Nelson didn’t look away.
Callie leaned in, her breath brushing against his gradually clearing eyes. “There must be a little bit, right? Just a little bit?”
At this moment, she masked her emotions even more, deliberately hiding her heartbeat to appear unaffected by him.
Nelson didn’t move. Suddenly, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside. “Nelson…”
Bridger’s voice stopped abruptly when he saw the scene, followed by hurried footsteps. “I didn’t see anything.”
Callie’s heightened emotions immediately subsided. Facing Nelson’s coldness, she felt a bit of fear and instinctively stepped back, looking down to put on her shoes.
Nelson walked to the door. “What’s the matter?”
Bridger’s charming eyes curved with mischief. “At this hour, I won’t disturb you. No matter how big the issue, I’ll cover for you.”
“Speak.” Nelson ignored him, taking a cigarette from the pack and placing it in his mouth.
“A minister from the Blair family faction is here tonight with a woman he’s keeping outside, and he also called for two prostitutes.”
Nelson squinted. “Three? He’s in good shape.”
Bridger laughed heartily, leaning on the railing and seeing Callie standing not far away with her arms crossed, waiting.
“As long as there’s a traceable source, the Blair family can’t escape blame. Evidence has been saved and sent to your email. It will be useful to you.”
Nelson exhaled a puff of smoke, regaining his clarity and composure. “Thanks, I’ll treat you to dinner another day.”
“Sure, bring your wife along?”
Callie saw Bridger looking at her and gave a perfunctory smile. He waved in greeting.
Nelson turned back, glanced at her, wanting to say something but ultimately just warned, “You know what you know. Don’t spread it around. I’m doing this for Grandpa’s health.”
“For Grandpa? You’re too deep into the role.” Bridger noticed the expression on Nelson’s face and leaned back tactically. “Don’t worry, no one’s tighter-lipped than me.”
Nelson said nothing, extinguishing his half-smoked cigarette. He walked over to Callie. “Let’s go home.”
Callie immediately followed closely behind.
The two of them didn’t exchange any more words on the way back, as if that kiss had never happened.
Back at Paucaster Villa Complex, Callie deleted Mrs. Blair’s recording from her phone. She had acted impulsively; Nelson daring to question Nash meant he knew the Blair family inside out. She had indeed been overconfident tonight.
A couple of days later, Callie’s face had completely healed, and she returned to work at Oconnor Group.
As soon as she entered the design department, many people looked at her. Feeling uneasy, Callie asked Litzy, “What’s going on with everyone?”
Litzy looked her up and down and joked, “Miss Marsh, you’ve taken quite a long leave. No one else in the entire department-no, the entire company-could take such a long break. How did you manage it?”
Feeling guilty, Callie touched her nose. “It was medical leave; the company isn’t that strict.”
“Does an appendectomy require half a month?”
“… You’ll know if you get the chance to try it.” Callie quickly changed the subject. “You still haven’t told me why everyone’s looking at me.”
Holding a stack of files, Litzy spoke mysteriously. “Do you know about Splendor Estate?”
Callie thought for a moment. “Yes, it’s in the southern part of the city, planned as a school district housing area. What’s up?”
“Oconnor Group acquired it,” Litzy said excitedly.
Callie was also surprised. “I heard several groups were bidding for Splendor Estate. Did Oconnor Group win?”
“Yes, we did. We have enough money to secure it.”