Chapter 369 A Thousand Miles of Tenderness (1)
"I ain't got time to waste words with you!" Dominic's voice was all tight and pissed off.
Cecilia had clearly ticked him off, but he didn't want her to catch on.
He snapped, "I'm calling to let you know this Innovation Arc project is a wake-up call for you! Keep going against me, and don't blame me if I get even tougher!"
So, Dominic was just here to rub it in.
Cecilia stayed cool. Right now, Dominic looked like a total clown to her. She shot back, "Dominic, I hope you don't kick the bucket too soon."
Dominic's face twisted, "Cecilia, what the hell do you mean?"
"If you die too soon, it won't be any fun!" Cecilia said, slow and clear.
Then she slammed the phone down.
Wasting another second on Dominic? No thanks.
Cecilia put her phone down and tidied up her desk. She headed out to Rose's office.
Rose looked up, surprised to see Cecilia.
She quickly stood up, "Ms. Lockhart."
"I'm taking a week off," Cecilia said.
"What?" Rose was totally floored.
"I'm leaving now and will be back next Monday."
"Ms. Lockhart, are you..." Rose asked, worried.
Everyone would think she was taking it too hard.
"Try not to bug me this week unless it's an emergency. Handle everything else when I get back," Cecilia said.
"Got it."
With that, Cecilia was ready to leave.
"Ms. Lockhart." Rose called out quickly.
"Yeah?" Cecilia turned to her.
"Don't you have any work to assign?" Rose asked.
Last time Cecilia left, she had dumped a ton of work on them.
Now she was leaving without a word, which was super weird.
"Just keep things running. We'll talk about other stuff when I get back," Cecilia said coolly.
Rose watched her leave, totally puzzled. How could Cecilia be knocked down by one project?
It seemed unreal.
Cecilia booked the earliest flight to Harborvale.
She packed quickly and took Augustus with her.
Sitting in first class, Cecilia pulled out her phone to check the news before takeoff.
If she was right, today's bidding news would be all over the headlines.
Sure enough, as soon as she opened the news app, there it was!
#Innovation Arc's $2 billion project goes to the Kingsley family, shocker!#
#Lockhart Group takes a hit, both financially and reputationally, thanks to Cecilia!#
#Kingsley Group says Innovation Arc project is mostly for public good, not profit!#
#Kingsley Group throws shade at Lockhart Group's bidding fail, blames it on Lockhart's negligence!#
Cecilia clicked on the articles.
This project had put the Kingsley Group in the spotlight.
Everyone loves a good plot twist in the news.
Cecilia even saw comments about the Kingsley family's stock price shooting up because of this win.
There were also long-winded analyses saying the Kingsley Group went head-to-head with the Lockhart Group because of their rivalry, and this showdown proved that, no matter what kind of jerk Dominic was, he was definitely better at this game than Cecilia.
Cecilia smirked, thinking, 'Dominic thinks he can whitewash himself with this win?'
She turned off her phone, not because she was too mad to look at it, but because the plane was about to take off.
Honestly, she wasn't even that mad. The Kingsley family's shade, people saying she was less capable than Dominic—it was all just amusing to her.
After reading the news, she was done with it.
The flight to Harborvale took about 5 hours. It was a new city for her, probably for Augustus too.
They grabbed their luggage and headed out of the airport. It was already past 6 PM.
Cecilia knew Alaric's address because he had sent it to her after he settled in, saying she could drop by anytime.
Now that she thought about it, was Alaric hinting for her to come?
They hopped into an airport taxi and headed to Alaric's place.
As they arrived at Alaric's community, Cecilia's heart started pounding. Just the thought of seeing Alaric soon made her excited.
She wondered how Alaric would react to her sudden appearance. Would he be as thrilled as she was?
She didn't dare to think too much, afraid her heart might burst.
Dragging her luggage with Augustus, she reached Alaric's door and pressed the doorbell.
No answer.
She pressed it again.
Still nothing.
Augustus quickly suggested, "Should I call Mr. Whitaker?"
"No need," Cecilia said. She wanted to surprise Alaric.
"Should we wait here?" Augustus asked.
Cecilia nodded, then noticed the keypad lock on the door. She thought for a moment, punched in a series of numbers, and heard the lock click open.
She was surprised at herself.
Augustus was stunned too. "You know Mr. Whitaker's password?" he asked.
"I guessed it," Cecilia replied honestly.
They walked into Alaric's apartment. Cecilia was familiar with the place from their video chats. She dragged her luggage into Alaric's bedroom and told Augustus, "You can stay in this room."
She pointed to the adjacent bedroom.
Augustus shook his head. "I won't stay here."
"Why?" Cecilia was surprised.
"Mr. Whitaker wouldn't allow it," Augustus said bluntly.
"He won't mind," Cecilia quickly said.
"He'd think I'm intruding on your time together," Augustus said. "I'll stay at a nearby hotel. Call me when you're leaving, Mrs. Whitaker, and I'll come to pick you up." With that, Augustus dragged his luggage and left. Cecilia felt a bit guilty but chose to stay silent.
She sat on the living room sofa, waiting for Alaric. He usually didn't come back until after 9 PM.
There were still two hours to kill.
Feeling a bit bored, Cecilia picked up her phone and called Seraphina. She had seen Seraphina's missed call after getting off the plane but hadn't had a chance to return it.
As soon as the call connected, Cecilia's ears were almost blown out!
"If you didn't call me back, I was gonna report you missing!" Seraphina shouted.
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