Chapter 143 Paul Working Overtime
Paul put the documents in his hand into the drawer and locked it.
After putting away the key, Paul heard the familiar sound of high heels. It was Michelle coming to work, and the colleagues around greeted her.
Paul also nodded towards Michelle as a way of greeting.
In the past, Paul had pegged Michelle as a self-centered go-getter. But after that night at the hospital, he got it—everything she did was to give her daughter a better life, no matter the cost.
The hatred in Paul's heart towards Michelle had long disappeared, replaced by more sympathy and respect for this woman.
As for Carol, she was the first girl to confess her feelings to Paul. He could sense her fiery, all-in kind of love, but he just couldn't bring himself to accept it.
"I wonder what Ciara is doing now?" Paul murmured Ciara's name softly, leaning back in his chair as memories of her flooded his mind. But it all came to a halt with the image of her breaking down in tears the last time they were together.
Paul let out a long sigh and then started working.
Meanwhile, Ciara was working out at the gym.
Her tight yoga pants tightly wrapped around her full hips. The graceful curves of her body caught the eyes of many men in the gym.
After finishing a move, Ciara sat on a chair, panting heavily. Just then, a hand appeared, offering her a bottle of water.
"I'm so tired, I need to rest now," Ciara gasped, speaking to Katelyn beside her, then took a sip of water.
Dressed in tight workout clothes as well, Katelyn playfully pinched Ciara's slightly chubby cheeks and teased, "You may look adorably innocent now, but once you see yourself alongside other actresses, you'll realize just how overweight you are."
"I'll regret it a lot then, why didn't I work harder back then! Please stop saying these things, you've repeated them a hundred times already," Ciara pushed away Katelyn's hand, took another sip of water, and resumed her workout.
Katelyn didn't mind Ciara pushing her hand away, instead, she was pleased to see Ciara taking her workouts seriously every time she finished speaking.
"What's this? A tattoo?" Katelyn saw a faint red mark on Ciara's shoulder, resembling a sailboat.
Ciara kept working out, saying, "Nah, it's a birthmark. I'm not into getting inked—those chemicals freak me out."
Katelyn frowned. "You're high-class material. You can't have tats or birthmarks messing up that look. I know some top-notch salons with killer techniques. I'll hook you up with an appointment to zap that thing."
Fear flashed across Ciara's face. "I heard that removing birthmarks or tattoos can be very painful, and it's easy to leave scars. The birthmark on my body is very special, it's only visible during intense exercise or after drinking red wine."
"Such a birthmark exists?" Katelyn looked at Ciara skeptically.
Ciara nodded seriously. "Yes, I'm telling the truth."
After staring at Ciara's expression for a few seconds and confirming she wasn't lying, Katelyn dismissed the idea of helping her remove the birthmark.
"Well, if that's the case, then it's fine. You keep exercising, I'll go now," Katelyn said, turning on her heel and heading for the changing room.
Once in the changing room, Katelyn looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly thought of something.
"Ciara does look a lot like her, maybe she will be an important pawn for me to turn the tables." A faded black-and-white photo flashed in Katelyn's mind—one Lucien kept close, one he'd often cry over. It was a woman who looked just like Ciara. That's why Katelyn had pushed so hard to hand Ciara over to Lucien.
Meanwhile, Ciara, still hitting the gym after Katelyn left, was thinking about Paul.
"Katelyn said Adam's toast, but Paul took a hit because of it. Damn, she's been on my case—couldn't even check on Paul. Hope he's holding up alright," Ciara thought, sending a silent prayer his way.
On the floor where the HR department was located.
It was already time to go home, but Paul was still working overtime.
"Damn it, was there no one to help me with work during the days I was hospitalized?" Paul looked at the pile of thick files on his desk, muttering to himself.
By this time, all the colleagues on the floor had already left, leaving Paul still busy.
"Mr. Parker, you haven't left yet?" Emma suddenly walked over, giving Paul a sweet smile.
"Not yet, I have to finish all the work," Paul sighed helplessly and continued typing on the keyboard.
"Your injury has just healed, and you're going to tire yourself out like this? How about I help you?" Emma offered to help, but as she stepped forward, she slipped and fell directly into Paul's arms.
Paul felt the softness of Emma's body, and both of them fell silent, only the sound of their accelerating heartbeats filling the air.