\u201cCloser to eight,\u201d Orion said. \u201cWe want to make sure we do it right. A car like this deserves the\u00a0<\/p>\n
time and attention to detail.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthena,\u201d I said, trying to bring her into the conversation. \u201cYou want to talk about the paint\u00a0<\/p>\n
restoration?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blinked, clearly having not been paying attention. \u201cThe paint?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said patiently. \u201cMr. Carmichael was asking about the original color.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d she said, looking down at her notes. \u201cThe original color was Guards Red, which is a\u00a0<\/p>\n
Porsche signature color. We can match it exactly using the original paint codes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The process involves stripping the current paint down to bare metal, repairing any rust or\u00a0<\/p>\n
damage, then building up multiple layers of primer, base coat, and clear coat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She delivered the information professionally, but I could hear the strain in her voice. Mr.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carmichael seemed satisfied though, nodding along\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the timeline for that specifically?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Athena opened her mouth but no words came out. She just stared at him, her face going even\u00a0<\/p>\n
more flushed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout two weeks,\u201d I interjected smoothly. \u201cOnce we have the bodywork completed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
bit\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion frowned, looking between Athena and me \u201cAthena, you okay?\u201d he asked. \u201cYou seem a\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d she said quickly, too quickly. \u201cJust a bit warm in here. Is it warm in here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t. If anything, the air conditioning was working overtime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want me to adjust the temperature?\u201d Oon asked, concern clear in his voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no, I\u2019m fine,\u201d Athena insisted. She picked up her water bottle and took a long drink, her\u00a0<\/p>\n
hand shaking slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
r\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:04 Fri, Jan 16\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 251\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\u00a0<\/p>\n
The meeting dragged on for another twenty minutes and every second felt like an eternity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
78%\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched Athena struggle to maintain her composure, watched her grip the edge of the table so\u00a0<\/p>\n
hard her knuckles went white.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, mercifully, Mr. Carmichael seemed satisfied with our proposal. He stood up and shook\u00a0<\/p>\n
hands with Orion, then me, then Athena.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I saw her wince slightly at the contact, as if even that casual touch was too much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have my assistant send over the signed contract by tomorrow,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see\u00a0<\/p>\n
what you can do with the car.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t disappoint,\u201d Orion assured him, walking him out of the conference room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment the door closed behind him, Athena practically ran out of the conference room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew where she was going.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion turned to me. \u201cIs she really okay?\u201d he asked. \u201cShe seems off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s dealing with some stuff,\u201d I said vaguely. \u201cBut she\u2019ll be fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He studied me for a moment. \u201cYou\u2019d tell me if something was seriously wrong, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d I said. \u201cI promise, it\u2019s nothing to worry about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded, though he still looked uncertain. \u201cAlright. I\u2019m going to head out for a bit. Got to pick\u00a0<\/p>\n
up some parts from the supplier. You good here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019m good,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment he left, I headed to my office. Sure enough, Athena was already there, pacing back\u00a0<\/p>\n
and forth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was awful,\u201d she said when she saw me. \u201cI could barely concentrate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I said, closing and locking the door. \u201cCome here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She came to me immediately and I pulled her into my arms. \u201cWe\u2019re going to get through this,\u201d I\u00a0<\/p>\n
|||\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:04 Fri, Jan 16 DG.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 251\u00a0<\/p>\n
said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d she asked, her voice small. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s never going to end.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing someone today,\u201d I said firmly. \u201cAfter work. No more putting it off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded against my chest. \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut first,\u201d I said, because I could feel her trembling. \u201cLet me take care of you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We had sex again, slower this time, and I tried to pour all my love and reassurance into it. I\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted her to know that I was here for her, that I wasn\u2019t going anywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When we finished, she looked a little calmer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 251 \u201cCloser to eight,\u201d Orion said. \u201cWe want to make sure we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26408\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}