Chapter 111: Revelations and Ruin – II
Camille could detect a hint of teasing in his newest message. Knowing that Grady talked about her that way made her heart swell, too.
It was always nice to get compliments on her hard work. She was always diligent and did her best at everything, so when someone acknowledged that and did not take her for granted, it made her feel appreciated.
Christian rarely did that. Whenever he did, it was just a perfunctory compliment, nothing of substance. It meant more coming from Grady because he was experienced and capable in his own right. He was also known to be quick and resourceful in his work.
No wonder Christian either wanted him gone or wanted him to work for him. The latter would not be a good decision however, because there was a good chance that Grady would betray him.
If there was one word that best described Grady, it was “loyal”. He was very loyal to the McGregor family and had worked faithfully under them for several years.
Needless to say, for him to work for another family would be like living in a parallel universe, because the concept itself was that unbelievable.
‘Thank you. He is also very pleasant to work with. I’ve seen firsthand how organized and capable he is,’ she replied back.
‘Yes, I agree.’
The subject seemed to stop there, and Camille did not know what to say anymore.
What did this mean?
Was Michael not the one who had helped her, after all?
Or maybe he had and was just keeping it a secret?
She had no idea how to broach the subject without embarrassing herself with her one-sided assumptions.
Suddenly, she felt a little stupid. Why should she even think that Michael was the one who helped her? After all, he was a very busy man. He was even busier than she was and had several things on his plate.
Besides, he was under no obligation to help her or her family.
Maybe… she was just assuming things here. Maybe out of wishful thinking.
But such thoughts were harmful.
‘I’ll text you soon, Noah. I have work to do now,’ she finally messaged him back.
‘All right,’ he responded. ‘Don’t overdo it, okay?’
‘I won’t.’
‘Good.’
And that was the end of their conversation.
Camille stared blankly at her screen, feeling as if a balloon inside her was slowly deflating.
What was this feeling?
Disappointment?
But why?
‘Stupid. So stupid,’ she scolded herself as she returned to her work.
‘Why did I even message him in the first place? That was so awkward…’
But…
Still, she was happy.
Luther was going to get the proper treatment he deserved! And it was going to be successful. She hoped that it would be so that he could live something close to a normal life again.
To be honest, she still wasn’t ready to face him after all these years. It might sound cowardly, but she needed more time.
Frankly, she didn’t even know if she wanted to see her adoptive parents again.
Why should she? After all, she was the ungrateful daughter who made the impulsive decision to leave home. Did she even have the right to see them again?
“Well, you certainly don’t seem to be busy,” Christian’s familiar voice rang in her ears, making her feel as if her fears had suddenly been doused with lukewarm water.
Great. Now here was the one man who could rile her up like no one else could.
Reluctantly, she raised her head to look at him, not bothering to hide her displeasure.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked with a smile. “You’re the one who’s using your phone during work hours. What could be so important that it couldn’t wait until your break? Who are you texting?”
“Whatever I do is none of your business. As long as I do my job properly and deliver your instructions on time, there should be no complaints,” she said flatly. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be busy right now according to your schedule?”
Why was it that Christian seemed to be sticking his nose into her business lately? She noticed that he seemed to be paying more attention to her than usual.
Was it because of the articles that had been published recently? About how they were a lovely and unexpected couple about to get married?
Camille had seen several articles about their engagement over the past few weeks. Everyone was baffled that Christian Callahan would marry such an ordinary woman.
In turn, people became very curious about her, trying to learn her identity and background. Camille hated it and continued to keep a low profile, refusing all kinds of interviews and publicity.
Fortunately, the employees of this company were more polite and intelligent than the media and the general public. They weren’t pushy or intrusive, but they certainly whispered to each other more than usual.
But at least when it came to work, they were serious and still delivered consistent quality results.
Or maybe they were just afraid of losing their jobs. After all, working for the Callahan Group was a privilege in itself. It was an opportunity not all people could have, so they needed to make sure that they didn’t ruin their careers just to spread some juicy gossip.
It also helped that Christian made sure the rules of the workplace were strictly enforced. Obviously, no one dared stand up to him.
Everyone knew that he usually looked down on office gossip. To him, engaging in such frivolous activities was detrimental to productivity. He felt that people had better things to do with their time, like making sure that they were doing their jobs properly and checking their quality over and over again.
The atmosphere was just weird and different lately because this engagement news was fresh and sensational, especially since it involved the Callahan family.
Being one of the top billionaires in the country, everyone was curious about what was going on in the family. Gregory was a secretive man by nature, and the only scandal that he had involved his late wife, Pamela Callahan, and nothing else.
Christian, on the other hand, was known to have dated many beautiful and successful women, but that was about it.
Finally, Patricia was probably the most public of them all, but even when she traveled the world and had fun, she usually didn’t get into too much trouble and just hung out with friends and random strangers she met by chance. She also made sure not to mention her last name and identity to strangers, for obvious reasons.
So, the news that Christian Callahan was going to marry his secretary was definitely something that would stay fresh in people’s minds for a long time.
‘Great. Just what I need,’ she thought grimly.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.