Chapter 536


    “We’ll just have to look into this and weed out her aplices, whoever they are,” Toby said darkly,


    narrowing his eyes ominously.


    Sonia nodded in agreement with him. There was little point in guessing who might have helped Tina


    escape when a thorough investigation could give them all the answers.


    “Get the bodyguards toe back for now,” Toby instructed, pinching the space between his brows


    wearily as he nced at Tom. Now that Tina had managed to get away, sending bodyguards after


    her would be redundant.


    Adjusting his sses, Tom answered, “Yes, President Fuller.” With that, he returned to the phone


    conversation and ordered the bodyguards toe back.


    Meanwhile, the doctor was done tending to the abrasions on Sonia’s arm. He slipped off his


    disposable gloves with a flourish and announced, “You’re all done, miss. I''ve disinfected and put


    ointment on the wounds. Now, you may be tempted to scratch the wounds while they’re healing, but


    let the itching subside on its own, or the wounds might leave the scar.


    “Got it, doctor. Thank you,” Sonia said with a polite smile.


    “You’re wee.” The doctor grabbed the medical kit from the coffee table and slipped the strap


    over his shoulder. “I’ll be taking my leave now, President Fuller.”


    Upon hearing this, Toby jerked his chin at Tom and said, “Tom, see the doctor out and drop by the


    security office along the way. We need to find out the precise time when Tina showed up around the


    area.”


    “Yes, sir!” Tom nodded respectfully, then politely indicated for the doctor to leave through the door.


    The doctor took the lead, and Tom fell in step behind him.


    When the door clicked shut, Sonia and Toby were the only ones left in therge


    office.


    Presently, her gaze flickered over to his bandaged ankle as she asked, “Do you need to use the


    restroom or go back to your work desk?”


    Toby shook his head. “No. Why do you ask?”


    Sonia replied, “What I meant was, if you need to go to the restroom or back to your desk to sort


    through documents, then all you have to do is tell me. Think of me as a human crutch, if you will,


    since you can’t exactly walk on your own at the moment.”


    “Oh,” he said, then nodded slowly as he considered this option. “Got it. I’ll let you know if I need


    your help.”


    “Right, so you will,” she said with a smile. “And if you don’t because you want to save me the


    trouble or whatever, just know that it’ll add to my guilty conscience. Regardless of how things


    culminated, the fact remains that you busted your ankle because you wanted to save me.


    In all fairness, Tina had wanted to run the both of them down, but if Toby had dodged away without


    pulling Sonia along with him, he would have beenpletely unhurt. At the end of the day, Sonia


    was the reason he would be limping for the next few days.


    At the sight of her guilty expression, Toby sighed. “Come on, don’t be too hard on yourself. I brought


    this onto myself when I rushed to keep you from getting run down.”


    “You could say that, but—” She was cut off abruptly by the sound of her phone ringing. Frowning,


    she fished the phone out of her purse and saw Charles’ name shing on the screen. She turned to


    Toby and muttered, “Sorry, I have to get this.”


    Toby hummed in response. “Go ahead.”


    She slid her thumb across the screen to pick up the call and pressed the phone to her ear. “Hey,


    Charles.”


    “Hey, baby. I thought you’d have dropped the jewelry off at Toby’s by now,” Charles said on the


    other line.


    Sonia gave Toby a brief look and replied, “I have.”


    “Then why aren’t you back yet? It’s been ages, and we said we’d go over to sign off on the factory


    later, remember?” Charles pointed out.


    She checked the time. “Sorry, but I’ll be runningte. Something came up.”


    “Something came up? What is it, baby?” Charles grew concerned. “Do you need my help?”


    “No,” she said, smiling as she shook her head. “It’s fine. Everything has been handled for now.”


    Relieved, Charles prompted, “Oh, well, in that case, hurry back. Anyter and the construction team


    will be getting off their shift.”


    Sonia nodded and gave a small hum.


    “Okay, I’ll get back as soon as possible.” “Alright. See youter, then.” Having said this, Charles


    ended the call.


    Sonia set the phone aside, and Toby handed her a ss of water as he asked, “So, what did


    Charles want?”


    “Thanks,” she mumbled as she took the ss. Then, in response to Toby’s question, she exined,


    “You know how you gave me a piece ofnd a couple of months ago because of Tina? I built a


    factory on it, and now the construction is nearly done. They want me to go over and run a final


    check before signing off on it.


    “Congrattions,” Toby said cheerily. “Now that you have a factory, you won’t have to outsource


    manufacturers for your inventory.”


    He raised his own ss of water and made a toast to her new achievement.


    Seeing this, Sonia broke into a smile and clinked her ss against his. “You’re right.


    I won’t have to stoop down to beg for others’ favors or put my pride on the line now that I have the


    factory set up.”


    She still remembered how she had gone to Autumn Crest Hill for a meeting with Director Sandberg


    and his team. She had only just taken over Paradigm Co. then, and she was supposed to negotiate


    for manufacturing contracts with Director Sandberg, but all she got out of the deal was a round of


    harassment from the old director and his team of leering men. If Toby had not shown up to intervene


    back then, Director Sandberg and his employees might have had their way with her.


    She shuddered at this, disgusted by how vile the experience had been and how she would hate to


    relive it.


    “With the factory close topletion, have you looked into equipment suppliers?” Toby asked after


    sipping his water, drawing Sonia out of her thoughts.


    She frowned. “I haven’t actually decided on that, but I’m considering international suppliers, since


    their engineering technology is much more advanced than what I could find in the local market.


    That being said, I’m going to need a buying channel if I set my mind on overseas equipment, and I


    am without one at the moment.”


    “I could make arrangements for you,” Toby offered, eyeing her steadily.


    She shook her head vehemently when she heard this and pped her hand to turn him down. “Oh,


    no, don’t trouble yourself. I intend to take a look at the equipment myself when I go overseas.”


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    He cocked a brow at this. “I didn’t know you were nning a trip abroad.”


    sping her ss of water, Sonia hummed thoughtfully and said, “A friend from my alma mater is


    throwing an engagement party next month on the tenth. She called me up two days ago and invited


    me to the party, and apparently, her fiancees from a family that owns a miningpany.


    They’re supposedly coborating with a lot of engineeringpanies, so when I go over next


    month for her party, I’ll try my luck and see if I can set up a buying channel.”


    Next month on the tenth... Engagement party... The fiancees from a family that owns a mining


    company...


    These strung together in Toby’s mind, and he wondered idly if they were part of a coincidence as he


    nced in the direction of his work desk, the drawer of which contained the invitation to an


    engagement party.


    Much like Sonia’s friend, the soon-to-be groom who had sent Toby the invitation was having the


    engagement party on the tenth of next month, and his family happened to also be in the mining


    business.


    Connecting the dots, Toby deduced that he and Sonia would be attending the same engagement


    party in the following month.


    Amused by the thought of this, he began to smile, and soon a low chuckle escaped him.


    Next to him, Sonia shot him a baffled look and asked, “What’s so funny?”


    “Nothing,” he sputtered softly, lowering his gaze to hide the lingering amusement in his eyes. He


    had no ns of telling her that they would be attending the same engagement party, because he


    would very much like to see how she would react when she saw him on the day of.


    Would she be surprised or overjoyed? Or both ?


    He could almost see her staring at him, wide-eyed with astonishment. The picture alone was


    enough to entertain him, and he resisted the urge tough once more.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was a little flustered by Toby’s sudden mysterious front, but she didn’t


    want to press further if he had no intention of telling her in the first ce. Everyone had their own


    secrets, after all.


    She put her phone into her bag, and she had only just tugged on the zipper when she heard Toby


    ask, “By the way, is Charles still calling you baby?”


    At that moment, Sonia wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but she thought Toby had added


    emphasis to the word ‘baby’. He had also said it in a hoarse voice, which only added a suggestive


    edge to the word that gave her stomach butterflies and made blood rush to her face.


    Worst of all, he made a point to look deep into her eyes when he said the word ‘baby’, and she was


    having a hard time deciding if he had done so on purpose.


    For a moment, she thought her face was heating up too much and too quickly for her own good.


    She instinctively reached up and patted her cheeks with both hands. Sure enough, her skin felt hot


    to the touch. It didn’t help that her heart was suddenly thumping wildly in her chest, threatening to


    fly out of her chest even though she was trying to stay calm.