The Miracle of You

Suddenly, Camille’s head was filled with all sorts of thoughts.

Thoughts that were popping out one by one, intrusive and penetrating, each coming with theories so wild that her mind was plunged into blankness for a moment.

Her paranoia started acting up as soon as she struggled to keep rational.

Could Michael be in communication with her parents? What if he told them that she was back in the city? What if he was meeting up with them right now and planning on what they should do with her?

What if this was his response to her pushing him away so coldly that day?

No… Michael couldn’t be that callous, right? He wouldn’t do her dirty like that. He wasn’t even close with her parents. Heck, he had never even met them before.

‘But wait…’ Camille’s thoughts were running wild. ‘What if they had been doing a few business deals together over the years?’

‘No, that doesn’t make sense. He mentioned on our first meeting that he barely even knew my brothers.’

‘But they are only my brothers… He never mentioned anything about my parents. Did he not mention them to me out of consideration?’

Camille’s heart started racing.

No. Why was she being so suspicious like this? Why did her thoughts even go in this direction?

No, Christian was doing this on purpose. He intentionally planted seeds of doubt in her mind so she would suspect Michael, probably for the heck of it.

For all she knew, Michael could’ve just gone there for a business meeting with one of his clients or something. After all, there were a few enterprises near VG Hotel. Businessmen would often flock to the hotel to conduct important meetings and the like.

Damn! She had almost fallen into Christian’s trap!

“We don’t know anything for sure, Mr. Callahan,” she said calmly after taking a deep breath. “But putting that matter aside for now, we should focus on implementing the promotion strategy two hours from now during the next meeting.”

Christian’s smirk faltered slightly. His brow creased in what seemed to be disapproval.

He was probably disappointed that she didn’t rise to the bait like he had expected.

“All right, all right. Let’s talk about work when we return,” he said dismissively before turning his gaze out the window, signaling the end of the conversation.

But just before Camille could internally breathe a sigh of relief, Christian suddenly spoke again unexpectedly.

“But I’ll have you know, Miss Parker… that you shouldn’t trust Michael McGregor that much. He also has some secrets to hide.”

***

Camille, much to her dismay, couldn’t stop thinking about Christian’s words while they were on the road.

When they finally returned to the company, she immediately went on auto-pilot mode. She sorted documents, adjusted the schedule, made several calls, jotted down notes in the meeting room, and organized each event on the computer.

She kept herself completely busy that she didn’t even have the time to ponder on Michael and her family.

By the time work hours were over, Camille wasn’t yet done. Christian, on the other hand, exited the office already dressed in his elegant black coat.

“What are you still doing, Miss Parker?” he asked as he approached her desk. “Aren’t you going home?”

Camille didn’t even look up from her desk. “I still have to finish the report on the reconstruction project, Mr. Callahan. I will probably be home late tonight.”

“I see.” Christian pretended to look thoughtful. “Perhaps I’ve been overworking you too much now that I think about it…”

‘You think?’ Camille thought snarkily, but was wise enough not to voice it out loud.

Thanks to his little lunch appointment earlier, her schedule for the day had been thrown a bit off. She had planned to eat a boxed lunch at her desk and work on the remaining documents that needed her immediate attention, but unfortunately she realized that she needed to have several backup plans in case Christian’s unpredictable tendencies reared their heads again.

But in truth, she didn’t really mind. After all, working late had its advantages. For one, she could work alone and in peace. Second, she didn’t have to go home and be forced to have dinner with Christian. Three, she could go straight to sleep without even acknowledging him.

So even though she was overworked most of the time, she was okay with it. She got paid for all the hours she worked anyway, and she could also get some rest.

“Then,” Christian suddenly said, “shall I do something generous for you?”

That got Camille’s attention in an instant, and she glared up at him suspiciously.

Whenever Christian Callahan said the word ‘generous’, it usually meant the opposite. He would take advantage of this offer in any way he could. He would either make her pay it back eventually, or there would be a nasty catch somewhere along the line.

“Let’s hear it first,” she said calmly as she steeled her mind and heart.

“An assistant,” he responded with a smile. “Since you’re suffering on my behalf and overworking yourself isn’t good for your health, I can employ an assistant for you.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“What?” Camille was speechless.

An assistant? Sure, it would be helpful to get some of the load off her shoulders, but…

There were so many things that could go wrong.

One was that Christian could pay someone to keep an eye on her and have that person pose as her assistant. Two, Camille would have no choice but to go home early and stop using work as an excuse. Three, she would see Christian’s face more often than she liked.

“What do you think? It’s a good idea, isn’t it? I’m just trying to look out for you as best as I can,” Christian said, looking so smug that she just wanted to punch that smirk off his face.

At this point, it wasn’t too far off for her to assume that he was probably toying with the idea of having a little spy beside her at all times.

No. She couldn’t let him do that.

Not when she was still in the middle of her own personal mission.

“I refuse,” she finally said, looking him straight in the eyes.