Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)

Chapter 2187

She lifted the phone to her ear with a friendly yet distant chuckle, "Mr. Barlow!"

Barlow's voice came through with enthusiasm, "Ms. Jarvis, about that collaboration we discussed yesterday, I'm in quite a hurry over here. How about we meet tonight to talk details, what do you say?"

Sylvia's tone remained unchanged, "I'm terribly sorry, I'm not feeling very well today and was thinking of heading home early. Let's reschedule!"

Barlow's voice lost some of its warmth, "Turning down a business opportunity that's knocking at your door?" Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

"Of course not, it's just that I'm really not feeling up to it. I'll set a time to discuss everything with Mr. Barlow soon!"

Barlow let out a meaningful chuckle, "Alright then, I wish Ms. Jarvis a speedy recovery, and let's firm up the details of our partnership as soon as possible."

"Thank you for your trust, Mr. Barlow!"

After hanging up, Sylvia strolled over to the couch and plopped down next to Gabriel, tilting her head to rest on his shoulder, her eyes half-closed as she mumbled, "Don't push me to work. I need to rest a bit. As my bodyguard, you can't have any objections."

Gabriel replied with mock seriousness, "I'm not quite up to speed on the job description. Does a bodyguard's duties include providing kisses and a shoulder to lean on?"

Sylvia nestled into his embrace with a laugh, tilting her head back to look at him, "It's more than that. You're my round-the-clock, full-service bodyguard!"

Gabriel pinched her chin gently, "Is this what bodyguards do?"

Sylvia nearly blurted out a response but caught the words at the tip of her tongue, refraining from speaking out of turn.

Gabriel let go and took a sip of his coffee, which had gone tepid, commenting casually, "Must be tough, a young woman doing business like this."

Leaning on his shoulder, Sylvia's posture was relaxed, but her voice was earnest, "It's good to be busy. As for what others say, I've never cared."

"Take care of yourself!" Gabriel advised.

Sylvia looked down, "I will!"

As closing time approached, a client arrived, and Sylvia headed to the conference room to meet with them. By the time the conversation wrapped up, night had thoroughly fallen.

Milanda, carrying some documents, walked out with her, grinning, "Boss, time to call it a day. Mr. Carnes has been waiting for you for quite a while."

"Right away!" Sylvia smiled and nodded. She paused mid-step, turning to Milanda, "What do you and your boyfriend usually do on dates?"

Milanda teased with a laugh, "So it is a boyfriend! Looks like we were right!"

"It's not!" Sylvia quickly denied, her ears warming slightly as she explained softly, "Just an old friend passing through J City."

Milanda chuckled without further ribbing, her eyes dancing as she suggested, "There's so much you can do on a date – dinner, a movie, shopping, and, of course, at the end,"

She leaned in close to Sylvia, whispering conspiratorially, "you know you can..."

Sylvia was taken aback but quickly caught on, raising an eyebrow slightly without a word.

Worried she might have gone too far with the joke, Milanda quickly added, "Since Mr. Carnes and you are just friends, you can skip that last part. Everything else is fair game."

Sylvia thought to herself, ironically, they had only done that last part!

She replied with a smile, "Got it, let's wrap up for the day!"

"See you, boss!" Milanda waved cheerfully, eager to head home.

The rest of the company had already left, and the office building quieted down. Sylvia walked toward her office at a leisurely pace.

Normally, she often worked late by herself, and the silent, dark office sometimes made her feel too alone.

But today, perhaps because she knew he was waiting for her, she’s happy

Pushing open the door to her office, she saw the man sitting on the sofa, as if a lonely, dark corner had suddenly been filled with an influx of light.