Chapter 156
Cecilia’s tone was laced with a hint of probing.
I brushed it off, “My foot’s all good, thanks for your concern.”
Cecilia paused, clearly not in a hurry to leave. Instead, she chimed in, “You know, it takes a good hundred days to recover from bone and muscle injuries. Let me help you upstairs.”
I thought my words were distant enough, but Cecilia insisted on tagging along. I figured she had something else on her mind, so I didn’t refuse.
But when she stepped into my standard room, I couldn’t help but notice her eyes betraying a flicker of a different emotion. I’d seen that look plenty of times before it meant she was looking down on something.
And fair enough, she was staying in the famed thatched cottage in the mountains, where even at the low end, a night’s stay would cost seven or eight hundred during peak season. That was worlds apart from my twenty or thirty a night digs.
“Sorry to make you cringe, Director Irwin.” I kept my tone even, “I’m back now, so I won’t keep you.”
“It’s not that, Xaviera; I didn’t mean anything by it.” Cecilia waved her hands, nervously explaining, “I just feel a bit sorry for you. But don’t worry, as soon as I get back, I’ll talk to Hogan and get you sorted with a decent place for tonight.”
Cecilia still had that innocent look on her face as she said this, making it hard to tell if she was genuinely nice or just playing nice.
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“No need to trouble Mr. Zade.” I tried to sound casual, “I get where you’re coming from, Director Irwin.”
After that, I turned to pour myself some water, avoiding any further eye contact. I was worried. Worried that one more second of looking at her would reveal the annoyance I was hiding.
But Cecilia didn’t leave for a good while. Seeing her awkwardly stand there, I cut to the chase, “Is there something else, Director Irwin?”
Cecilia fidgeted with the hem of her clothes and glanced at me before stammering out, “Xaviera, what do you think about that thing?”
I frowned slightly, puzzled, and looked at Cecilia, “What thing?”
Cecilia averted her gaze and after a moment’s hesitation, said, “You know, the thing about getting the info of the time and place for Mr. Abbott’s party.”
As I heard this, my mind went blank, as if a bomb had gone off in my head. It took a few seconds before I could breathe again.
After a brief moment of thought, I came to a conclusion – Hogan had spilled the beans about our deal to Cecilia.
He had actually told Cecilia about the shady business of trying to make me betray a friend for gain! A secret became more
dangerous with each person who knew it, and Hogan was no doubt aware of this.
“Xaviera, did I say something wrong?” Cecilia stared at me, a trace of panic in her eyes.
Counted the time; indeed an hour almost passed, the time that
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Chapter 156
Hogan had agreed to give me.
“Did Hogan send you to ask me?” I blurted out, not realizing my voice was shaking until it was too late.
“Xaviera, Hogan didn’t mean anything by it. At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to find FreeMan.” Cecilia explained gently, “As for your concerns, I’ve considered them. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Shirley later on. Even if she finds out the truth, she won’t hold it against you.”
I almost laughed out loud due to anger.
Snooping around for party details was shady business that
obviously should involve as few people as possible. But here was Cecilia, planning to chat with the person in question, as if to ask Shirley to let me slide for her sake.
