With quick reflexes, Mia Grant pressed down on his hand, hissing in a low voice, "Are you crazy?!"
Yates Donovan just smiled at her. Ignoring her, he grabbed the doorknob.
But instead of pushing it down, he pulled it up.
CLICK. The door was locked.
The second she felt him apply force, Mia Grant’s breath hitched, and a curse was already on the tip of her tongue.
Blinking, she looked at the guy beside her with his infuriatingly punchable expression and threw a punch.
Yates Donovan let her land a couple of hits, his playful grin never wavering.
"I’m just ssing with you. Why are you so tense? Did you think I’d actually push you out?"
Mia Grant shot him a glare. "Maybe soone else wouldn’t, but I know you’re definitely capable of it."
He was a thrill-seeker. When he was feeling playful, he didn’t think about the consequences.
Yates Donovan opened his mouth to speak, but one look from Mia Grant shut him down.
She pressed herself against the door, listening intently to the sounds outside.
Soone poked her shoulder.
Mia Grant clicked her tongue in annoyance and shuffled away.
The person, undeterred, poked her again.
Mia Grant slapped his hand away.
After a mont, he did it again.
Mia Grant let out a silent scream. She spun around, ready to chew him out, but froze when she saw him holding up her phone with an innocent look. "Phone call for you."
"..."
When he dragged her inside, her phone had slipped from her hand and fallen to the floor.
Seeing the smug look in his eyes, Mia Grant was suddenly furious with no way to vent it.
Taking a deep breath, she took the phone from him.
She didn’t have ti to answer. But before her finger could hit "decline," she heard Yates Donovan say coolly, "It’s Silas Grant’s secretary."
At his words, Mia Grant finally looked at the caller ID.
Eric.
Yates Donovan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and added a reminder. "This call is probably on his orders. If you don’t answer, things will likely get ssy."
"But if I do answer, I’ll be in trouble, too."
"Not necessarily. It’s Saturday. Your little ’body double’ is in her dorm and hasn’t left, so she’s not under their surveillance. You won’t arouse suspicion by answering now."
"Unless he traces your IP."
Mia Grant’s brow furrowed.
The next mont, she heard him add with a laugh:
"However... I can take care of that for you."
"So," he said, lifting his chin, "go on, answer it."
Mia Grant t his gaze for a second. Despite the playful look in his eyes and his cavalier deanor, she chose to trust him.
She answered the call.
Mia Grant left Yates Donovan by the door to listen for any sounds from outside while she walked deeper into the room, doing her best to keep her voice steady and normal.
"Miss Grant, good afternoon."
It was, indeed, Eric’s voice on the other end of the line.
"Good afternoon," Mia Grant replied. "What’s this about?"
Eric’s eyes flickered to the man beside him. The man’s expression was impassive; he didn’t even glance at the phone in Eric’s hand, as if completely uninterested in the call.
But Eric knew he was listening.
After a mont of deliberation, he ca up with a random excuse. "Well, Christmas is next week. Do you have any plans, Miss Grant?"
"Studying."
"You don’t want to go out and have so fun?"
"No. What is it you really want to say?"
"The Hughes Corp’s ski resort in Adjacen is about to open. If you have ti over Christmas, Miss Grant, you could go with your roommates for a visit. It would be a nice way to relax."
"That sounds a little far. The travel ti would be a waste. I’ll wait for the school holiday."
Eric agreed, then paused before asking, "Are you on campus right now?"
"Yes, I am."
"In that case, I’ll have soone deliver a VIP card for the ski resort to you. That way, you can go whenever it’s convenient."
Mia Grant pursed her lips. "Alright. Just have them leave it at the security office. I’ll pick it up later."
"Very good."
Eric glanced at Silas Grant again.
’Should I keep the conversation going?’
’It doesn’t sound like Miss Grant is very eager to talk.’
With a soft CLICK, Silas Grant lit a second cigarette.
The hallway was silent. Even through the phone, Mia Grant could clearly hear the sound of the lighter.
’He’s right there with him.’
Taking a deep breath, Mia Grant clutched her phone tighter.
"If there’s nothing else, I’m going to hang up."
Eric hurriedly stopped her.
"What now?" Mia Grant pinched the bridge of her nose. ’This is endless.’
"Mr. Grant has been very busy recently. He’ll co to see you when he has a mont. I hope you can be understanding."
Mia Grant felt nothing at all and remained silent.
On the other end of the line, Silas Grant’s gaze fell to the illuminated screen of the phone in Eric’s hand.
"Miss Grant?" Eric prompted.
Mia Grant grunted in acknowledgent but said nothing more.
Eric waited, but when it beca clear she wasn’t going to say anything else, he had to take the initiative. "Later, if you have a mont, perhaps you could give Mr. Grant a call?"
Mia Grant didn’t see the point. ’There’s no need for that.’
"I don’t think so. He’s so busy, after all."
’After all, he was the one who told not to contact him in the first place.’
"Actually, Mr. Grant really misses..."
"Eric."
Mia Grant cut him off.
"Yes, Miss Grant?"
"If what you’re saying is true, then you wouldn’t be the one making this call."
"And I shouldn’t be the one to take the initiative to call, either."
Eric was left speechless.
’She’s got a point there.’
Knowing Silas was listening, Mia didn’t want to provoke him. After a mont’s pause, she added a few words of concern. "You... just tell him to take care of himself and get so rest. And not to work too hard."
"That’s all. I have to get back to studying. Goodbye."
Before Eric could reply, Mia Grant hung up.
In the hallway, Eric stared at the disconnected call on his phone for a few seconds, dazed. He then tilted his head to study Silas Grant’s expression.
The other man’s expression was unchanged. He finished the last half of his cigarette before saying in a raspy voice, "Trace the IP address of that call."
It dawned on Eric. ’So that was the real reason for the call.’
A few minutes later, Eric held out his phone for him to see. "Mr. Grant, the IP is in Jynsia. There’s no mistake."
The man’s expression was unreadable.
Eric felt it must have all been in his boss’s head. "You’ve been working too hard lately, sir. That, combined with how much you miss her... it was probably just your imagination."
"There’s no way Miss Grant could be in Portia."
"If you miss her that much... you should just call her yourself. I could tell Miss Grant misses you, too. But because of what you told her before, she must be holding a bit of a grudge, which is why she didn’t..."
Before he could finish, a flash of light reflecting off a diamond blinded Eric for a second.
He blinked and took a step back, finally getting a clear look at what the man was holding out to him.
It was a bracelet.
"Recognize it?"
Eric nodded, his expression shifting.
Silas Grant had sent him to that auction.
"And where do you think it should be right now?" Silas Grant asked, his gaze level.
"On... on Miss Grant’s wrist."
It clicked for Eric. "I’ll have soone pull the security footage! We’ll lock down the entire building!"
"That won’t be necessary."
Eric froze, looking up in surprise.
His gaze swept over every door in the hallway. Then, Silas Grant looked away. As if he had suddenly changed his mind, he turned to leave.
"We’re not hunting a criminal. Why make such a scene?"
"But, it can’t be safe for Miss Grant to be in Portia all by herself."
"She managed to pull the wool over my eyes and run around right under my nose. Do you really think she could do that all by herself?"
"..."
’Is he really just going to let it go?’
Eric shook his head. ’No, that’s not it.’
’Silas Grant would never be this lenient with Mia Grant.’
’He’s waiting for his prey to walk right into the trap.’
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