Chapter 42\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour tactics are becoming quite obvious, Ms. Wright.\u201d He moved to his desk, pulling out his phone. \u201cFirst, this friend request on my personal Facebook\u00a0<\/p>\n
account.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned the screen toward me, displaying my recent friend request.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this. Another swipe revealed that I\u2019d followed his X account.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My embarrassment transformed into indignation. I was only trying to contact you to return your clothes! I gestured toward the shopping bag. \u201cThat\u2019s literally the only reason I needed to reach you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley\u2019s mouth curved into a cold smile. \u201cMs. Wright, obtaining my personal contact information must have required considerable effort.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nearly blurted out Aiden\u2019s name but caught myself. The last thing I wanted was to get that sweet child in trouble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBelieve what you want, Mr. Sterling, but I have no inappropriate intentions toward you whatsoever.\u201d I picked up the shopping bag and thrust it toward him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*I\u2019ve returned your clothes. Now I\u2019ll get back to my actual work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop. His voice was sharp as I turned to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused, my back stiff. \u201cIs there something else, Mr. Sterling?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake your trash with you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat trash?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I turned, I found his gaze fixed on the shopping bag, his expression one of unmistakable disgust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My lips pressed into a tight line. Of course. A man like Ridley would consider clothing someone else had worn\u2013even if professionally cleaned\u2013as garbage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snatched back the bag. \u201cI\u2019ll dispose of this \u2018trash\u2018 immediately. Wouldn\u2019t want to contaminate your pristine environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the door, I paused. Despite everything, he had helped me twice. And these were expensive clothes\u2013his loss, not mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taking a deep breath, I forced a polite smile. \u201cI\u2019ll get back to my projects now, Mr. Sterling. Enjoy your afternoon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment I exited the office, I shoved the bag into the nearest trash receptacle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Germaphobic narcissist!\u201d I muttered under my breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Ms. Wright?\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
The small, careful voice behind me made me turn. Aiden Sterling stood at the end of the hallway, his dark eyes watching me with concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
. My expression immediately softened. \u201cAiden, what are you doing here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I thought I heard you arguing with my father, Was he mean to you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The boy\u2019s voice carried a note of self\u2013reproach that broke my heart. I knelt to his level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
1:00 pm M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 42\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetie, what are you talking about? Your father is my boss\u2013I wouldn\u2019t argue with him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was one thing to dislike Ridley in our shallow work dynamic, but I couldn\u2019t let my emotions damage Aiden\u2019s bond with his father. That would be too cruel to this innocent child. For the boy\u2019s sake, I\u2019d swallow these lies about his father being caring and responsible- even if every word tasted bitter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gently smoothed his hair. \u201cActually, your father is quite kind to his employees. Very professional.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiden\u2019s doubtful expression spoke volumes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I continued softly, \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be afraid of your father, Aiden. He\u2019s a very responsible person. When he\u2019s strict with you, it\u2019s because he cares. I can tell he\u00a0<\/p>\n
values you very much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While inside, I was still seething. What kind of father inspired such fear in his own child? Ridley might be brilliant in business, but he was clearly failing where it mattered most. Still, undermining their relationship would only hurt Aiden in the long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAiden,\u201d a commanding voice called from inside the office. \u201cCome in here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father\u2019s calling you,\u201d I said, rising quickly. \u201cYou\u2019d better go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the boy walked toward the office, I made my escape toward the elevator, determined to avoid the executive floor as much as possible in the future. The\u00a0<\/p>\n
less I had to deal with Ridley, the better\u2013for my career and my sanity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 42 Chapter 42\u00a0 \u201cYour tactics are becoming […]<\/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":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zero-stars-for-daddy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30441","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=30441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}