Chapter 5 That Is A Good Girl

After Sarah came out of the bathroom, she sat in front of the mirror of her dressing table, checking her phone for any notifications with one hand and drying her hair with a towel with the other. She had received a call from an unknown number while she was in the shower.

Sarah put her phone down, simply assuming that someone must have called her number by accident.

Just as she was drying her hair, however, her phone rang again. Sarah immediately turned off the hair dryer and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hello!" She heard a man speak on the other end of the line and thought his voice sounded familiar. Having lost her patience, the tone of her voice took a sort of annoyed taint. "I'm sorry, may I ask who is calling, please?"

"Miss Swain, it's me, James. We met earlier this afternoon." James didn't get angry when he realized that Sarah couldn't recognize his voice, instead, he sounded rather calm and collected.

Eyes wide and jaw nearly dropping to the floor, Sarah looked at the screen of her cellphone in stunned disbelief. "Oh, Mr. Holland! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize your voice over the phone. How may I help you?"

James burst into laughter when he noticed how abruptly Sarah responded in a straightforward manner. In truth, he appreciated and admired her more because of that. "Well, I was just wondering if you would be available tomorrow? I'd like to take you to dinner as an apology for today."

"Tomorrow? I'm sorry, but I have to work overtime tomorrow. Maybe we can take a rain check?" Sarah wasn't lying about having to work overtime tomorrow. After all, her work as an architect demanded a lot from her in terms of time and energy.

James wasn't disappointed by her refusal as he was determined to pursue her romantically. Of all the numerous blind dates his mother had arranged for him, Sarah was the only one he was completely taken with. "When will you get off work tomorrow? I can pick you up then."

"No, thanks. I can get home from work by myself," Sarah refused politely "But, Miss Swain, it's not safe for a woman to be out so late," James insisted.

Sarah felt helpless against James' persistence. However, she was a twenty-seven year old woman, not a helpless young damsel in distress that needed rescuing. Besides, she had managed to get herself home safely on the days she had to get off work late, for many years now. There's really no need. Besides, I don't want to trouble you."

"You wouldn't be troubling me. So, do we have a deal? I'll call you tomorrow before I come to pick you up. That's it! All right, then, you should go to bed. Going to sleep late isn't good for your skin." James spoke in a very affectionate manner.

Although, Sarah was a little annoyed by his brash and obnoxious demeanor, she couldn't just turn him down, so she agreed. "All right."

"That's a good girl. I'm glad to hear that. Good night!"

"Good night." After hanging up the phone, Sarah thought that it was strange for a mature and independent woman like herself to be called a good girl.

Sarah shook her head, dismissing all thoughts on the matter and continued to dry her hair.

Fortunately, a good night's sleep was all it took for Sarah to forget about last night's conversation. Later that day, while she was busy at work, she received a call from James. Anger flared up inside her as she threw her phone away without hesitation.

Fortunately, before the phone could hit the floor, it landed in the hands of the person who had just walked through the door.

The man stood still, dressed sharply in a suit. With a hint of astonishment playing in his eyes, he looked up and said, "Wow! Why are you in a bad mood? Did you really have to throw your phone at me?"