Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Is He Coming Back This Afternoon?

"Then I’ll take tomorrow off to help you host the guests at home."

The Croft family hadn’t hosted a banquet in a very long time, and the few maids they had were all new hires.

Cecilia didn’t want Ruby to overwork herself, worried she wouldn’t be able to handle the strain.

"That’s not necessary."

Ruby Croft rejected her offer without a second thought.

"You’ll go to work at the Hawthorne Group tomorrow as usual."

Cecilia, who was holding her phone and about to text Sebastian Hawthorne to request the day off, paused.

"But I’m supposed to be the guest of honor tomorrow. How can I not be there?"

Ruby Croft glanced at her, her gaze cool.

"The star of the show needs to make an entrance that grabs everyone’s attention, don’t you think?"

Cecilia: "You want me to make a grand entrance at the end?"

Ruby Croft shot her a look that seemed to say, ’Are you always this slow?’

"Tomorrow morning, I’ll have Assistant Keller drive you to the Hawthorne Group. After work, you’ll ride back with Sebastian Hawthorne."

Upon hearing this, Cecilia finally understood.

Although the party was for her, the ultimate goal was to make the guests believe that the Croft Group and the Hawthorne Group had reconciled and were collaborating on a new project.

Therefore, arriving with Sebastian Hawthorne would create the biggest impact.

「The next morning.」

Everything went according to Ruby’s plan.

Assistant Keller dropped Cecilia off in front of the Hawthorne Group building and left.

Cecilia went upstairs to her temporary desk.

She had deliberately come in a bit early, but to her surprise, Sebastian Hawthorne was already there.

"Good morning, Mr. Hawthorne."

Cecilia greeted him with a proactive smile.

Without looking up, Sebastian Hawthorne just grunted in response and said nothing more.

Cecilia lightened her steps, cautiously returning to her "post."

Sebastian Hawthorne was exceptionally busy that day. After an impromptu meeting, he rushed back to his office for a video conference.

The video conference went on for a long time, and Cecilia didn’t even dare to make a sound as she reviewed her documents.

But it seemed the more careful she was, the more likely something would go wrong.

As Cecilia was focused on organizing her notes, her elbow accidentally knocked over the water glass beside her.

She reached for it purely on reflex.

But just as her fingers brushed against it, the glass still tumbled to the floor and shattered with a crisp sound.

’I’m so dead.’

Cecilia wanted to cry but couldn’t.

Sebastian Hawthorne had looked cold and grim throughout the entire video conference.

His tone of voice was laced with a stern authority.

Now that she had caused a disturbance, he would surely redirect all the anger he couldn’t vent at the people on the call onto her.

"Sorry, I’m so sorry."

She hurriedly mouthed an apology and began picking up the shards of broken glass from the floor.

She silently cursed her clumsiness. As she reached for the second piece, her mind wandered for a split second, and she accidentally pricked her finger on a sharp edge.

It immediately drew blood.

A sharp pain shot through her. Cecilia bit her lip hard, not daring to even breathe, let alone gasp.

Enduring the pain, she quickly finished cleaning up the broken glass before wrapping her finger tightly in a tissue.

Thankfully, the throbbing in her finger didn’t last long.

She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Not daring to look in Sebastian Hawthorne’s direction, she feigned composure and went back to her documents.

Cecilia didn’t look up until a shadow fell over her.

The man who had just been on the video call was now standing right in front of her.

His face was blank as he looked down at her.

Cecilia forced an awkward smile and apologized softly.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Hawthorne."

Sebastian Hawthorne gave her an indifferent glance, tossed a small box onto her desk, and turned to walk away.

Stunned, Cecilia picked up the box of band-aids from her desk and glanced toward Sebastian Hawthorne.

He was already sitting back at his desk, his voice cool.

"Continue the meeting."

Cecilia looked at his stern profile and pursed her lips. As she reached for the band-aids, a complex emotion flickered in her eyes.

But she quickly composed herself and put one on.

The lingering, sharp pain in her finger seemed to vanish the moment the band-aid was on.

「After the meeting.」

Sebastian Hawthorne ended the video call.

He sat in his office chair, his face grim and his voice cold and stern.

"Cecilia Croft."

He spoke her full name.

Cecilia had thought the incident during the video conference was over. Now, hearing him call her out so sternly, she shot up from her chair by reflex.

"Yes." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Sebastian Hawthorne gave her an emotionless glance, then took a visible deep breath. The scolding she expected never came.

"Get back to work."

Cecilia had been bracing herself for a reprimand, but Sebastian had let it go so easily. She sank back into her chair, completely bewildered.

At eleven-thirty, Cecilia picked up her phone to order lunch. She remembered how Sebastian Hawthorne had treated her to a meal from The Crimson Dynasty yesterday. Considering that, plus the fact that he hadn’t scolded her for her earlier mistake, she felt she couldn’t just order for herself.

She glanced at Sebastian, who was still working, then hesitated for a moment before taking a screenshot of The Crimson Dynasty’s menu. She opened her chat with him and sent the image.

[Mr. Hawthorne, it’s almost lunchtime. Do you see anything you’d like to eat?]

After sending the message, she looked over at Sebastian Hawthorne.

She saw him pick up his phone as the screen lit up. He glanced at it, then his eyes met hers.

Cecilia offered him a placating smile.

Sebastian responded flatly, "No, thank you. I won’t be eating at the office today."

"Oh," Cecilia said, looking down to order her own food.

The intercom by the door buzzed.

Sebastian Hawthorne pressed the button to unlock it, and Jade Golding’s head popped in. She was smiling as she spoke.

"Sebastian, it’s lunchtime! Zachary and the others are already there. We should get going."

Sebastian’s voice was even. "Didn’t I tell you to go ahead without me?"

Jade Golding laughed. "The restaurant is right on the way, so I thought I’d swing by and grab you. If I didn’t, you’d probably keep working and make everyone wait, wouldn’t you?"

Sebastian Hawthorne: "You’re right. My apologies."

Hearing their easy conversation, Cecilia, who was still trying to order her food, ducked her head even lower.

Sebastian glanced at Cecilia, who was huddled over her phone like a quail, then took his jacket from the coat rack and walked out.

The moment the office door clicked shut, Cecilia bit her lip. She glanced at the order she hadn’t placed yet and suddenly lost her appetite. Deleting everything, she ordered a simple bowl of congee instead.

After placing the order, Cecilia exited the app, her heart heavy.

’Sebastian went out with Jade Golding, and members of the Grant family were there, too. They probably have other plans for the afternoon.’

’If Sebastian can’t go to the Croft residence with me tonight, won’t my sister’s whole plan be for nothing?’

A headache started to form. After a moment’s hesitation, she opened her chat with Sebastian Hawthorne again, typed out a message, and sent it.

[Mr. Hawthorne, will you be back this afternoon?]