Now That I Think About It…

"Hmm… he cancelled again?"

"Yes, madam."

In a grand house situated in the city's most affluent district, a beautiful young woman was staring forlornly out of the window at the darkened sky.

Behind her was an older gentleman. He had a harsh, stern face, but his eyes that were fixed on the back of the young woman were soft, filled with affection.

The woman turned to face the butler, and with a sigh, her glossy red lips parted once more. "Find out what is more important than a date with me."

Leaving the man with that instruction, she flicked her blonde, crimped hair over her shoulder and left the room.

…

"Yawn… See ya, Bern."

In the kitchen, Jade waved goodbye to Bernie with a yawn. It was only 10 PM, but recent events, even with the day of rest, had taken their toll on her.

Although he had not said anything, Jade could tell that Bernie had wanted to stay until Jade left. However, given his old age and the fact that he had not slept the previous night out of his worry for Jade, he had practically fallen asleep while standing.

Thus, Jade had insisted that he go home.

Besides, she was not exactly nervous about staying there alone. The only maniac she knew had already been apprehended—it was very unlikely that there would be more crazies out to get her.

After stifling another yawn, Jade walked to the front of the shop and turned the sign to say 'Closed.'

'I'll go home once these customers are done. It's not like the extra few customers were get in the last few hours of the night are what's paying the rent.'

There were not many people left in the cafe, and after another half an hour, only Liam was left.

Ting ding!

When he heard the last person leave, he turned to look at the door, and only then, it seemed, did he notice that Jade was preparing to close the shop early.

He quickly stood up and nodded in apology to Jade. "I am sorry; I did not realize that you were trying to close up."

Jade smiled politely. "Don't worry. Please take your time. Don't rush on my account. I only wanted to prevent too many more people from coming in."

"No," Liam said, "I was planning to leave now anyway. I would have left sooner had I noticed."

After his extensive apology, Liam exited the cafe. 'I'm sorry I lied to you. I did notice, but I couldn't leave…'

Following Liam's exit, Jade locked the door and wiped down the few tables that she had not been able to clean due to customers. Then, when her prep for the next day was done, Jade turned off the lights and exited via the back door.

As she turned the key in the lock, a sudden thought came to her. 'Hmm… Now that I think about it, how did Liam plan to pay if we had his wallet? He made it seem like he did not know that he left it here…'