It's been five minutes since Yemi has gone away and Sam is still staring at the front door with his brain in overdrive. The mean-mug he had when he was asleep is the same one he has, right now. Causing harm to Yemi is something he promised her he would never do, and he's ashamed of himself for losing control of his emotions.

He finally breaks his stare to examine the coffee table. "Fuck," he curses himself.

The ice pack on the couch catches his eyes. He grabs it and heads towards the front door, grabbing his keys on the way out.

Bypassing the elevator, he makes his way to the stairwell and runs down expeditiously. When he reaches the main floor, he bolts out the door and goes straight to the parking garage. Upon opening the garage entrance, he sees Yemi struggling to get into her truck.

Yemi hears movement behind her, so she turns her face and her eyes land on Sam sprinting towards her. "What are you doing? I told you I'll drive myself."

"You can't even get inside, ma." Sam sandwiches her hips with his large hands. He hoists her up against his body, being careful not to bend her.

"Sam put me down."

"I'm taking you to work. I don't wanna hear shit else about it," he responds calmly.

Yemi rolls her eyes as Sam carries her to his truck. "I need to get my boots out the back," she says, defeated.

"I'll get 'em." Sam opens his back seat and starts to lay her down on her stomach.

"Why are you putting me back here?" She protests.

"How're you gonna lay down in the front? Or do you want your back to get worse?" He asks sarcastically.

Yemi kisses her teeth, knowing he has a valid point.

"Imma put the ice pack on you," he cautions her. He slowly places the ice pack on her back, and then closes the door.

"We haven't even been back here for 24 hours, and shits already starting to happen," she tells herself, feeling like she's cursed in California.

*

40 MINUTES LATER

In the parking lot of Yemi's job, Sam slides Yemi's boots on her feet as she uses the truck to hold her body up. She avoids eye contact while Sam gazes at her, wanting more time to remedy their situation. "Do you need help going inside?"

"No. The pain is starting to go away."

He finishes tying her shoe laces before standing up in front of her, making sure to leave no space between them. He looks deep into her eyes. "Do you forgive me?"

His sexiness makes it hard for her to look into Sam's eyes while still being slightly disappointed in him. "Yes Sam. I have to go; I'm already five minutes late."

He gently grabs her chin, kissing her lips as if his life depends on it. Yemi squeezes his arms as goosebumps erupt on hers. Moments later, Yemi breaks the kiss. "Bye Sam," she says, breathily.

"What time should I pick you up?"

"Maybe around 4. I'll call you when I leave the work site."

"Alright," he says, backing away from her, allowing her space to move. He watches her walk to the office building before getting into his truck and driving away.

Yemi walks inside and notices a worried look on Myra's face. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"Mr. Dunn wants to see you in his office."

"Are you serious? This is my first time being late."

"It's not that. Some cops came in asking for you."

"Cops?" She asks incredulously.

Myra nods.

"Why are they asking for me?"

"I'm not sure. I told them you weren't here, so they asked for the person in charge."

Yemi raises an eyebrow, wondering why the police would be there for her. She clocks in at the Time Clock before making her way to Mr. Dunn's office.

She reluctantly knocks on the door before hearing Mr. Dunn's voice on the other side, "Come in."

Yemi opens it and walks straight to Mr. Dunn who is sitting across from two men wearing khaki pants, short sleeved shirts and badges hanging over their necks. "You wanted to see me?" She asks her boss.

"The officers have some questions for you." He stands up with a sympathetic expression. "I'll talk to you after."

Mr. Dunn exits and the two officers stand up from their chairs. "Yemi Hardwick?"

"What's going on?"

"Jonathon Billmore was found unconscious and beaten up pretty badly, last night."

Yemi's mouth quickly drops open as her eyes grow wide.

"You mind telling us where you were last night, between the hours of 9 p.m. and midnight?"

Her eyebrows furrow, surprised and offended at what they're implying. "Are you suggesting that I did it?"

"We're just doing our job, ma'am. We asked the same question to his wife. She informed us that the only person who would probably want to harm him is you."

Yemi squints at their words. "Wow," she breathes out, shaking her head in resentment.

"She mentioned that he sexually assaulted you. She assumed maybe you attacked him in retaliation."

"He's a disgusting man, but I would never harm anyone."

"So that means you shouldn't have any problems telling us where you were then."

"I was home all night," she answers, defensively.

"Do you have an alibi?"

"No, but you can check the cameras at my apartment. You will see the time I came home from the airport, and the time I left out for work this morning."

The officers glance over at each other and nod before turning back to Yemi. "Thank you, Ms. Hardwick. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions."

The officers leave, and Yemi lets out a suppressed sigh before Mr. Dunn re-enters.

"Hardwick, this is bad for business. First that one guy comes here starting problems, now the police are questioning you?"

"I know and I apologize. But I promise this is not my doing."

"Well, being 10 minutes late is your doing."

"Come on Mr. Dunn, you know I'm never late."

"... I'll give you a pass, this one time, since I did call you at the last minute. But Yemi, you're gonna have to get your life in order. I secured your job for almost three weeks because you're my best employee. Don't let me regret it."

"Yes sir. It won't happen again."

"Good. Now get to work. Myra has the site information on her desk."

Yemi nods, apologetically, before exiting his office.

___

At the hospital, Jonathon wakes up from his unconscious state with a bandage wrapped around his head. His cousin, Drew, is the only person in the room with him.

"Finally, your ass wakes up," Drew says relieved.

Jonathon looks around, taking in his surroundings. "How long was I out?" He asks groggily.

"Since last night. Somebody really whooped your ass, man."

Jonathon tries to flip Drew off, but feels a sharp pain on his side. He looks under the sheet covering him and sees a bandage over his ribs. "Shit."

"I told you."

"Shut up."

"Did you at least see his face? The cameras from the parking lot didn't get shit."

Jonathon looks straight ahead as he thinks back to last night. Anger sweeps over his face, as he collects the memory of his attacker. He shakes his head before turning back to his cousin. "Nah. I don't know who the fuck did it."

"Damn."

___

LATER

Yemi drops off the work truck keys with Myra. "You're getting off soon, right?"

"Yeah, in about 15 minutes."

"Cool. See you tomorrow."

"Okay. Have a good night, Yemi."

"Thanks. Same to you." Yemi clocks out before leaving. She walks towards the parking lot and sees Sam's truck pulling up in front of her.

Sam puts the truck in Park, and then hops out before walking over to the passenger side. "Is your back okay?"

Yemi nods, barely making eye contact with him. Sam notices her attitude, and grabs her hand. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

She nods and Sam extends his hand out to her. She takes it, allowing him to assist her onto the passenger seat. As Yemi puts on her seatbelt, Sam closes the door and walks back over to the driver's side. He hops in and immediately looks over at Yemi. "How was work?" He asks, in an attempt to brighten her mood.

She finally makes full eye contact with him. "The police came to see me."

"For what?"

"Jonathon was found unconscious, last night."

Sam nods before turning his face away from her. He puts the gear into Drive while Yemi keeps her eyes glued on him. He pulls off.

"Sam..."

He glances over at her before focusing back on the road.

"... Where'd you drive to, last night?"

Sam turns the music on, ignoring her question. He presses the volume button, and turns it up full blast. Yemi nods, understanding his disregard. She looks out through her window for a brief moment before turning back to him. She lifts up his free hand, and then gently caresses it. Sam glances at her, quickly examining her mood. As long as she's good, nothing else matters to him.