Chapter 276

Talking about Isadora, I actually wanted to include her too.

After all, Isadora first reached out to Simon through Joanna, and over time, we all became good friends.

But since Isadora just had a baby, she probably can't join us for a spa day.

With that in mind, I shared my thoughts and concerns with Kathy.

Kathy seemed to just realize it: "You're right. I was just thinking about how fun it would be for all of us to get together, and it might make it easier for Joanna to open up."

Although we all hope Joanna is okay, if something really is wrong...

I sighed, "Kathy, what should we do if something's really wrong with Joanna?"

Kathy, being more carefree than me, replied, "What else can we do?"

"Besides getting ourselves checked and supporting Joanna through her treatment, there's not much we can do."

Even though she said that, I still felt uneasy after hanging up the phone.

Kelly noticed something was off and brought me a warm glass of milk to my study that evening. "Caroline, why are you working late recently?"

I wasn't really working late, just handling some contract stuff.

Clementine was still on leave, otherwise, I wouldn't be rushing to handle Asher's contract.

Thinking about it, I noted something down in my phone's memo.

The next morning, I went to see Kathy.

To my surprise, I saw Simon at the entrance of her new studio.

They were talking at the door, and they looked quite good together.

One was a beautiful woman in a stylish outfit, the other a detective in a black trench coat.

Standing aside, I couldn't help but smile at how good they looked together.

Kathy noticed me and waved, "Why are you just standing there watching us?"

Simon greeted me too, but I felt something was off with him today. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just discussing something with Kathy," Simon said with a smile.

I still felt they were hiding something from me and instinctively said, "If I'm interrupting, I can leave."

"Don't be like that," Kathy laughed. "Simon was just helping arrange something for Joanna. But lately, Joanna's schedule is fixed, and she has almost no social life. He's worried that anything he does will seem too deliberate."

No social life? So Joanna's been at home all this time?

Kathy, knowing what I was thinking, quickly added, "Don't worry, she's fine. Ronnie's been really busy lately. Joanna's father assigned him a new project, and he's swamped."

She lowered her voice, "I heard Maeve and Ronnie haven't seen each other in days, so you can imagine."

I sighed, "Ronnie's affair is actually a way to gauge how busy he is."

Simon, listening to our conversation, chimed in, "It's up to you guys now. I helped Joanna before, and if I try to get close to her again, she'll definitely notice."

Given Joanna's special status, it was tricky to arrange things, so it was up to us, her close friends.

Kathy and I exchanged a glance, "Alright, let's stick to our original plan and find an opportunity during the spa day."

But since Joanna owns the spa, bribing the staff won't be easy. We'll have to see how things go.

Thinking about this, I knew we'd still need Simon's help, so I took out my phone to transfer him some money.

"We'll definitely need your help this time too. Let me pay you in advance."

Simon waved it off, "No need this time. We're all friends, and I offered to help."

"Didn't you say you were out of work recently?" I frowned.

Simon chuckled, "That was a joke. I worked hard before and saved up a bit. I won't starve anytime soon."

After Simon chatted with us a bit more and left, I watched his back and suddenly remembered the gossip he shared about Kathy last time.

Thinking about seeing them talking alone today, I nudged Kathy with my elbow, "What's going on with you and him?"

"Me and who?" Kathy hadn't caught on.

I pointed with my lips, "You and Simon."

Maybe because I was so worried about Joanna, gossiping about my two friends cheered me up a bit.

Kathy's eyes widened, "Seriously, Caroline? I know you're anxious about Joanna, but why would you think there's something between me and Simon?"

"He's two years younger than me. I wouldn't consider it."

Kathy spoke with a dismissive tone.

"Besides, I only see him as a very capable friend. There's no way we could be more than that."

I knew Kathy would say that, so I laughed and linked arms with her as we walked inside, "Alright, let's go in and talk."

Standing at the door, people might think we weren't allowed in.

Once we were in Kathy's office, she had her assistant bring me some water and brought up the earlier topic.

"Don't spread rumors. Simon and I are really just close friends."

I nodded, "Got it, got it. I was just in the mood for some gossip today. Don't mind me."

Kathy snorted, "If I don't clear things up, you'll keep thinking there's something between us."

"Just focus on keeping Royce happy. Don't worry about me and Simon."

Thinking of Royce made my cheeks warm, "He's just being clingy around me lately."

When I first reunited with Royce, he wasn't like this.

Back then, when I returned home with my child and ran into him, he was still his usual cool and dignified self.

Though he was particularly attentive to my matters, I was preoccupied with dealing with Brandon, so I didn't think much about Royce's feelings at the time.

Everything had signs, but I only realized it later.

"I know you two were classmates, but isn't it nice that he's so gentle with you now, Caroline?"

Kathy reminisced, "No matter what, you and Royce are like a broken mirror mended, right?"

Are we?

I'm not really sure.

Back in school, we never even had a proper confession.

Who knew that after everything I've been through, we'd end up together again?

Thinking about it made me a bit dazed, so I quickly changed the subject, "By the way, did you handle that thing with Yvonne?"

Recently, Kathy wanted to advance in styling and started learning makeup, which is why she added that module to her studio's services.

"Yvonne? That bitch."