Chapter 61: Help Me Secure a Position

Before Penelope could finish her sentence, she zipped out like a gust of wind, even thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

The room went quiet again. But that bit of warmth and flirty vibe from earlier? Totally ruined by Penelope's sudden freak-out. All that was left was the strong smell of gasoline... and some awkwardness that wouldn't go away.

Sophia bounced out of Arthur's arms fast, scrambling to stand up straight.

She kept her head down, too embarrassed to look at him, and fumbled to fix her messy clothes.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Mitchell... I'm-I'm okay now..."

Arthur saw how shy and flustered she looked, and a soft look crept into his eyes.

He stood up too, straightening his suit where she'd cried and soaked the front.

"Good you're okay. Let's get out of here first. The smell's too bad."

"Yeah." Sophia nodded like crazy, dying to leave this super embarrassing spot.

They walked out of the villa one after the other.

Right outside, Penelope was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, grinning like a sneak.

She rushed over to Sophia as soon as she saw them, grabbed her arm, and checked her up and down.

"Sophia! You okay? Hurt anywhere? You scared me to death! Did that crazy Vivian do anything to you?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Sophia shook her head and held Penelope's hand, feeling the warmth in her palm. The last of her fear faded away.

"Just tied up for a bit, wrists a little red. Nothing else. Hey, how'd you guys find this place?"

Penelope perked up at that and started telling the story with big gestures.

"It's all thanks to your Mr. Mitchell! He noticed your phone wasn't connecting right away and had someone check your phone's location. The signal cut out near some remote road. He pulled up every camera in the area, searched like crazy, even called traffic control for suspicious cars... Man, it was like a movie! They zeroed in on an old van with no plates, followed the trail here, then sent people to comb every inch. We got here just in time to hear noises inside, so Mr. Mitchell sent that tough guy in first..."

As she talked, she nudged Sophia with her elbow, lowered her voice, and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Not bad, Sophia. Your boss's instincts and speed? Top-notch! From spotting something was wrong to finding you, it didn't even take that long—sky's not fully dark yet! How much does he care to move that fast?"

Sophia: !!! What do you mean "your" Mr. Mitchell?

But hearing Penelope's story stirred up some weird feelings in her chest.

From getting tricked into the car and vanishing to now, it had only been two or three hours tops.

Arthur had noticed something off so quick, used his resources to pinpoint her location fast, and got people here right on time...

She couldn't help glancing up, sneaking a peek at Arthur walking half a step ahead.

His straight back made her heart skip a beat, cheeks heating up again. She quickly looked down.

Penelope caught every bit of it and grinned like a nosy aunt.

Then she remembered something important and pulled out her phone to fiddle with it.

"No way, that was too scary! I'm setting up permanent location sharing with you. If you go off-grid again, I'll know where you are right away!"

Arthur, who'd been quiet, paused a step at that. He glanced over at Penelope's phone screen, eyebrow raised.

"Location sharing? Something like that exists?"

"Of course!" Penelope shoved her phone at him proudly to show off.

"See? Most social apps or map apps have it now. You just authorize each other and boom—real-time location. Perfect for worrywarts like me who freak out if my bestie goes missing!"

Arthur nodded thoughtfully, then looked at the dazed Sophia next to him and said out of nowhere,

"Hook me up with one too."

"Huh?" Sophia blinked. "Mr. Mitchell, why... why do you want it?"

"If she can have it, why can't I?" Arthur said it like it was the most obvious thing.

"You're my secretary. Your whereabouts and safety affect work and the company's image. It's convenient."

Sophia stared in shock.

Penelope fought hard not to let her grin take over her face.

That excuse... so noble-sounding!

Tsk tsk, Mr. Mitchell, your intentions are showing big time.

Sophia had black lines all over her face. It sounded off somehow, but she couldn't pin down why.

Her and her boss sharing locations?

This... isn't this a bit too close? And why does it feel like some weird possessiveness?

"Mr. Mitchell, that doesn't seem right..." Sophia tried to turn it down nicely. "I promise I'll keep my phone on all the time from now on. No more today stuff. Location sharing feels a bit too..."

"What's wrong with it?" Arthur cut her off.

"Today's a lesson. Just do it, for safety. Or do you want me sending people to watch you secretly every day?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Sophia threw up her hands in surrender.

Secret protection? That's basically spying.

Compared to that, location sharing seemed... kinda okay?

"F-Fine then..." She gave in.

In her head, she grumbled: This must be the ultimate fate of office workers—handing over your freedom to track you to the boss.

"That's the spirit!" Penelope egged it on from the side, loving the drama and grinning ear to ear.

"Sophia, see how much Mr. Mitchell cares! Even bothering with location sharing! What does that mean? You're special to him! Right, Mr. Mitchell?"

Arthur cleared his throat and looked away, ears turning a little red.

"Don't overthink it. Just for work."

"Yeah yeah, work needs, got it!" Penelope smirked like a fox.

Sophia blushed harder from the teasing and shot Penelope a grumpy glare.

The group headed to the police station and handed Vivian over to the cops.

Sophia finished her statement and was about to head home to rest when hurried footsteps echoed from outside.

"Sophia! Sophia! Where are you?! You okay?!"

It was Nolan.

He must've heard and rushed over.

He spotted her right away and charged up.

"Sophia! You alright? Hurt? Did that psycho Vivian do anything to you?! Don't be scared—tell me, I won't let her get away with it!" Nolan looked furious.

Sophia calmly brushed off his hand. "Mr. Chase, ever think that if you hadn't hooked up with Vivian, maybe none of this would've happened to me?"