After a moment, the three exchanged glances but quickly responded, “Let’s head out now.”
As they walked out side by side, they whispered in confusion, “These tasks could be handled over the phone. Why did Nelson insist we do them in person?”
“Stop talking. Mr. Oconnor must have his reasons.”
At that moment, inside the lounge, Callie was asleep on the sofa.
Nelson tried to suppress a chuckle, then failed and let out a hearty laugh. He had kept the staff busy outside while she comfortably dozed off inside?
Having stayed up all night, Callie was exhausted. The moment she touched the couch, she fell asleep, her sleep fitful, long black eyelashes trembling, lips slightly puckered like a child’s.
Her sleeping posture was modest, the baby fat on her face more pronounced from this angle, reminding him of a child from those days… Nelson watched, mesmerized, and couldn’t help but lean over and poke her cheek with a finger.
Soft.
A smile he didn’t even notice spread across his face.
“Don’t! Don’t hit me!” Callie suddenly cried out, waking with a start. Involuntarily flinching, she collided with the man in front of her, her lips unintentionally pressing against his cheek due to their proximity.
Callie’s eyes widened in disbelief at the scene.
The two were now incredibly close, their breaths mingling, a quiet panting.
Nelson felt a pang in his chest; the lips that had just touched him were exceptionally soft, tempting him to draw even closer.
Her breathing was rapid, warm breath spraying on his ear.
He frowned deeply.
Callie quickly recoiled, hands covering her lips, stuttering, “I! You! I didn’t know! I was asleep! I didn’t know you were in front of me… Wait, what were you doing just now?”
Nelson straightened up, wiping his face, “… just trying to wake you up.”
“…Oh…” Callie didn’t know what else to say.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
The door to the rest area swung open, signaling he had handled everything.
Callie didn’t waste a second, grabbing her bag and scampering out, her heartbeat nearly deafening.
Nelson started to feel a headache, slamming the door of the rest area. Ridiculous, he had just been emotionally swayed by Callie.
Callie rode the elevator down 27 floors, feeling as if her soul had been left behind. Had she just kissed Nelson?
Was that considered a kiss? Probably not… it was just a touch of the face!
But why did the sensation linger so long?
“Callie! Why are you just arriving now? You’re an entire hour late; do you realize that? I could mark you as absent!”
Upon entering the design department, Skye scolded sharply.
Callie’s gaze was unfocused, barely registering the words, “Ah? Oh.”
“You can forget about perfect attendance this month!”
“Alright.”
Hearing this, not just Skye, but the entire design department was taken aback.
Callie cared about perfect attendance the most, yet now she just agreed without a fight?
Skye, finding her strangely out of sorts, decided not to bother with her and turned back to her office.
Litzy quickly smacked Callie’s head with a file, “What’s wrong with you? You look all out of sorts. Did you run into a ghost?”
Callie took a large gulp of water, waving her off, “You might not believe it, but it’s even more unbelievable than running into a ghost.”
Because of this episode, she was dazed all morning until lunchtime when she suddenly thought, ‘Who is Mr. Oconnor, and what woman hasn’t he seen? He definitely won’t take that unexpected kiss to heart. If he wasn’t going to dwell on it, why should I?’
With that thought, she felt much lighter.