distance herself from him because she was afraid.
Being together with Luke was like sitting in a speeding car that was running on the edge of a cliff, and she did not know when it was going to get out of control.
Luke was different from Forrest. If she fell, she would be smashed into pieces. And she was not that stupid.
Moreover, according to Luke's temper, he must be unwilling to help her now.
Mia asked Natalie out for dinner at night.
They made an appointment at a BBQ restaurant near Clovervale Residence.
Hearing that Natalie was suspended, Mia cursed Forrest and the brainless management of the hospital while eating.
Later, she concluded, "What does this have to do with you? Are they insane?"
Natalie was very upset, and she was drunk after drinking a few glasses of beer, so she said, "It has nothing to do with me..."
Mia coaxed, "Nata, let's try to date some good men first."
"How?" Natalie sullenly took a bite of the bacon.
"Do you know where is the key point of a man?"
"Where?"
Mia leaned over and said, "Scientific studies show that the higher the male hormone is, the more pinkish the arm joints and the ends of the limbs are."
"What do you mean?" Natalie asked while chewing.
Mia smiled and whispered into her ear, "Generally speaking, a man with pink fingers has a high male hormone and a big dick."
Natalie suddenly thought of Luke's hands that played the piano at that time. His fingers seemed to be pretty pink.
Mia asked, "If you are so worried about this matter, why don't you ask Luke for help? This is also related to him. If he is willing to help, he just needed to lift a finger, and it will be solved."
He just needed to lift a finger...
Finger again.
Natalie could not face his fingers anymore.
She kept silent for a while and then said while blinking her bright eyes, "You said that the men outside are dangerous. I must stay away from him if I don't want to be deceived."
"But he's Luke!"
Natalie was speechless.
She was blue, and so she drank more than usual. She could not drink much, so when Mia was paying the bill, Natalie already started talking nonsense.
The restaurant owner's calculator was beeping, and the total price was 121 dollars. He said, "I'll give you a discount and charge you only 120 dollars."
Just as Mia was about to pay the money, Natalie suddenly began talking gibberish, "120 dollars? Too expensive! What about sixty dollars? But I have only thirty dollars. I'll give you fifteen dollars."
Then, she took out five dollars from her pocket and handed it to the owner.
The owner was speechless.
Every time she got drunk, she would act like this. Her voice was soft, but her words were unreasonable. Mia was used to it.
Before the owner called the police, Mia quickly paid the money and dragged her out.
There was only one road between the barbecue restaurant and Clovervale Residence, and there was a 24-hour convenience store next to the gate of the community.
Natalie grabbed Mia's arm and shook it like a baby, saying, "Mia, I want yogurt."
Her cheeks were flushed when she was drunk, looking as soft as cotton candy. She looked so lovely and clingy that Mia felt as if her heart were melting.
"I will buy it for you. Waif for me here."
When Mia ran into the convenience store quickly, Natalie stood in situ for a while. Later, she felt weak in her legs, so she slowly squatted down.
She was wearing a woolen coat, a pair of snow boots, and a short skirt, and her hair was hanging down. The night wind was cool, and when it touched her face, she sobered up a little.
In a trance, she felt as if time was going backward. She felt she returned to the quadrangle courtyard in Athana. At that time, she also squatted at the door and hugged herself like this...
Natalie bowed her head and took out a box of hand-held fireworks from her bag. It was leftover on New Year's Eve, and she put it in her bag.
She took one out and shook it for a while. Because it was not lit, it was not pretty at all.
But she did not have a lighter, so she could do nothing about it.
Suddenly, a slender figure appeared in front of her out of thin air, and there was a cigarette between the man's fingers. With a wisp of smoke, the lit top of the cigarette touched her hand-held firework.
After a few seconds, the hand-held firework began to shine.
He lit her hand-held firework with a cigarette.
Natalie squatted in situ in a daze and stared at his pink fingertips with her eyes.