"Hello, this is Svafa."
Svafa's voice on phone was still incredibly hoarse. Looked like her throat hadn't recovered yet.
Couldn't be helped. After screaming straight for four or five hours, even best vocal cords couldn't handle that kind of abuse.
"Ms. Svafa, it's Lawson. Where are you?"
Right as he spoke, Lawson heard something hit floor. Sounded like phone dropping, making harsh clatter.
Moment later, Svafa picked phone back up. Her voice trembled slightly.
"How... how did you get my number?"
Lawson was man of his word and didn't drop Tom's name. Too bad Svafa wasn't idiot either.
"Don't worry about where I got number—"
"Was it Tom?"
Yeah, Tom had let Lawson into back of bar twice now. Svafa remembered that perfectly.
Silently mourning for Tom, Lawson continued pressing stunning bar owner.
"Where are you right now?"
Svafa stayed silent for second before giving him address. It was high-end apartment in Beverly Hills.
Beverly Hills is world-famous. Tons of Hollywood stars live there, earning neighborhood title of "most prestigious residential area in world."
Even apartments in that kind of neighborhood cost several times more than downtown LA. Looked like Svafa was seriously loaded.
Lawson drove Dodge Viper to Beverly Hills to find Svafa.
Just few blocks apart, but LA and Beverly Hills felt like two totally different worlds.
One side had trash everywhere and homeless vagrants constantly roaming. Other side had spotless streets and visible police patrols.
When Lawson parked, passing cops shot him couple looks. But after seeing his Asian face, they looked away.
Reaching Svafa's apartment door, Lawson rang doorbell.
Waited several minutes before door finally opened. Lawson saw pale-faced Svafa.
Her appearance surprised Lawson. Initially thought she was intentionally avoiding him, but now it looked like Svafa was genuinely hurt.
"Ms. Svafa, are you hurt?"
Svafa gritted her teeth, glared at him, and pulled him inside.
"Get in here!"
Inside was luxurious apartment with modern minimalist decor. Just looking at finishes, you could tell place cost fortune.
Didn't know if Svafa rented or owned it.
If latter, Svafa was absolute sugar mommy, probably worth close to ten million.
Svafa walked awkwardly in front of him. You could tell from her gait she took serious damage. Even sitting down required extreme caution.
"Ms. Svafa, your injury..."
"Doctor said I suffered mild ruptured corpus luteum!"
Svafa gritted her teeth, looking like she wanted to bite Lawson to death.
But Lawson had incredibly hard time holding back his expression.
For those who don't know, corpus luteum is physiological structure formed after ovulation. Because it's rich in blood vessels and has thin walls, it easily ruptures and bleeds under specific stimulation.
"Specific stimulation" means intense exercise, blunt force trauma, overly aggressive sex, or ovarian cysts.
Get it now?
So, this massive Nordic vehicle was literally forced back to shop for repairs due to Lawson's rough driving.
Honestly hard to imagine. After all, Svafa was six-foot-tall Nordic babe, thick and curvy, not some bony supermodel.
"You have nerve to laugh!"
Seeing half-smile on Lawson's face, Svafa flared up with anger. Almost had urge to pull gun and blow him away.
Lawson helplessly threw his hands up, wearing innocent smile.
"Ms. Svafa, if I recall correctly, you kept provoking me. You started this war!"
Svafa bit her lip. She obviously knew she started it, which was why she hid in apartment to heal in silence.
But who told Lawson to show up right in front of her again?
Naturally, Svafa was pissed.
"I didn't tell you to..."
Pausing there, blush crept onto Svafa's pale face.
Otherwise, given her dominant personality, she definitely wouldn't have given Lawson her address.
Having laughed enough, Lawson walked over to Svafa. Stunning boss flinched, thinking he was about to start driving recklessly again.
"W-what are you doing?"
But Lawson just gently placed his hand on her lower stomach and started massaging.
"Don't worry. I'm great mechanic! Still hurt?"
Lawson's hands were broad and strong. Just massage alone made Svafa feel her body heating up.
Felt warm and incredibly comfortable.
"Feels lot better after taking painkillers and anti-inflammatories."
Lawson rolled his eyes. He really wanted to trash American healthcare system. Unless it was life-threatening, all they ever prescribed were painkillers.
Though American medicine did have one major strength: treating gunshot wounds.
No developed country in world was as professional at treating bullet holes as America. Even better than doctors in active war zones.
Rumor had it when hospitals did exchanges with American hospitals, that was main tech they studied.
Didn't know if it was meds kicking in, but after Lawson massaged her for bit, Svafa actually fell asleep.
Lawson didn't stop. Kept massaging her lower stomach until she woke up.
Svafa slept solidly for two hours before stretching and opening her eyes.
"Lawson, I haven't slept that peacefully in long time."
Svafa looked at Lawson's face, her eyes holding some inexplicable meaning.
Lawson finally pulled his hand back. Two hours of massaging was pretty exhausting, especially since it was awkward, unconventional angle.
"Ms. Svafa, is your sleep schedule that bad?"
Stunning boss sighed.
"Been in game over ten years. Basically never got good night's sleep. Have to drink heavy every night just to pass out."
Lawson raised eyebrow. He was pretty sure "in game" didn't mean running bar.
Because Sangiovese had only been open for few years.
"Ms. Svafa, since you're alright now, I should get going."
Lawson checked time. Approaching midnight.
Just as he was about to leave, Svafa suddenly grabbed his arm, giving him pitiful look.
"Lawson, can you stay with me little longer?"
"Ms. Svafa, isn't that bad idea?"
"Don't call me Ms. Svafa. Call me Linsey."