Chapter 18
Calista walked over to the sofa with her phone in hand, then flopped down, stretching our luxuriously with her eyes closed, letting out a contented sigh as she relaxed. Her almond–shaped eyes narrowed in satisfaction.
arge floor–to–ceiling windows.
Resting her chin on her hands, she sprawled lazily on the sofa, her gaze drifting toward the view outside the large
Outside, the night view of Zandora sparkled with dazzling lights and luxury. She wondered what the night view in Stonebridge was like now, sever years later.
bad
As her thoughts wandered, the image of the Cole siblings she’d seen today flashed through her mind, making her frown. She thought, What b luck–why waste time thinking about those two?
Shaking her head, she shifted positions on the sofa and opened her phone’s messaging app-
Soon, a string of notifications popped up, and one message caught her eye. She raised an eyebrow as she read it
phone rang. She arched an eyebrow, swiping to answer the call.
she clicked on it, starting to type a response, but before she could send it, her phot
A familiar female voice filled her car. “You picked up so fast. Is the banquet over? I spent over ten hours on a plane today, and the minute I landed and turned my phone on, I called you.”
message she’d just read. It had warned her that Adrian would be at the banquet and told her to be prepared.
Calista’s thoughts were still on the messag
“Well your heads–up came a bit late. I ran into him before I even read the message,” she said.
The voice on the other end teased, “From the sound of it, you handled it pretty well, even without the heads–up.”
She thought, Not just handled it–I smiled sweetly and tossed his bitch sister into the pool right in front of him!
Calista smirked at the thought but kept it to herself. She knew better than to mention it: otherwise, her agent on the other end would go into a long–winded spiel about the “tragic soap opera of ex–fiances, thanks to her tendency to overanalyze everything.
“Scientifically speaking, the body’s cells completely regenerate every seven years. All the old ones are replaced with new ones. Calista kept her tone factual, even leaning into a scientific explanation.
Her friend laughed. “So basically, you’ve been reborn. Adrian standing in front of you is just like a stranger now”
“Exactly”
Calista figured there was no use crying over past relationships. She was well aware it made way more sense to channel that energy into building a better future, instead of getting stuck in the mud of old grudges that would only screw up her life even more.
Ever since she kicked Simon to the curb, she lived h background
by one simple rule: Love yourself, stack your cash, and let the rest of that shit fade into the
“Still I can’t help but feel annoyed at the thought of you running into Adrian, her friend sald
Callista laughed, thinking. “There it is true friendship. My best friend is on the same wavelength: “I’ve got a flight booked for tomorrow afternoon back to Stonebridge. But what about you? I finally come you getting back?”
“Funny mough, what a coincidence! be back in Stonebridge tomorrow afternoon too.”
back, and you’re off traveling. When are
Calista’s eyes widened in surprise, and she laughed, playfully scokling. “Are you seriously working this hard to make money? You’re already at the top level in a major agency, practically running the place. What, are you trying to outshine your own employees and hog all the hard work for yourself! You just got off a ten–hour flight today, and you’re lying to Stonebridge again tomorrow!”
I’m just leading by example–showing
team that their boss isn’t soune pampered rich kid sitting i
g idle. I’m out here geuing things done.
Calista was ready with a comeback, but then she heard the telltale beep of another incoming call.
-She pulled the phone away from her car to check the screen. When she saw who was calling, her eyes flashed with surprise.
“Who’s calling this late?! It’s already past eleven, her friend asked.
The room was quiet, and even with the phone away from her ear, she could still hear her friend’s curious question through the speaker.
As she shook off her surprise, Calista’s expression became more guarded. “It’s my new boss”
“What Kieran
“We’ll catch up Later. I need to take this
3d d
Chapis
her cost to respond, Calista quickly ended the call and switched to the new one
ccall from her direct superior. Skipping out on this could mean missing out on a nice bonus–and Calista was definitely (her paycheck.
ht
hy is Keran calling mel
The fact that he had her number was
Leander gave it to her, but they hadn’t met in person yet. She hadn’t even reported to the Stonebridge office.
IL
nough, but calling her this late was even stranger.
nors barring in her mind. Calista quickly answered the call, her tone tinged with uncertainty. “Hello!”
in the other end responded with an equally polite, “Hello“”
is this Casta?” The man’s voice was couteous
sa immediately sensed it wasnt Kieran. She replied just as politely. Yes, this is Calista. Who am I speaki
am I speaking with?”
ng from SanGrove. Mr. Hawthorne has had a bit too much to drink, and we’d like y
you to come pick him up. He’s in private room 1001
of Zandora’s most renowned high–end private clubs. It was reputable and easy to find, so this didn’t seem like a scam.
is expression tumed thoughtful, though she was still more surprised than anything. She thought, Kieran is in Zandora too?
Her mind racing s got up from the soft, walked over to her suitcase, and pulled out some casual clothes to change into. Once dressed, she slipped on her shoes and headed for the door
started tha
Hall well that if Kieran’s personal number was being used to call her, she couldn’t ignore it. Unless she wanted to be job hunting before
nxat an option.
And quitting wasn’t on the table. shed signed a confidentiality agreement with Leander. If she backed out now, the penalty fee would be make her seriously regret her choices
