Chapter 821


    Zane made his way up to the highest floor of the building without much hassle and found himself


    standing just outside Toby''s office.


    He was just about to knock on Toby''s door when the one next to it, which led into the personal


    assistant''s office, opened.


    Tom emerged with a folder in hand, and when he saw Zane outside Toby''s office, he froze. "Mr.


    Coleman?"


    Zane raised a brow but made no reply.


    After snapping out of his initial surprise, Tom adjusted his sses and asked, "What are you doing


    here, Mr. Coleman? Are you here to see President Fuller?"


    "Why else would I be standing outside his office?" Zane rolled his eyes at the question. He then


    added, "Is Toby in?"


    As though realizing that his question was redundant, Tom let out an embarrassed cough and


    answered stoically, "Yes, he''s in. If you''d like to see him, I''ll go and inform him of your arrival. Just a


    moment, please."


    Zane narrowed his eyes and asked before Tom could slither into Toby''s office, "What, do I have to


    announce myself now that I want to see him?"


    Tom could tell that the man was decidedly grumpy about this, but he remainedposed as he


    exined patiently, "Here''s the thing, Mr. Coleman. Your affection for Miss Reed has made


    President Fuller rather unhappy, and as such, he has told me that you are not allowed to go right


    into his office like old times just to see him; you will need his permission." With that, he shrugged


    helplessly as if to show that he had no choice in the matter.


    Zane quirked his lips and clicked his tongue, clearly irritated by this unexpected rule. "A little childish


    and petty of him to deny me from seeing him without prior notice just because of my feelings for


    Sonia, don’t you think so? Fine, whatever. Just go in and tell him that I''m here." He waved his hand


    impatiently as he spoke.


    "Very well," Tom said with a professional smile. Then, he turned to knock on Toby''s door.


    "Come in," Toby''s cold and crisp voice called out from beyond the door after Tom had knocked


    thrice.


    Tom let his hand drop to his side and opened the door. He walked in and said, "I have the


    documents you asked for, President Fuller."


    As he sat behind his work desk, Toby hummed in response without looking up to acknowledge his


    assistant. "Just leave them here."


    "Yes, sir." Tom carefully ced the folder on a spot on the desk that was within Toby''s reach. After


    that, he took a step back to put some distance between himself and the desk before saying,


    "President Fuller, Mr.


    Coleman is here to see you."


    Toby stopped writing abruptly when he heard this, and his pen scraped a hole through the paper.


    His handwriting was ruined too, and it didn''t look as neat now.


    As he frowned, he set his pen aside and took up the piece of paper before crumpling it and throwing


    it into the trash. After that, he rubbed the space between his brows and asked somberly, "What is he


    doing here?"


    Tom shook his head. "I''m not sure. I didn''t ask, but judging by how at ease he seems, I reckon he''s


    here to catch up with you."


    Upon hearing this, Toby sputtered. "There''s nothing for us to catch up on, so he must be here for


    some other reason or ulterior motive. Let him in." "Very well, President Fuller," Tom said with a nod.


    Then, he turned to walk out the door.


    Toby leaned into his seat and closed his eyes. He used his hands to massage the area around his


    eyes as though to relieve them of the weariness from a day''s work.


    Just then, he heard the sound of approaching footfalls. Fie knew who hade into his office, but


    that didn''t deter him from massaging the area around his eyes, nor did it make him open his eyes


    and greet the person. It was as if no one had entered in the first ce.


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    Zane was not at all peeved by Toby''s outright indifference, and he merely chuckled as he looked


    around the office. While doing so, he mused mischievously, "My, my, Toby—it''s only been months


    since 1st dropped in here, but I can see you''ve made some very big changes. I won''t say much


    about the warm-colored carpet, but those throw pillows on the couch and the adorable odds and


    ends that I''m sure are part of your new decoration? I''m a little surprised, honestly. You didn''t


    redecorate the space for Sonia, did you?"


    Toby’s preferences when it came to interior designs were emblematic of what he was like as a


    person—cold and aloof. Be it his own bedroom or his office, he would always go for cooler palettes


    that brought an intimidating edge to the space, and anyone who found themselves standing amidst


    such decor would be unnerved by its obviousck of warmth.


    There had been several asions in the past when Zane tried to persuade Toby to switch up his


    preferences and stop turning his office into something like a torture chamber. "Others might start


    thinking of you as a sadist or something," he had pointed out to Toby back then.


    However, Toby did not take any of his


    advice.


    Now that his office had decorations that would''ve never been there in the first ce, Zane couldn''t


    help but wonder if Sonia was the driving force behind this sudden change in Toby''s preferences.


    Presently, Toby put his hands down and opened his eyes slowly. He ignored Zane''s question and


    instead asked impassively, "What are you doing here?"


    Zane did not try to force an answer out of him. He shrugged nonchntly and pulled out the seat


    across from Toby before he grinned at thetter. "It''s not a big deal or anything; I just want to know


    why you''re trying to hide the identities of Sonia''s birth parents from her."


    Toby''s expression shifted at once as a dark look shed in his eyes. He stared at Zane like how an


    eagle might zone in on its prey and hissed, "I don''t know what you''re talking about!"


    Zane rolled his eyes. "Please, like I''d believe you. I heard with my own ears that Jessica was about


    to tell Sonia who her birth parents were while they were in court today, but before she could get her


    words out, the bailiff stopped her. Under normal circumstances, the bailiff would never stop the


    used from speaking to anyone after the court hearing, especially if the perp has onlymitted


    a minor offense like Jessica. Yet, the bailiff stopped her from continuing her conversation with Sonia


    anyway."


    He continued, "Anyone withmon sense would know that the bailiff was acting under someone’s


    orders, and there are only three people in Seafield capable of giving such orders. Two of them have


    nothing to do with Sonia whatsoever, which leaves you as the third and only person who could have


    intervened."


    He was still smiling at Toby even though thetter was already looking mutinous. "Toby, I just want


    to know why you''re so intent on keeping Sonia''s birth parents a secret from her. I can tell from the


    fact that you had someone stop Jessica from spilling the truth that you are terrified of Sonia finding


    out. Is there something about her birth parents that you think could be a problem for her?" he asked.


    Toby clenched his fists and asked in a voice so emotionless that it sent chills running down Zane''s


    spine, "How would you know what took ce during the court hearing unless you were there too?"


    He could think of no other reasonable exnation otherwise.


    Upon realizing that he had exposed himself, Zane shed him a sheepish smile. "Come on, that''s


    not the point here. I was only there by coincidence. After all, I thought you knew about my being


    there at the court hearing after Sonia called you on the phone. Sonia and I had agreed to meet up


    not after the hearing but before it, so I ended up sitting in the courtroom, and..." He let out an


    awkward cough. "Well, that''s how I found out about it."


    Upon hearing this, Toby pressed his lips into a thin line. The nerve of this guy to attend the court


    hearing with Little Leaf! I didn''t attend the hearing, and I''m her boyfriend! However, this douchebag


    decided that he would take my ce and stay through the entire hearing instead!


    The thought infuriated him to no end, and it upset him even more that Sonia did not mention this to


    him when they spoke on the phone earlier. He began to wonder if she conveniently left this detail


    out because she thought it insignificant or if she was trying to keep it a secret from him.


    As he pondered on either possibility, his brows drew together. Meanwhile, the air around him grew


    cold and suffocating.


    Even Zane was starting to feel uneasy. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously


    before saying, "Forget about that, Toby. Come on, tell me what''s the deal with Sonia''s birth parents


    and the exact moment you discovered their identities."


    Toby wouldn''t have gone to such lengths to keep Sonia from learning the truth if he had no idea of


    it. As such, Zane was sure that he had the answer.


    "What''s it to you anyway?" Toby''s eyes narrowed into slits as he gazed at Zane indifferently. "This is


    between me and Sonia, and it has nothing to do with you. You have no right to ask about this."