Helen’s POV:
“Go open up, I believe the technicians are here.” George‘s gentle voice on the phone finally relieved me
a bit. When I opened the door, people from the technology department of Zhester Technology were really
there.
After handing the phone to them, George told them what parts to check, and also asked them to switch
the lock from smart mode to normal mode.
I didn‘t know anything about what he was saying but hearing how seriously he was directing them put me
at ease. When the technicians were done with their work, they left. I bade George goodnight and was
about to hang up. However, George said, “Helen… if you still feel worried, you can just stay at a hotel.
I‘m not going to be back for two more weeks, so you can just stay in my suite. Actually you won‘t be
spending so much time commuting if you stay there. You‘ll have more time to rest.”
I could hear the concern in his voice, but I still refused his proposal.
“Thank you, but that won‘t be necessary. The lock is fixed now, so I‘ll be okay. I’m really grateful for your
help tonight,” I said.
Then I hung up before he could reply. It was late, so I thought I would be tired and fall asleep quickly, but
I couldn‘t fall asleep at all, and kept tossing and turning in bed for a long time. It was as though there was
an antenna in my brain, desperately scrambling for information around me. The information filled my
brain until it was about to burst.
I‘d been suffering from insomnia like this for weeks and it kept getting worse. At first, I found myself
waking up in two–hour intervals, but it had gotten to the point where I barely even slept at all. I worked at
the law firm during the day, so I didn‘t have time to think about any other things while working, but when I
came home, it all came crashing down, and I would feel exhausted and scared.
That was when I finally realized the severity of the matter. It seemed something was really wrong with
me. My thoughts wandered to my mother‘s mental illness and I wondered if I had inherited it. It was
common knowledge that mental illness could be hereditary. With this in the back of my mind, I couldn‘t
delay any longer.
I went to the hospital immediately. I used to come here with my mother for her treatment, so I knew how
these visits went. I didn‘t hold anything back from the doctor, so he could diagnose me easily.
“How long have you been experiencing these symptoms?” the doctor inquired.
“I‘ve been feeling like this for about two months.”
“Are you having any other problems apart from the insomnia?”
“Yes. Every time I‘m on my own, there‘s an overwhelming fear that someone is watching me. However, I
know it‘s not real because I live alone.”
The doctor continued his line of questioning, “Did you experience anything significant two months ago?”
“No, nothing that I can think of.” George and I broke up two months ago, but I knew it couldn‘t make me
feel like this even though it was sad. After all, I was the one who broke things off with him, and that was
after I‘d thought about it carefully.
As for Jane, I‘d gotten over what she did to me, so there was no way she could cause me this much
discomfort. The only other noticeable thing from two months ago was that I had some electric appliances
removed from my home and replaced with Zhester Technology‘s intelligent system. However, that was
normal.
Surely, there was no way artificial intelligence could affect my mental health, right? So the only option I
was left with was that I had mental problems. If that was the case, I was scared I wouldn‘t be able to take
care of myself as it got worse. How then would I take care of my mother? That was my biggest concern.
“I have gone through your mother‘s medical history and I don‘t think this is hereditary. Your mother was
fine until you grew up, and even you said something horrible happened to your life that caused her
mental breakdown, so it‘s highly unlikely that it has something to do with genes. We can easily rule out
genetics.” The doctor analyzed the situation carefully and recommended a consultation with a therapist.
This relieved me a lot. I could deal with this as long as it wasn‘t hereditary. Then I was starting to think it
might be happening because I‘d been under a lot of pressure recently and my mind had been all over the
place.
The doctor reassured me and told me to keep myself calm and not push myself, regardless of whether it
was a mental illness or not. As for his advice of talking to a therapist, I didn‘t think it was necessary yet.
These days, everybody was under a lot of pressure, so I wasn‘t in that much of a hurry to see a therapist.
I just wanted to relax as the doctor suggested and monitor my symptoms for a while. I hoped everything
would be fine if I just poured all my energy into work and stopped worrying about nonsense. I hadn‘t told
anyone about it, not even Lucy.
Lucy‘s career was booming, and she was getting busier every day so the last thing I wanted was for her
to worry about me. When I got to work on Monday, I immediately poured myself into the Spacetime
Finance case.
There wasn‘t enough information online and Korbin Wilson, who was in charge of the acquisition, didn‘t
show up at all. Every time I went to Spacetime Finance, the assistant would be very flippant with me.
She repeated the same things every time without giving me any useful information. She only said she
would let me know when bidding began.
Still, I didn‘t give up. I had never paid the assistant much attention before. I forgot that I needed to be
cordial with her at least. It was always kind of tit–for–tat these days.
After I figured that out, I went back to Spacetime Finance, but I didn‘t insist on seeing Korbin. I focused
on the assistant this time and asked her out for dinner. The assistant rejected me several times, but I
was unperturbed, and my persistence paid off because she finally agreed to have dinner with me.
Initially, I only wanted to show her my position instead of prying into the company‘s affairs, so I said, “No
matter what the outcome is, we will still be friends.”
We spent most of our time together as friends and talked about what we enjoyed doing apart from work. I
kept my word and never crossed any boundaries. Spacetime Finance was going to acquire Fantail
Entertainment, so I directed the conversation toward the entertainment industry on one of our dinner
dates. That was when she told me the truth.
“Mr. Wilson isn‘t the one who makes the big decisions like this. It‘s Mr. Collins, the CEO. Wanna know
why he wants to make the purchase? It‘s because his daughter, Velma Collins, wants to enter the
industry.”
There were many pop stars in Fantail Entertainment, as well as several high–budget movies and series
in the works. If I could understand what my client really wanted, it would give me an advantage in the
bidding.
Immediately the conversation swerved towards the entertainment industry, the assistant‘s lips loosened
up, and she said, “I like a lot of the stars in Fantail Entertainment, especially Sanford Fuller. He is so
handsome and talented. He‘s one of my idols.”
Sanford Fuller? I didn‘t usually pay much attention to the entertainment industry, but I had gotten more
into it because of the case. Regardless, those names and faces still confused me. However, I quickly
remembered some of his works I‘d read about, and I started talking about some of the characters he
played.
“I enjoyed watching him play the villain in the new movie.”
Praising stars in front of their fans was one of the skills I learned from Lucy. As expected, when the
assistant heard what I said about Sanford, she felt as if she had met a kindred spirit.
“You must be busy as a lawyer. How do you have time to keep yourself updated with what goes on in the
entertainment industry?”
“I might be a lawyer, but it doesn‘t make me any less human. I am allowed to enjoy these things in life,” I
said with a smile. I noted what the assistant liked and disliked and when I got home, I checked online for
what I could find on Sanford. I found out his birthday was coming the next month, and he was hosting a
meet and greet for his fans.
The tickets for the meet and greet would be sold on his official website. I immediately joined the waitlist
for the ticket, so I could give it to the assistant. I held my phone in my hand well into the night as I waited
for the tickets to be released. It was so funny because
I had never done such a thing before. Still, I was happy. It felt good to go all out and strive for my goal,
even if I had to push myself out of my comfort zone. I was working hard to make things work like a
professional should.
The tickets sold out almost as soon as they were released. I didn‘t even stand a chance. I had no luck
getting a ticket after several attempts, so I turned to Lucy for help. Lucy got the ticket on the second day
and I had it sent to Korbin‘s assistant immediately. Even though I was only looking at her messages
through a screen, I could feel her excitement as she expressed her gratitude over and over and insisted
on taking me out to dinner.
I gladly accepted because I knew I would be able to book an appointment with Korbin if I continued
playing along. Just as I thought, she helped me get to Korbin. Anya singled me out at the department
meeting and praised me, but just to be on the safe side, she arranged for Phil to go to Korbin‘s office with
me.
Phil‘s presence gave me a boost of confidence. He was more experienced than me, and he would be
able to respond properly no matter what Korbin threw at us.
After we finished talking about the acquisition case, we talked some more about the entertainment
industry and the self–driving tour. No matter what we talked about, Phil had his contributions. Korbin was
impressed with Phil throughout the meeting. The two of them were almost like instant best friends and in
the end, Korbin even kindly saw us off to the elevator.
“Korbin is a cunning fox. You have to keep an eye on him,” Phil reminded me.
“That can‘t be true! I thought he was very satisfied with us just now.” I was confused and it showed on my
face when I looked at Phil. Korbin had looked sincere, and the conversation went smoothly.
“Not necessarily. You‘re a lawyer, so you know the rules. Don‘t trust words so easily unless they‘re in a
contract.”
“I see. Thank you for the reminder, Phil.” I reflected on myself and realized that Phil was right. I could be
too trusting sometimes
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