"What a surprise to see you as I was driving by! You should be home resting today. What are you doing walking around?" The smiling Chiu Leong did not wait for her response, instead opening the passenger door from the inside. "Please, let me take you wherever you are going."

Zaria felt as though she were following his words too slowly and blinked without replying.

"Come on, get in. We don't want to hold up traffic."

By the time she thought to object, she was already sitting in the soft leather seat of his car, letting him pull the seat belt buckle from her hands. She shook her head and tried to politely take it back. "No, I can get that, don't worry about it!"

"You will have to twist around to get it attached. It is easier for me to do it," he replied with a grin. Once it clicked into place, he sat back and reattached his own belt before pulling away from the curb.

"Why did I get in the car," she dazedly asked herself, not realizing that she said the words aloud.

"Because I asked you to, and I am your doctor, so you should listen to me. Why are you running about today? You should be resting!" His eyes stayed on the road, but his body language made her feel like he was actually concerned. It was a little uncomfortable, but she reasoned that Auntie Wang had been overtly friendly from the first moment as well. Maybe that was just how people behaved in this world. Then again, Auntie's granddaughter... and Gu Cheng...

She jerked her thoughts back to the present and gave one of her polite smiles as she answered, "It's a long story, but I find myself without somewhere to go at the moment. I thought I would get some shopping done that I needed to do anyway. I am sorry for making you stop for me."

"Oh, no apology needed! Where were you going to go do your shopping? I will take you there." He slowed down for a stop light and flicked his gaze to his side, awaiting her answer.

"It is really okay, Director Chiu, I don't know where I am going anyway. You can just drop me off anywhere." She shifted in her seat, feeling out of place surrounded by the high-quality leather interior. There was a smell of clean laundry and something else... She fidgeted again when she realized she was smelling what was most likely his cologne. It was nice, smooth, and warm like his personality. She cleared her throat and looked out the window. "I, uhm, just need to get some camping supplies, but I don't know where I would get those."

"Hmm..." he thought for a moment and then turned the steering wheel onto a new street. "Most people buy those online now, but there are a few department stores that carry those sorts of things. We are not too far from one now, I will go there first."

She thanked him, and it was quiet again except for an odd buzzing sound and a high-pitched chirp. "Do you...hear that? Like a buzzing?"

"It sounds like it is coming from your bag," he answered. She studied his side profile as though entranced. A nice straight nose and a high bridge over pale pink lips. His dark eyes were alert, watching the other cars around him as he maneuvered the midday traffic. Without the doctor's coat, she could see that he was trim, his fingers well defined as they held the steering wheel. "Miss Joseph? Your bag?"

She looked away with a start and pulled her bag up onto her lap. "I don't have anything that could make that..." Her voice stopped as her fingers touched something smooth under her spare clothes, and she pulled out a shiny box with a large picture of an orange on its top.

"Ah, you got a new phone!" He exclaimed, glancing to the side. He started to ask something, but the look on her face was stormy as she opened the box and pressed the power button on the side to shut it off before closing the box again. For just a second, he saw the name of the incoming call on the screen, and he knew who both the phone and the call were from. "Did you not want to answer it? I will try not to listen. It is alright."

"It is not my phone," she replied icily. She bit her tongue and took a deep breath before starting again. "It is not my phone. Someone keeps trying to deliver it to me, though. I will drop it off at their company again this afternoon."

The silence that followed was awkward, and she shoved the box down inside her bag. "I'm sorry," she apologized, trying to ease the tension. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to vent my feelings in front of you. Thank you very much for giving me a ride, I don't know where anything is in this city, and I might have wandered around for hours."

Chiu Leong pulled into a large parking garage and slid his car smoothly into a spot on the second level. "I am happy to take you. I have the day free and nothing else to do. If I had not seen you, then I likely would have ended up back at the hospital catching up on paperwork. So I have to thank you for the distraction. I have some things to pick up as well. If you would not mind, then perhaps I could take you to lunch after we are both done? It would be my treat for keeping me company."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Zaria looked over at him as she twisted to undo her seat belt. His hands were faster, and he pressed the release first, their fingers brushing as he pulled back. "I'm sorry," she immediately apologized again, "I was not expecting you to do that, and I...never mind, thank you for your help. I can't impose on you anymore than I already have, but I thank you for the offer." She reached for the handle to let herself out.

"Miss Joseph, I was not lying when I said that you should be resting today. Those painkillers are strong, and you will be tired a lot the first few days. I would really feel a lot better if you let me accompany you while you are out. If you were to get hurt again because you are too tired, I would not be able to forgive myself."

She turned back to look at him. There was distress on his face as he undid his seat belt, but it seemed genuine, and she could not argue with his statement about being tired. It was not yet time to take the next two pills, but her arm was already aching, and whether her tiredness was from the medication or from her poor sleep the night before, she was not sure. She looked down at her cast with a frown. "I mean, if you are sure I am not being a bother...but we don't even really know each other, you don't owe me anything at all!" She hurried to clarify.

"I am Chiu Leong, and I already know your name, Miss Joseph Zaria. And it is not a bother at all. Why don't you leave the bag in the car so you don't have to carry it for too long. The car will be locked, and it will be safe." He stood up from the car, closing his own door behind him. Zaria saw a frown cross his face, and he pulled a shiny black phone out of his pants pocket and tapped quickly on the screen. When he saw that he was being watched he smiled and slid the phone back into his slacks. "Sorry, I just needed to send a message. I gave somebody advice and they didn't listen to me."

Chiu Leong accompanied her to the floor she needed before going off on his own, advising her that he would be back in 30 minutes to find her. She nodded and entered the sporting store, looking at the displays set up in the front with tents and fold out chairs and a mannequin family wearing casual outdoorsy clothes. An employee greeted her with a smile and helped her pick out a sturdy pack that would hold everything that she needed and had straps on the outside to hold the little two person tent that she picked out. A firestarter and multi-tool went into the pile as well, plus a few more things that they both agreed would make camping easier. She even found one of the water purifier bottles and replacement filters that she had been wanting. Adding on two pairs of sturdy cargo pants, a good pair of hiking boots, and a few durable tops , she said goodbye to a large portion of the money in her envelope. As she walked out of the store, trying to balance herself with the large bags on her good arm, she ran directly into a wall.

Falling backward, she cried out as a muscular arm snaked around her waist and kept her from hitting the floor. Her bags were not so lucky, and they slipped off of her arm, spilling open across the floor.

"Joseph Zaria?" A confused voice called her name, and she looked up at the wall that she ran into. Dark brown eyes stared at her from under sharp brows.

"Gu Cheng?" She hurriedly pushed away from him, dropping to her knees to pick up her items. "I'm sorry for running into you, I was not paying enough attention."

"What are you doing here?" Several middle-aged men in suits stood behind him, watching the interplay with interest. He knelt down to help her pick up her items, scowling at the tent with its tags still attached.

Zaria looked pointedly at her shopping bags with newly purchased items strewn about before looking back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I was obviously building an igloo."

A snicker came from somewhere to the side, and they both looked up to see Mo Ye turn away with a cough. Gu Cheng scowled and spoke to him. "You can head back up, I will meet you in the conference room in a few minutes." When they were out of earshot, he turned back around, but Zaria was already putting the last items back in her bags and struggling to stand back up.

"Why are you not accepting my calls?" he asked her.

"Damn it," she swore, looking down at her arms. "That stupid phone is back in the car, I was going to get it back to you...AGAIN... but I didn't expect to run into you here... in front of a camping store..." She eyed him suspiciously.

"This department store is owned by Gu Corporation," he responded with a smirk. "I am here for a meeting. I didn't expect to have you run into me either... Why are you buying so much camping gear? Shouldn't you be at that job you chose over the one that I offered you?"

Zaria shifted the bags farther up onto her arm, wincing as her left arm was jostled in the process. She would need to take some more pain meds when she got a hold of a bottle of water. She was distracted as she said, "I needed them, I had to leave the place I was staying at suddenly."

Her eyes were closed as she tried to ignore the pain, and she missed the darkness on his face. "And you didn't think to ask me for help? My number is in that phone, you should have called."

"I'm sorry, what?" She blinked and winced again before looking up at him. "We don't know each other, Mr. Gu, why would I accept a phone from you? We don't owe each other anything anymore. You paid for the hospital bill, which I am grateful for, but I feel uncomfortable accepting anything else from you. I am sorry for running into you. Please, return to your meeting, and I will be on my way."

"Gu Cheng?" A bright voice called out from the escalators nearby, and they both looked up. Chiu Leong approached them with a smile and a curious look on his face. "Ah, what are the chances that I would bump into you here?"