Bringing the Nation's Husband Home II

L | Missed Calls

Alexander's assistant's phone had been out of battery the night before and once he reached the hotel, he fell into deep sleep. The next day, when he was awakened by the hotel staff, he started to wash up while switching on his phone. A few notifications came in, and he clicked onto the screen, seeing a call from Isabelle.

Hurriedly, he returned her call. After a few seconds, her familiar voice came through. "Hello?"

He spat the foam out before greeting her. "Miss Davis, give me a second."

He quickly rinsed his mouth and wiped his lips, then spoke politely as usual. "Miss Davis, you called yesterday night?"

"I called Alexander but he didn't answer his phone."

"He could have been on the plane when you called."

"Plane?" she asked.

"Yes, we flew over to Hong Kong last night for a business deal." The assistant paused before asking, "Miss Davis, you didn't know?"

"He didn't mention it."

When the assistant detected the disappointment in her voice, he hurriedly explained, "He might not have had the time to mention it since he ended very late last night and directly after work we headed straight for the airport. He was only able to rest at about 3 am, so he could have been too tired."

He paused for a while before asking, "Miss Davis, are you looking for Mr. Smith now? I can go to his room and get him, but I'm not sure if he's awake."

After Isabelle heard about the schedule of the previous night and that he had slept only at 3 am, her heart started to ache. Hurriedly, she said, "It's okay, let him rest."

"Okay." After the assistant replied, he added thoughtfully, "Miss Davis, when Mr. Smith wakes up, I'll get him to call you."

"Thank you."

After making himself presentable, the assistant headed to Alexander's room.

The night before, he had gotten a spare room key to Alexander's room. After knocking on the door, he waited for a while, and when he was sure that there wasn't any movements in the room, he swiped the card and entered.

The living room was empty. When he pushed open the bedroom door, the strong cigarette smell came flooding out, irritating his nose, causing him to sneeze twice.

The bed was a mess, but Alexander was no longer in it. The bathroom doors were shut and the sound of running water could be heard. The assistant pressed his nose while walking towards the coffee table, the entirety of which was filled with cigarette butts of every length. He opened all the windows to air the room before taking a deep breath. Just then, he heard the bathroom door open.

When the assistant first started working as Alexander's manager, he had nagged him about his eating choices and lifestyle, and even till today, the habit remained.

"Mr. Smith, why did you smoke so much yesterday? How many times have I told you that smoking is bad for health. Even if you can't quit, how could you have smoked so much?"

Alexander remained nonchalant towards his assistant's nagging. With his dripping wet hair, he picked his clothes up, draped them over himself, and started buttoning the buttons.

The assistant continued to nag, but just then, he remember the phone call with Isabelle, so he stopped nagging and said, "Mr. Smith, if you have time, you should give Miss Davis a call."

Alexander paused, not making a sound.

His assistant started explaining the details, "Miss Davis tried to contact you yesterday but since she couldn't reach you, she came to find me instead. I returned her call this morning when I saw her missed call."