Chapter 66 Cigarette Filter
The letter read:
"To Mr. Windsor,
You've hooked me up with some killer clothes, stuff I've never even dreamed of wearing, and that fancy computer. Seriously, I don't even know how to thank you.
Even if I had cash, I wouldn't know what you'd dig. One of your suits probably costs more than I make in a year. So, I got you something cheap but kinda useful.
I think this filter tip's color and style fit a classy, powerful guy like you. Not sure if you'll like it. If it's not your thing, just let me know. I can swap it out for you.
The filter's not pricey. But since you love smoking and like to hold the smoke in before exhaling through your nose, the nicotine hits your lungs harder. So, this filter's a way to keep you healthy.
Even though you're tough, you still gotta take care of yourself.
Cheers,
Elizabeth."
Below the signature, there was a hand-drawn smiling sun by Elizabeth, with goofy buck teeth, making it look playful, cute, and funny.
Alexander smirked at the doodle, not even realizing he was smiling.
After that brief smile, he went back to his usual calm and collected self, holding the cigarette filter and the postcard. Without thinking, Alexander wandered into the guest room where Elizabeth used to stay.
The room was spotless, and the open wardrobe still had all the fancy clothes he gave her a few days ago, not a single piece missing.
And there was that pink laptop. It was sitting on her bedside table, untouched.
Alexander casually powered up the computer. The desktop had just one image, a photo of her handwritten note sent to him earlier and the hand-drawn smiling sun.
The image on the computer was way bigger than the postcard he was holding. The smiling sun looked wild and carefree, radiating a sense of unrestrained joy.
The smile seemed super mischievous.
Alexander thought about how chill Elizabeth had been the past few days.
The doorbell rang, and Alexander checked the video intercom. It was the security guard downstairs. The guard said, "Mr. Windsor, I need to tell you something."
Alexander asked coolly, "What's up?"
"Right after you grabbed that package and left, a young woman came to the front desk, saying she had a package sent to the wrong address, and it ended up here. I asked her who it was for, and she said you, Mr. Windsor. I told her you already took it. She looked kinda shocked."
"Where is she?" Alexander asked.
Not waiting for the guard's response, he headed downstairs. The guard was still waiting for instructions when he saw Alexander coming down.
"Where is she?" Alexander asked again.
"The young woman? She left after hesitating for a bit."
Without another glance at the guard, Alexander turned and went to the garage, drove out of the community, and hit the road. Yet, Alexander didn't see any sign of Elizabeth.
By this time, Elizabeth had already walked far away.
She felt a deep sense of self-mockery. If she had known, she wouldn't have ordered that cigarette filter for Alexander. She was broke, but she had spent over three hundred bucks on that filter. But before the filter even showed up, he had already kicked her out.
She thought about how stupid she was. The filter was probably in Alexander's hands now, and he was likely looking at it with disgust, then tossing it off the balcony like trash.
Thinking about this, Elizabeth's face turned red with embarrassment. She just wanted to thank him for the awesome clothes and the computer he gave her. But now she felt like she was just fooling herself.
Elizabeth went back to the cheap motel, lay down in her clothes, and couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about the filter tip and Esme's condition.
With all these thoughts swirling in her head, Elizabeth finally crashed near dawn. When she woke up, time was tight. Luckily, the motel she was staying at was close to Esme's hospital. She got up and quickly walked to Esme's ward, only to find out that Esme had been in the ICU all night. The doctors were still trying to save her, and family members weren't allowed to visit.
Elizabeth had to go back to work.
When she got to the office, her coworkers gathered around and started mocking her.
"Elizabeth, what did you do last night? The bags under your eyes are so dark. Maybe you didn't want to work at the construction site, so you went out and worked as a hooker all night to make some cash, huh?"
"I bet she took on a lot of business. I heard she's super broke, poorer than the construction workers. I heard she eats at the construction site and eats as much as two guys."
"She must have used a lot of energy hooking up with men all night, so she eats a lot."
Hearing these nasty comments, Elizabeth said nothing. She could take it.
Her time in prison was way tougher than this. Didn't she survive two years there? These office folks had nothing better to do.
A few days ago, they asked her to help with some drawings, and she nailed it, so they respected her. But from yesterday to today, with her computer out of reach, and she hadn't finished any of the work they gave her, so naturally, they were pissed. It was normal.
Elizabeth pretended not to hear. As long as she still had her job, it was fine.
"Calliope, got any work for me to help with?" Elizabeth asked.
"I wouldn't dream of bothering you!" Calliope Davis sneered.
Elizabeth mustered her courage and asked another designer, but they ignored her too.
Eventually, the designers huddled up and one of them said, "Elizabeth, you looked wiped out from the construction site yesterday. Today, you don't have to go there. Instead, clean out our storage room."
The storage room was packed with samples, silicone paint for walls, faux porcelain materials, and all sorts of stuff. Elizabeth originally thought there wasn't much to clean, but when she got there, she realized the storage room hadn't been touched in ages and was filthy.
It took Elizabeth four hours to clean it. When she came out, her face was as dirty as coal. Her female coworkers saw her and covered their mouths, laughing.
Elizabeth didn't have time to see how messy she looked. She glanced at her phone and saw it was already past noon.
Elizabeth rushed out to visit Esme at the hospital. As she was about to enter the door, she bumped into someone.
"It's you?"
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