I'm Afraid I Won't Be Able to Leave

Early the next morning, the Sterling Group issued a public announcement stating that Morgan Sterling was out of danger. They urged the public not to believe any rumors and reserved the right to pursue legal action against anyone spreading false information about him.

Asher Keating had just sat down at home when he saw the announcement. After reading it, he tossed his phone onto the sofa. Mrs. Lowell, who had come to make breakfast, saw him and immediately asked, “Mr. Asher… did you just get back?”

She had been about to ask why he was back so early, but as soon as she got closer, the strong smell of smoke on Asher Keating was overpowering, and she broke into a cough. She had seen the news about the Sterling Group yesterday and guessed he probably hadn’t been home all night.

“Yeah. I’m going to take a shower first.”

Asher Keating stood up and went to shower in another room. After a whole night in a conference room full of chain-smokers, it wasn’t just Mrs. Lowell who was bothered. The fumes had left his own head aching and his temples throbbing.

Just as he entered the bathroom, the bedroom door opened. A groggy Leah Sinclair came out and asked, “Mrs. Lowell, is Asher back?”

“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Asher is in the shower.”

Leah Sinclair nodded. She hadn’t slept well after coming home last night and woke up the moment she heard sounds from outside. After freshening up, she went to the bathroom Asher was using.

Asher Keating heard her and asked through the glass door, “Why didn’t you sleep in a little longer?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Asher, I just saw the Sterling Group’s announcement. Is Morgan Sterling really okay?”

Asher Keating had just finished rinsing his hair. He shook the water from it and said, “He’s not awake yet, but it shouldn’t be a major issue.”

An old saying suddenly came to Leah’s mind. ‘The wicked live long.’ She didn’t know how badly Morgan Sterling was hurt, but the videos and pictures she’d seen yesterday had looked very serious. And as for Madeline Sterling… Leah lightly pursed her lips.

‘I can’t quite put a name to my feelings about Madeline Sterling now. Back when she relentlessly provoked me, especially after what happened with Grandma Sinclair, I wanted nothing more than to kill her—to make her pay for Grandma Sinclair’s life with her own.’

‘When she kidnapped me and brought out that man who’d been made to look exactly like Asher, I felt not just disgust, but also a sliver of pity for her. She seemed to have an almost pathological obsession with him.’

‘I don’t understand where that kind of obsession comes from. I love Asher dearly, too, but if he ever made it clear he didn’t want to be with me anymore, I would choose to leave, not continue to harass him.’ ℯℯ𝑙.

‘From a once-famous actress to a kidnapper, then a madwoman, and finally to her death—the answer to that question went to the grave with her.’

Leah sighed softly. As she looked up, she saw Asher Keating walk out with just a bath towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was still wet, and a few drops of water trickled from the tips, down his body, and over his abs before disappearing beneath the towel.

Leah couldn’t help but gulp. ‘That body… it’s absolutely unreal.’

As soon as she gulped, Leah’s face turned red. A teasing smile played on Asher Keating’s lips as he watched her. He leaned in, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her and boxing her in. “What are you thinking about so early in the morning to make you blush like that?”

His comment made Leah’s face flush an even deeper red. She laughed nervously. “Asher, you must be hungry, right? Mrs. Lowell already has breakfast ready. You should go eat.”

Leah tried to push him away and flee, but he scooped her back into his arms. “I am hungry.”

As he said that, he tilted her head back and kissed her. Leah’s heart pounded. ‘I didn’t lock the door,’ she thought frantically. ‘What if Mrs. Lowell walks in? Besides, I have to go to the office soon. At this rate, I’ll definitely be late!’

She pushed lightly against Asher’s chest, pleading, “Asher, how about tonight? I… I have to get to the office soon.”

Asher hadn’t actually been planning to do anything; he just couldn’t resist teasing her when she looked so adorably flustered. But since Leah had brought it up herself, he seized the opportunity. “Fine. But you owe me two later for this one. I’ll put it on your tab.”

Leah was left speechless. She hesitated for a moment, torn, but her desire to get to work ultimately won out. She put on a look of noble sacrifice. “Deal.”

Looking at the grin on Asher’s face, she couldn’t help but feel she had just walked right into a trap.

Asher didn’t give her a chance to dwell on it. “Weren’t we going to get breakfast?”

As he changed the subject, Leah forgot all about it. After breakfast, Asher offered to drive her to the office, but she refused, insisting he get some rest.

When he saw Louise Holt arrive, Asher didn’t press the issue. He’d gone practically two nights without sleep and was truly exhausted.

When she arrived at Baystream, Leah felt something was a little strange. From the moment she walked through the main doors, everyone she met greeted her with a smile and asked if her leg was feeling better.

People had greeted her before, but never with this much… friendliness?

The feeling intensified when she reached the offices of Department Three. Before, her colleagues would greet her, but it was always superficial. Today, their greetings were clearly sincere. Someone had even gone out of their way to buy her coffee, just the way she liked it.

Leah thanked them and took the coffee. After she went into her office, Miles Kessler and the other two followed her in.

Seeing the bewildered look on her face, Juanita Coleman laughed. “Manager Grant, you’re the idol of all the women in the company now.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean, ‘huh’? Manager Grant, you have no idea! After what you said the other day, we were all so thrilled!”

Doris Harlow’s voice was filled with excitement. “And besides, didn’t that Jay Walsh get fired? There were a few other guys who used to hang around with him—they were pretty nasty too—but now they wouldn’t dare say a word. They’re all on their best behavior.”

Leah laughed as well. “That is certainly a welcome development.”

Once the pleasantries were over, they began discussing their progress over the past few days. Juanita Coleman mentioned that Peyton Group was asking if they could speed up the work on the fifteenth and seventeenth floors. They wanted to move in at the end of the month and were worried the ongoing construction would be too noisy.

Leah reviewed the current progress. The seventeenth floor was nearly complete. The fifteenth was running slightly behind because of Phoebe Peyton’s proposed addition of a lounge, but overall, it shouldn’t be a major issue.

「At the hospital」

Phoebe Peyton appeared on Morgan Sterling’s floor, fully disguised with sunglasses and a face mask. When Hugh Sterling saw her, he hurried over, and the two of them moved to the stairwell.

Phoebe Peyton pulled down her mask and asked urgently, “How is Morgan?”

“He hasn’t woken up yet, but the doctor said his vitals are stable. Miss Peyton, you shouldn’t have come. We have no idea how many people are watching this place right now.”

Hugh Sterling was at a loss for words. He had replied to Phoebe Peyton as soon as his phone was charged yesterday, explicitly telling her not to come. There were god knows how many different parties watching the hospital, yet who would have thought she would just run over here today anyway?

Phoebe Peyton was clearly displeased, and her tone grew cold. “How am I supposed to know if he’s really all right if I don’t come see for myself? What if you were lying to me?”