Grace spotted Brandon's furrowed brow and immediately got jittery, "Something up?"
"Nah," Brandon snapped back to reality, "You do your thing, | gotta jet."
With that, Brandon hung up, but he still felt antsy.
Beneath that agitation was a hint of spiteful resignation, "Fine, she's gone, so be it." Especially when he remembered how she
coolly discussed pulling the wool over his eyes with his dad in the hospital room.
The resolve she showed by walking away hurt him way more than he had imagined.
Her heart was tougher than anyone else's.
Better to cut the cord than to drag this out.
With that mood, Brandon didn't bother to check with Don about Sophia's business trip details.
But the whole thing messed with his head so much that he paced out of the office before the end of the day.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtKent watched the whole emotional rollercoaster, clueless about what went down but sure it had something to do with Sophia.
He just couldn't figure out how things had done a 180 when they seemed to be on the up and up just a short while ago.
After mulling it over, he couldn't help but shoot Susan a text, [What's up with Sophia and Mr. Crawley lately?]
Susan was at work, baffled by the text, [What do you mean 'what's up'?]
[Haven't you noticed they're off?]
Susan didn't reply.
She had just started at a new company, back in her old groove as a business development manager, and was in the thick of a full-
on blitz, swamped every day. She hadn't had much tto swing by Sophia's, but she still made it a point to visit Theresa every
evening, and the family seemed totally chill and normal.
[They're fine every t| drop by, no fights or anything. What's got you bringing this up all of a sudden?]
Kent spilled the beans about his afternoon work update with Brandon.
[Did you catch what the message was about?] Susan asked.
[Nope.]
Susan typed, [Could be swork thing ticked him off, doesn't have to be trouble in paradise.]
[That's a no-go. No way it's work. I've never seen anything stump Mr. Crawley except for Sophia. She's like his Achilles’ heel.]
Susan couldn't help but snicker, [Look, as his assistant, you should just focus on your job, why worry about the boss's love life?]
[If the boss's love life tanks, it could torpedo my vacay benefits. Gotta nip any in the bud.]
[You sure got it tough,] Susan chuckled. [Alright, I'll throw you a bone.]
[What's the tip?]
[Just believe this—if it's about our Sophia, then it means Mr. Crawley needs to step up his game.] On the topic of their relationship,
Susan was firmly Team Sophia, [Sophia's a breeze to cheer up. Instead of fretting about their issues, better coax Mr. Crawley into
sweet-talking Sophia. If he'd just coff his high horse a tad, they wouldn't have a single problem.]
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmKent was speechless.
[Anyway, gotta bounce. Busy here.]
Susan logged off the chat with Kent, but his words had left her uneasy. To settle her mind, she decided to give Sophia a ring.
As soon as the call connected, she faintly heard the receptionist, "Welcome, ma'am, you're all checked in. Room 508. Enjoy your
stay." Susan was taken aback, "Where are you?"
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