Chapter 10
Stella’s possessive streak flared when she saw Jonah holding an umbrella for Tara. While Tara was mostly dry, Jonah was soaked down one side.
Stella couldn’t stand the sight of Tara. When she saw Gemma pull Tara aside, she assumed it was to give Tara a scolding. Stella waited eagerly to see Tara all miserable and teary-eyed from being lectured.
Instead, she saw Tara smiling sweetly at Gemma, who even gave her a comforting pat on the arm.
Stella felt a tightness in her chest but didn’t dare show it. She wondered why Gemma was being so friendly with Tara. After all, wasn’t someone like Tara supposed to be spurned?
Ever since Soren noticed the power play among the housekeepers, he made sure to watch out for any competition among them whenever he passed by. This even inspired his next song, which he found pretty interesting.
Leah, who was standing next to him, reached out to brush the raindrops off his jacket, but Soren stopped her. He didn’t like being touched.
After brushing the water off himself, he saw that the housekeepers weren’t in any new conflict. As such, he lost interest in observing them.
Since most of the boy band members had gotten wet in the rain, Terence quickly ordered hot honey lemon tea to be sent to each of their rooms.
Tara hadn’t gotten very wet, so she was the only one who didn’t return to her room to change.
It happened to be her day to deliver fruits and other items to the boy band members. Pushing the service cart, Tara stepped out of the second-floor elevator and started with the rooms on the left.
She knocked on Lance’s door.
“Come in,” he said.
She pushed the door open. “Mr. Swain, here’s some hot honey lemon tea to warm you up.”
She heard that there would be a live-broadcast dinner party in the next two days. Lance and Soren would be performing, and catching a cold now would affect their voices.
“Just leave it there. I’ll drink it later,” Lance said, strumming his guitar without looking up.
“Of course.” Tara placed a cup of hot honey lemon tea on the coffee table and tilted its lid slightly. It was just so that the tea wouldn’t be too hot when he drank it.
The small gesture caught Lance’s attention, and he looked up, his gaze falling on her. He still thought that she was very beautiful, and the quiet way she went about her tasks made him feel strangely at ease.
Tara thought that he was focused on playing his guitar, so she quietly tiptoed out of his room to avoid disturbing his creative process.
Lance hadn’t paid much attention to her before. Lately, however, he observed that she wasn’t like the other housekeepers who always tried to make him notice everything they did.
Sometimes, when the housekeeper who brought in fruits saw him playing his guitar or singing, they would either ask questions or clap their hands.
Tara, however, was quite considerate. Not only did she not linger, but she also left quietly, as if afraid of interrupting his creative flow.
Over the past few days, Lance had started seeing her in a new light.
Meanwhile, Tara had entered Soren’s room. He was lounging on the couch, distracted by his phone.
“Mr. Farrell, I brought you some honey lemon tea,” Tara said.
When he heard her, he set down his phone but didn’t respond. Instead, he scanned her with a gaze filled with superiority.
She placed the tea on the coffee table and turned to leave, saying, “Mr. Farrell, please enjoy your tea.”
“Wait.” He stopped her.
Tara turned around and looked at him in puzzlement. “Do you need anything, Mr. Farrell?”
“Why did you become a housekeeper here?” he asked nonchalantly. He thought that she was perhaps infatuated with one of them and wondered if it was Jonah.
Tara answered honestly, “The pay is good. Plus, no matter the fruit’s cost, there’s always plenty.”
If she weren’t the villainess of this story and needed to stay away from the male leads, she could have done this job for a few more years.
Soren hadn’t expected that kind of answer. He froze for a moment and then burst out chuckling.
“Fine. I wasn’t expecting an honest answer anyway,” he said, clearly not buying it.
Tara replied, “I’m telling the truth.”
She didn’t care whether he believed her or not.
Soren looked at her knowingly. “You didn’t seem so indifferent before, especially with how you were flirting with all of us.”
Tara was at a loss for words. After a brief moment of awkwardness, she said, “That was in the past, and I have changed my mind now. Mr. Farrell, you don’t have to worry. There will be no repeat of that behavior again.”
With that, she turned and left the room without caring about what Soren thought.
Soren didn’t call after her. A smile lingered at the corners of his lips as he brushed off her words. He figured that she was just making an excuse out of fear of being fired.
After leaving Soren’s room, Tara wheeled the cart to Shawn’s door. It wasn’t fully closed and was left slightly ajar.
Tara knocked when she noticed it and heard Shawn’s voice from inside.
“Come in,” he said.
She carried a mug of hot honey lemon tea into Shawn’s room.
“Mr. Wilhelm, have some honey lemon tea.” She set it down on the table next to him.
He glanced at her and said, “Okay. I’ll drink it in a while.”
Tara nodded and was about to leave when he stopped her. “Wait a second.”
She felt a little dazed. She didn’t know what was going on that day. One after another kept calling her back.
“Apply some medicine for me,” Shawn said.
Tara was puzzled when she heard him mention medicine. After all, she hadn’t heard anything about him being injured.
She didn’t ask why or how he got hurt but instead asked, “Where is it?”
Shawn studied her closely and found her to be quite tactful.
“Bottom drawer over there,” he instructed.
Tara walked over, bent down, and pulled open the drawer to retrieve the medicine. It was a pain relief patch. She glanced at the instructions and saw it was for sprains and strains.
Shawn unbuttoned his shirt, his movements carrying a certain sensuality to it. Tara could see the tension in his muscles as he lifted his shirt. The way he took it off was quite… alluring, almost as if he were in the middle of a movie scene.
Tara spotted a bruise on his pale, smooth back.
“Is it here?” She was afraid to put the patch on the wrong spot, so she lightly touched the bruise with her fingertip.
She felt his body stiffen for a moment and assumed that she had pressed too hard. But it was just a very light touch, so she thought that his injury might still hurt.
Shawn stiffened briefly before replying, “Yeah, that’s the spot.”
“Okay. I’ll be as gentle as I can.” She peeled the patch and gently pressed it onto the bruise. As she smoothed it out with her warm palm, her fingers accidentally brushed against his skin.
Shawn visibly tensed again.
Tara didn’t notice the subtle reaction. She thought that it was just because she had pressed too hard again.
“Sorry, I pressed too hard.” Her voice carried an apologetic tone.
After a pause, Shawn spoke in a lower, deeper voice. “It’s fine.”
He put his shirt back on while Tara tossed the used backing paper into the trash. Then, she returned the remaining pain relief patches to the drawer.
By the time he turned around, Shawn’s shirt was already buttoned. He looked at Tara and said, “Thanks for your help.”
Tara replied, “You’re welcome. I’ll take the honey lemon tea to Mr. Pearson.”
The drink must be getting cold by now.
Shawn didn’t pick up on anything else in her expression. It was as if helping him apply the patch had been the most ordinary thing in the world. She hadn’t tried to flirt or act bashful.
It was a stark contrast to her previous attempts at being seductive. He thought that Tara might have really changed.
“Go ahead, then.” He continued flipping through his book.
Tara stepped out of Shawn’s room and knocked on Jonah’s door.
“Mr. Pearson, Mr. Oakley instructed me to bring you some honey lemon tea.” Unlike the other male leads, she always made a point of clarifying that she wasn’t entering his room of her own will.
“Come in.” The eternally cold tone carried through the door.
Tara opened the door and carried the tea over to the coffee table.
Jonah looked like he had just taken a shower, with a hint of moisture still clinging to his skin. He seemed to prefer formal attire, as even his loungewear resembled a dress shirt. It made him appear mature and refined.
He was too perfect-looking. His appearance surpassed many male models in fashion campaigns.
“Thank you for earlier,” she said, placing the tea on the table. She decided that she should express her gratitude.
For once, Jonah looked away from his computer screen. “For what?”
Tara replied, “I barely got wet from the rain, but you…”
“…were almost drenched.” She finished her sentence in her thoughts.
“You were picking me up. There’s no need to thank me,” Jonah said coldly, not sparing her another glance.
Tara didn’t say anything else and quietly left the room. Her impression of him improved a little. After all, she was the least drenched out of everyone.
And when she thanked him earlier, he clearly explained the situation, which surprised her.
After all, he had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and was now the center of attention of many admirers. To see someone like him so self-aware and grounded was quite rare.
