Out of Control: Into Your Everything-Chapter 21: In a Hurry to Leave?

Happy isn’t the right word—let’s just say I was a tiny bit smug about his misfortune.

But as much as I enjoyed it, I couldn’t skip the flattery.

Scarlett Shaw, ever the diligent worker, said sincerely, "You’re the boss, the pillar of this company. If you’re sick, I don’t even have time to feel sad, let alone be happy about it." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Julian Ford let out a cold laugh.

"Sad?"

Scarlett nodded, pretending to be all concerned.

Julian tossed the prescription at her. "Go get the medicine."

Scarlett: "..."

Scarlett dutifully went to the pharmacy window. While waiting for her number, she glanced at the prescription—just flu meds.

Lately, with the season change, flu outbreaks were rampant. Plenty of people at work had caught it. Still, Scarlett hadn’t expected Julian Ford, of all people, that high-maintenance body of his, to end up sick too.

Scarlett picked up the meds and returned to Julian. He immediately tossed his car keys at her.

"To Cloud Mansion."

Scarlett’s hand twitched as she tried a gentle refusal. "President Ford, I still have another part-time job later."

Julian: "How much per hour?"

Scarlett: "Three hundred."

Julian tapped on his phone. Scarlett got a 5,000 dollar transfer.

Truly! The provider of all things!

A living saint!

"President Ford, one moment—I’ll go get the car."

Scarlett called her student’s family to ask if she could postpone the session a few days. They agreed right away, leaving her free to devote herself to caring for Julian Ford.

On the way, the car was quiet. Neither of them spoke.

While checking the rearview, Scarlett noticed Julian dozing with his eyes closed. He hadn’t removed his mask. His breath sounded thick under the nonwoven fabric, and there were faded dark shadows beneath his eyes.

After dropping him off at Cloud Mansion, Scarlett put her own mask on out of habit and said to Julian, "President Ford, if you’re feeling unwell, you should take your mask off."

Julian glanced at her lightly. "Do you say this to Ryan Ford too?"

Scarlett couldn’t guess why he was bringing up Ryan now. But before she could respond, Julian threw in, "Oh right, I forgot—you’re always selfless and asking nothing in return with Ryan."

"..."

Easy money is as rare as good shit.

Scarlett thought of the 5,000 bucks and smiled. "You’re absolutely right."

Julian snorted coldly, standing still and pinning her with his gaze.

Scarlett, by now well acquainted with this prince’s quirks, took a step closer, got on tiptoes, and reached up. Her fair fingers grazed Julian’s ear as she pulled off his mask and tossed it away.

Her fingertips were cool; his skin was a bit warm. She shrank back, feeling awkward.

When she pulled her hand back, Julian was still watching her.

There was a new, dangerous darkness in his usually indifferent eyes.

Scarlett’s heart skipped; her self-preservation kicked in. She quickly moved away. "President Ford, would you like to eat something?"

Julian: "You think your cooking is edible?"

Scarlett grinned, "Relax—I won’t poison you."

Julian, too lethargic to care about her sass while sick, just muttered "whatever," picked up his laptop from the table, and flopped onto the sofa to work.

Scarlett opened the fridge, checked that nothing had expired, then cooked plain porridge and simple side dishes. She served Julian a bowl.

He barely had any appetite, put down his chopsticks after a couple bites, and offered a half-hearted review: "Yep, edible—barely."

"..."

Scarlett seriously considered slipping a muteness potion into his food next time, shut that mouth for good.

They finished eating and Scarlett cleaned up.

Scarlett glanced outside at the now-dark sky, and carefully asked, "President Ford, may I go now?"

Julian’s fingers paused on the keyboard. He glanced up at her. "You charge three hundred an hour. I gave you 5,000. You barely worked any time at all, huh?"

Scarlett blurted out, "Wait, you want me to serve you for a hundred hours?"

If that’s the case, she’s really getting screwed.

He’d already criticized her multiple times just this afternoon alone.

If she really had to clock a hundred hours, where would she even go to collect emotional pain compensation?

Scarlett sulked. "President Ford, three hundred is the hourly rate for tutoring. Serving you is a different fee."

Julian lifted the corner of his mouth lazily. "How much do you think you’re worth?"

Leave it to Julian—he could make any normal conversation sound suggestive.

Scarlett: "How about...I just return you 4,970 then?"

"Scarlett Shaw."

Julian’s thin lips moved; he called her by her full name.

He looked peaceful, tone was mild, but Scarlett felt a chill down her spine and dared not move.

Julian shut the laptop on his legs, tossed it carelessly onto the table, stood up from the sofa, and approached her. He lowered his eyes. "You have a finance background, too. Do you really think I’d invest and not get my money’s worth?"

Scarlett: "I put in labor; that’s a fair exchange. You didn’t..."

The last word "lose" died in her throat, shredded under Julian’s deep gaze.

She muttered, pained, "Fine. I’ll just give you back every penny."

Great, so she really came just for some free overtime.

"Break even? What’s the point." Julian leaned against the bar, fingers tapping the counter. "Either you pay me back with interest, or you prove you’re worth every dime."

Slave away, get verbally tormented, and end up paying back—Scarlett wasn’t having any of that.

She could only pick the second option.

"President Ford, I promise I’ll take care of you until you’re well again."

Julian looked at her coolly. "Not completely stupid, at least."

"..."

Scarlett slogged it out until nearly eleven. As soon as she saw signs of fatigue in Julian, and thought he might rest soon, she hurried to say, "President Ford, you’re probably tired too. I’ll get out of your hair and come back after work tomorrow."

Julian had just taken a sip of water. The cup clinked as he set it down.

He eyed her coolly, "If I get a fever tonight, and you sleep at home like a dead pig, you expect to take care of me?"

Scarlett hesitated, thought a bit, then offered, "Well, I could get a hotel nearby and be on call. But you’d need to reimburse the expenses."

There’s no way she was spending another cent.

Julian’s expression darkened. "Scarlett Shaw, my patience is limited."

Scarlett stayed silent for a while.

It took a long moment, but she finally caved. "If you don’t mind, I’ll just stay at your place."

Julian just pointed to a guest room, too lazy to talk more, and went back to his bedroom.

Scarlett was speechless.

She truly did not want to spend the night at Cloud Mansion.

Never mind having to face Julian Ford day and night, slaving away at work all day only to wait on him at night too.

If she bumped into Ryan Ford, she could try to explain, but with her history with Julian, there was no way to cover it up. If Ryan caught on, she’d be toast.

Scarlett lay down and sighed a long, miserable sigh.

Still, at least she could sleep anywhere, and to be fair, Julian’s bed was way more comfortable than her apartment’s. She sighed and counted all the ways Julian Ford was an asshole, drifting off pretty fast.

The next morning, Scarlett got up and made breakfast.

Julian came out of the bedroom in loungewear, looking lazy. When he saw Scarlett setting breakfast on the table, his eyes paused briefly before returning to normal.

Scarlett didn’t notice his reaction, just greeted him, "President Ford, feeling any better?"

Julian pulled out a chair, gave her a cool look. "In a hurry to leave?"