Bizarre Call
Tom stopped complaining in silence and asked, “What else do you need, President Fuller?”
Toby lowered his head pensively for a moment. “Have you received any weird calls today? Or did you
see any weird people?”
Weird calls? Weird people? Tom shook his head in confusion. “No, President Fuller. Did something
happen?”
“Anya hired our ex-legal department head as her lawyer,” Toby answered.
Tom tried to recall who it was, and he remembered someone. “Oscar?”
“Yes.” Toby nodded. “Connor’s the one who hired him. He thought he could use our connection to get
Anya off the hook, but the negotiation broke down, so he might call you to find out more about me. He
might also send his spies as well.”
Connor would not contact him that easily. Homer was his father after all, and no man would want to come
in contact with the son of the man who took their beloved away.
“I see.” Tom nodded. “Don’t worry, President Fuller. I haven’t received any weird calls today. Didn’t see
any weird people either.”
Toby nodded. “That’s good to hear.”
“By the way, sir…” Tom remembered something and he adjusted his glasses. “Is Connor related to
Anya? Why did he do so much for her? Are they father and daughter just like what we guessed?”
Toby did not answer, but he had a dark look on his face.
The silence was an answer in and of itself.
Tom knew that, and his eyes widened. “She’s actually his daughter?”
Toby chortled sardonically. “The product of an affair.”
Tom gasped. “She’s born out of wedlock? If I remember correctly, she’s twenty-seven, isn’t she? Then,
that means…” Tom’s eyes were as big as saucepans now, and he did not finish his sentence, though he
felt sad for Toby’s mother.
He was one of the people who knew about what Toby’s mother did in her younger days. Of course he
could not stay still after finding out that Connor sired an illegitimate daughter three years after Toby’s
mother was married to Homer. Didn’t he say he would wait for the madam? He promised he wouldn’t get
another woman, but in the end, not only did he do that, but they had a child as well. Everyone in
Westsanshire calls him a loyal man. They say he’s staying single for the madam, but he’s been sleeping
around like everyone else. The madam should have never fallen in love with him.
Tom cursed Connor silently and he asked with concern, “Are you alright, sir?”
Even he felt angry after he found out that Anya was Connor’s love child, let alone Toby. President Fuller’s
heart is getting weaker by the day. He can’t get furious or too emotional. He was worried about Toby.
“I’m alright.” Toby squinted, a storm brewing in his eyes. “I had a guess, so I was prepared for this. I
won’t lose my mind and kill him or something, and I have Little Leaf with me. All is good.”
Tom had a deadpan look on his face. He laughed at himself in silence. I still have to hear about your love
life on the phone? Why are you doing this to me? I’m just trying to help. This is just ungrateful. I can’t do
this anymore. Imma hang up. He rolled his eyes but pretended that he was fine. “That’s good to hear, sir.
I’ll be going now. There’s work to do.”
“You do that.” Toby nodded coolly.
Tom hung up, still looking deadpan.
Toby had no idea that Tom was already grumbling. He put his phone down and tossed it onto the couch,
then he went back to drying his hair. Once he was done, he tossed the towel onto the couch’s armrest
and headed to the kitchen. His hair was still wet, but he was not going to blow them dry. He wanted to
make some soup so Sonia could have it after she woke up.
She had better strength and stamina after doing all the workout. It was better than how she was at first,
but it was far from what he had in mind. She’s still weak. She needs her nutrients. Toby brewed the soup
as fast as he could.
…
A ringtone woke Sonia up. She extended her hand from under the blanket and rummaged around the
bedside table. Her eyes were still closed and she had no idea where she was, but she still did it because
of her muscle memory. She found her phone and swiped right on the screen before placing the device
against her ear. “Hello, may I know who you are?” she asked, her voice languid and hoarse.
She received no answer.
There was a frown on her forehead and she opened her eyes with difficulty. She placed her phone in
front of her, but the screen shone like the sun in the dark room. It almost blinded her, so she closed her
eyes and put her phone back against her ear.
It was just for a moment, but Sonia could see that the call was from an unknown number. She could not
see where the location was, and there was only a string of numbers.
Apparently, the caller had hidden their location, but Sonia did not think it was weird. She received a lot of
similar calls every day—it was either sales calls or her client. The call did not faze her at all, and she
asked politely, “Hello, can you hear me?”
She still had no answer. If it were not because the call was still ongoing, she would have thought the
caller had hung up on her.
Sonia did not force them to talk. She covered her mouth and yawned, which sobered her up a little and
jogged her awake. She tried to sound a lot less sleepy as she explained, “Hello, I’ll be hanging up now if
there’s nothing you want to talk about. If you’re Paradigm Co.’s client, you can call me once you figure
out what you want to talk about. My phone is on 24/7. See you.”
She finished talking and raised her phone to hang up. Sonia opened her eyes and blinked a few times so
she could get used to looking at her phone in the dark.
When she saw the time, Sonia froze for a moment, and her eyes widened. “It’s already seven?” She sat
up abruptly.
Sonia scratched her head and looked at the French window. The curtains were closed, preventing her
from seeing the view outside. However, she noticed that there were neon lights shining in the distance,
and she realized that she was not seeing things. Her phone was working correctly. Indeed, it was already
7.00PM.
The days were short in winter. It would get dark at six and night would fully descend at about seven. All
the neon lights in the city had been turned on. Those lights aren’t natural. They’re neon lights. I’m sure of
it. She held her forehead, looking a little disappointed in herself. She never thought she would sleep
through the afternoon and wake up only at night. Sonia knew she had fallen asleep from the sheer
exhaustion, but she never thought the slumber would last that long.
Right before she slept, she even thought she would just take a nap and go back to Paradigm Co. after
that, but so much for that.
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