CH 17

As Josh continued to listen to the child babble on, he felt as if all of his stress was being blasted away. For a while, Josh listened to the child’s directionless chatter, pitching in from time to time.

“Josh,” Seth called as he walked in. When Josh looked up, Seth gestured behind his shoulders with his thumb. “You’re up.”

It was time for patrol. The time had come to hang up. Josh suppressed his disappointment and began his goodbye. “Say hi to Grandma for me, Pete…”

“When are you coming, Daddy?” the boy asked once again before hanging up.

Left with no other choice, Josh lied, “If Pete eats all the peas and carrots without being picky, I’ll come back sooner.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Then I’ll eat anything. I’ll be a good boy.”

“Yes, Pete. Daddy will be there soon,” reassured Josh as he kissed into the phone. As he hung up with a kissy noise, he met eyes with Seth, who was still standing in the same spot. Puzzled, Josh asked, “What’s up?”

“Well…” Seth trailed off as he tilted his head sideways. “You like your kid that much?”

Seth had been living with his partner for a few years, but they had yet to get married. They didn’t have plans for children, either. Josh smiled and gave Seth’s shoulder a pat. “You’ll understand if you come to have your own kids.”

Seth shrugged, still looking like he couldn’t understand. As he took out a new plate from the cupboard and walked toward the stack of breakfast hotcakes, Josh turned around and headed outside. He was planning to walk around the entire estate, including the mansion, the annex, and the surrounding area.

Patrols like this were basically just a formality. Even if someone were to somehow pass the gates with the automatic security system, it would be impossible for them to not be spotted by anyone while crossing the enormous garden and making their way to the mansion. As long as Chase didn’t leave his house, there was nothing easier than guarding him on the estate. On top of that, the compensation was superior.

The problem was that it was difficult to find someone willing to take the job despite all these benefits.

‘Though it’s thanks to this that I was able to take the job,’ Josh thought to himself as he carefully looked around the huge mansion.

The private beach that stretched behind the large 12-bedroom mansion could be reached via a set of elegant spiral stairs. The sand began right at the bottom of those stairs, but the beach was always empty. Today was no different; Josh scanned the beach, absent of a single human shadow, before turning around and heading toward the garden.

Unlike the front garden which was well maintained, there was nothing much to see in the back garden. There was a helicopter resting alone in a spacious landing point, but Josh had never seen it used. Josh visited the personal gym, which had also barely been witnessed under use, the basketball court, and even the entertainment room, but there were no signs of people; only deathly silence lingered.

‘…Huh?’ It was at the large pool behind the building that Josh had found Chase. Lying comfortably on the beach chair and tanning his skin, he looked more peaceful than ever. The rhythm of his chest as it gently bobbed up and down made it seem as if he had dozed off.

However, Josh’s eyes widened when he witnessed this scene. The only things that Chase had over his body were his sunglasses and a tiny speedo.

Josh suddenly felt a sharp ringing in one side of his head. He instinctively took a couple of steps back. Chase didn’t seem to have noticed the presence of another human being yet. Only after disguising himself behind the tree did Josh realize that he had hidden. 

There was only one choice left for him, and it was to leave the place without getting seen by Chase as much as possible. He really wasn’t in the mood for getting beaten up again.

Josh carefully poked his head out. The man was, unfortunately, still in the same spot.

Just as Josh confirmed Chase’s presence, he despaired.

Why did that man’s looks have to resemble his ideal type so perfectly?

The term “ideal type” was supposed to be, as the name suggested, ideal, not real. Even Chase Miller didn’t fit Josh’s ideal type 100 percent. There was a bigger problem than the fact that he was a man.

Josh wanted his ideal type to at least have the temper of a human, not that of a mad dog.

Josh was seriously wondering how much it must cost to make a wax doll that looked exactly like that man when Chase abruptly got to his feet. Josh quickly hid in surprise. Holding his breath and keeping undercover reminded him of the time when he was in the army. With it came the memory of his comrade with whom he had escaped the grasps of death.

‘Now that I think about it, he’s also in California,’ Josh thought to himself.

Just as he came to the realization that it had already been years since he had last seen Dane, a sudden splash of water sounded from behind. Josh flinched out of reflex, but he didn’t stand up. He habitually scanned his surroundings and remained still for a moment. It wasn’t difficult to guess who had jumped into the water just now. He was planning to wait for his chance to bolt while Chase swam.

Unexpectedly, however, only silence followed. Josh froze his body for a moment and listened carefully. He was concentrating every bit of his senses, but there weren’t any movements.

In the end, he couldn’t wait any longer and cautiously poked out his head. He had a bad feeling about this.

‘Huh?’ After a split second of hesitation, Josh jumped up before he could even catch himself. He didn’t see Chase anywhere. ‘What just happened?’