Chapter 11

In the days that followed, I pored over the case files, organizing documents day and night. It wasn't an overwhelming amount of work, but it was messy and tedious. Still, it was the only thing I could do for Adrian.

Jason was equally swamped. Besides helping me, he had his own company to manage.

Even so, he managed to get up early every morning, take Pudgy out for a walk, buy breakfast, and then drag me out of bed when he was back. I was genuinely impressed.

Somehow, Jessica managed to get my number and invited me out for dinner.

Glancing at my reflection in the mirror and seeing the dark circles under my eyes, I accepted her invitation without hesitation. There was no time like the present, after all. After hastily applying some makeup, I soon headed out.

I went to the cafe downstairs from my office and placed my order. I'd intended to eat while waiting for Jessica. Yet before my food arrived, out of the corner of my eye, I caught someone pulling out the chair next to me and sitting down.

Some people had such an offensive presence that even being around them felt horribly unpleasant. Unfortunately, Paul was blissfully unaware that he was one of those people.

He sneered before leaning back with obvious disdain. "You heard Sean called off the engagement, right?"

I slid my glass of orange juice closer and took a sip. The acidity of the juice made my brows furrow.

Paul continued, "I asked him about it privately, and his response was that marriage wouldn't benefit him much at the moment. But anyone with eyes can tell that he made that decision because of you.

"I mean, Cassandra, sometimes I don't know whether to call you greedy or clever. Either way, you've achieved your goal. Pushing it further is pointless. Look, everyone's seen how well Sean's treated you over the years. He cleaned up every single one of your messes for you.

"How long do you think that Jason guy can protect you? You should know better than me which path will lead you the furthest. Think about it, yeah?"

A wave of nausea rolled deep in my gut. I had zero interest in entertaining this moron's nonsense, so I asked bluntly, "Are you out of your mind?"

Paul's smug expression shattered instantly.

I continued firing away. "Is Thompson Group going under? Is that why you've got nothing better to do than come here and annoy me? If you care about him so much, why don't you go and be with him yourself?"

The constipated look on Paul's face grew more unbearable by the second. As I stood to leave, I flung the cake I'd left untouched right into his face. Then, while he cursed and tried to wipe the cream from his eyes, I took off like the wind.

I squeezed my way across the crosswalk with seconds to spare. When I got to the other side of the road, I turned back and flashed him my middle finger.

Sure enough, Paul's expression darkened even further.

It was now around the time everyone got off work. I wandered around the nearby mall for a bit. Barely ten minutes after I'd sent Jessica my location, she came bounding over toward me.

She was buzzing with excitement as she linked arms with me, chattering away about where to eat. I gave her half-hearted responses until we turned a corner and ran into someone else I happened to know.

I leaned against the railing, watching as Mabel strutted toward us with her girlfriends, her nose in the air.

"Well, if it isn't Ms. Price. What a coincidence!"

Jessica probably didn't recognize Mabel, but the group's aggressive approach clearly meant trouble. Immediately, she rushed in front of me protectively, only for me to grab a hold of her and pull her back.

"Ms. Hamilton," I returned the greeting. "You seem to be in good spirits yourself."

Honestly, I was simply commenting on all the shopping bags she was carrying. But Mabel clearly took it the wrong way. Her face instantly flushed with anger.

"What do you mean by that?" she demanded.

I shrugged innocently. "Nothing at all. I'm just worried your arms might get tired with all the bags you're carrying. That's all."

Mabel snorted, then handed her bags to someone next to her. The latter whispered something in her ear.

Mabel's expression turned furious again.

"What are you doing here? Are you waiting for Sean?" she asked me.

"No way," I replied. "I'm just passing by."