"Oh, you can just rest. Don't mind me," Ellar compromised.Then, he placed the glass of water down and took five steps back away from her.Having had it up to here with him, Patricia rolled her eyes and stared at Ellar with a look of helplessness. "Please get out.""Come on. I swear I'll stay quiet and not bother you," Ellar protested, and took another five steps back.Patricia glared at him, frustrated by his actions. To her, his mere presence was a disturbance in itself. Usually, there was nothing in the office that would constitute a challenge for her. However, she could barely focus on her work today, and it was all because of Ellar being an annoyance, much like a fly buzzing around her ear.After drawing a deep breath, Patricia suppressed her urge to lash out, and with a measure of calm, she said, "Get...out.""Wait, I promise not to come near you again," Ellar pleaded.As long as Patricia did not make him leave, Ellar was content to do nothing but see her work.Patricia,
With that thought in mind, Ellar stopped his search for Patricia and headed off to stay in Nicole's office.Soon, dusk arrived, announcing the end of the workday. Ellar would finally get to see Patricia, as he had planned.After exiting the elevator, the group arrived in the lobby on the first floor."Nicole? Spencer will be here to pick me up. I won't be walking with you. See you at the restaurant later." Lulu smiled and waved goodbye to Nicole."Sure, see you later," Nicole smirked.Once Lulu had split from the group, Ellar announced, "Let's go!""I'll drive," Patricia said, and went off to the parking lot to get the car.By the time Nicole and Ellar reached the entrance, Patricia was already there waiting in the car. After they had all gotten in, Patricia drove them to the restaurant Ellar had booked.Upon arrival, a bunch of people entered the private room Ellar had booked. He was rendered speechless the instant he saw the room filled to the brim with guests.'Patricia rea
'Ellar often looks like a sad, miserable kid. He looks like he's gullible and easy to trick, but he's actually really sly. He is getting Mr. Johnston to take Ms. Riddle home, so I don't have to. But just because I'm not the one taking Ms. Riddle home, doesn't mean I'll give him the chance to hang out with me alone.' Patricia took a deep breath and sat down calmly, acting like everything was normal as she waited for the dishes to be served.Ellar stole a quick glance at her. Seeing that she was not acting weirdly, he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Patricia was too clever to not have seen through his plan, but there would be nothing for him to worry about as long as Patricia was not mad or anything.After everyone had been seated, the waiter proceeded to bring the food in, whereupon they began eating. The air in the room had gotten a little tense the moment Jared showed up, but everyone tried to keep their discomfort under wraps.After a bit, Jared took Nicole with him and left
Nicole, in a frosty tone of voice, snapped back at Harvey. "We're indeed not as meddlesome as you."'Why does he have to butt in on how people raise their kids?' she thought.Harvey, who was feeling the sting from her words, replied, "I was just showing my concern.""We don't need your concern. You should rather pay attention to your own affairs," she said. 'He really should stop poking his nose where he doesn't belong.'Trying to suppress his anger, Harvey changed the subject and mellowed his tone. "Are you done eating?"'Nicole is getting ruder by the day. Am I really that bothersome to her?' he wondered.Instantly, Nicole got up with Jared. "Yes, we've finished. We'll leave you to eat your meal."Although Nicole's words were polite, her message to Harvey was clear; she was telling him to stay out of her and Jared's way.Harvey was seething as he watched them disappear from view, and so, he silently made a promise to himself, 'Just wait until my plan works out, Nicole. Everyt
"You're not going either, Patricia?" Lulu asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.She knew that if Patricia did not come along, Ellar would most likely not either. That would leave just four of them, making it somewhat less exciting for all of them.Patricia caught onto Lulu's hint, and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded. "Okay, I'll come.""Really? Count me in too!" Ellar's face lit up, as he was previously certain that Patricia would just say no to Lulu's idea.But before he could get too excited, Patricia shot him a frosty glare. "No, you can't join us.""Why not?" he asked, his momentary sense of joy dissipating. 'Where's the fun in that?'Lulu, whose brows were furrowed in confusion, turned to Patricia. "Come on, Patricia. Let him come. It'll always be more fun with more people, don't you think?""Yeah, exactly!" Ellar pleaded with Patricia, hoping she would change her mind.However, Patricia stood firm, going as far as giving him an ultimatum. "If you go, Ell
"Let's head inside," Patricia said, not giving away much about Charlie.She had not brought Charlie here to drink, and she was not here for that either.As the group went in, Lulu hung back and looked across the street.She could not spot Ellar's car, which made her worry. 'Will Ellar show up? Can he even find this place?'"Lulu, hurry up!" June called out."I'm on my way," Lulu replied and headed inside, completely oblivious to the van that had just pulled up at the curb.As the night progressed, Nicole and Jared were getting ready for bed when the phone suddenly rang. Such an unexpected call during such a late hour made Nicole frown as she picked it up."Ms. Riddle? Ellar has been injured." Patricia's voice came through, sounding grave."What's going on?" Nicole asked, her voice low and her gaze sharp."We were attacked at the bar. Ellar got hurt while he was trying to protect me." Patricia explained, her voice filled with worry and guilt.Upon hearing that, Nicole tensed u
Samuel looked at Spencer, his face as white as a sheet. "Are they talking about us?""Looks like it," Spencer replied as shivers ran down his spine.They were fortunate to have had Patricia on their side, or they would have been in big trouble.Lulu, looking equally worried, turned to Nicole. "Who are these people, Nicole?"Nicole's expression grew tense, and her eyes narrowed into a slit. She had hoped to keep them safe by not getting them involved, thinking that ignorance would protect them. But now, they were in just as much danger as she was."They're after Ms. Riddle." Patricia chimed in, deciding to fill others in on it after she had seen how troubled Nicole looked.June gasped, her voice filled with fear. "So, Nicole is their main target?"The thought that they were almost used as pawns to manipulate Nicole chilled her to the core. They owed their safety to Patricia and Charlie; otherwise, they could have been kidnapped and tortured as means to coerce Nicole into submitti
Charlie then gave Patricia a quick look and hurried out of the hospital."Ms. Riddle, it was all a blur. A guy pretending to be a waiter started a fight, and then a bunch of people barged in. That's when Ellar got hurt," Patricia said in a somber and heavy voice, her gaze fixed on the emergency room door.Patricia remembered being irritated that Ellar had tagged along when he had agreed that he would not. The next thing she knew, he had jumped into the fray. She was busy trying to shield Lulu and in the process, overlooked the other assailants who were sneaking up on her. But by the time she had gotten a firm grasp of the situation, she saw that Ellar's arm had already been slashed. That was when she and Charlie quickly neutralized their assailants and rushed Ellar to the hospital.Ellar's wound was bad but not crippling.Still, Patricia could not shake the feeling of guilt as she thought, "If I'd been more alert, Ellar wouldn't have ended up with a gash in his arm."Nicole saw th