Sylvia fiddled with the keychain in her hand, pleasantly surprised by its heft and fine craftsmanship. She had expected some cheap trinket from the store's promotional event, but this was unexpectedly well-made.
Looking up at Gabriel with a soft smile, she said, “I doubt you’d fancy this kind of thing, so I won’t bother offering you one.”
Gabriel nodded in agreement, “Keep them both!”
With a warm smile, Sylvia slid the keychains into her purse.
As they were nearly done with their meal, new customers entered the restaurant and strolled down the aisle past their table. Sylvia caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye and felt a twinge of recognition, but she pretended not to notice.
However, the man had already seen them.
“Hey, what a coincidence, Gabriel! Fancy meeting you here again!” Dannis called out with a sly grin, his eyes darting between Gabriel and Sylvia with a mix of provocation and glee.
Baron strolled up, his gaze darkening as he offered a smirk. “Ms. Jarvis, weren’t you under the weather and too busy to go out?”
Sylvia returned the smile politely, “Indeed, I wasn't feeling up to discussing business, so I had to take a rain check on our meeting, Mr. Barlow!”
Baron’s smile held a hint of sarcasm, “Well, I hope you recover quickly, Ms. Jarvis.”
“Thanks for the kind words!” she replied.
Dannis chimed in, “Since we’ve run into each other, how about we join tables and have a drink together?”
Gabriel looked up with an icy, distant tone, “No thanks, we’re just finishing up.”
His aura was unmistakably standoffish, and with a sharp look, he sent a chill down Dannis’s spine, silencing him.
Baron called over a waiter and pointed to Gabriel’s table, “Put their bill on my tab, and bring two bottles of your finest liquor.”
He looked at Gabriel with a cocky expression, insinuating, “Ms. Jarvis works hard for her money. Don’t let her foot the bill, Gabriel. Am I right?”
Sylvia’s smile cooled, “Thank you, Mr. Barlow, for your concern, but it's really not necessary. For those I choose to treat, I’d spare no expense. As for those I’d rather not deal with, no amount of begging would change my mind.”
Baron’s face darkened, “And who might you be referring to, Ms. Jarvis? Speak plainly!”
“Dad, do you know a guy named Gabriel?”
His father's stern voice came through, “What are you up to now? I’ve told you to stop causing trouble, especially now. I don’t need any headaches!”
“It’s not about trouble. I’m just asking if you know Gabriel,” Baron said, clearly impatient.
“I don’t know him!” Darren Barlow replied firmly.
Reassured, Baron ended the call with a laugh, “Okay, got it.”
Hanging up, he sneered, “Trying to bluff me, huh?”
Dannis added, “He was in our class back in the day. He probably caught wind of something about your father still being in the army and wanted to spook us.”
Baron scoffed, “He almost had me fooled for a second there!”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Why are the chapters not updated regularly? Admin - please keep updating the novel 😓...
Hi admin, kindly update the novel...
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Last updates were 5/28/25. We haven’t had ANYTHING since. I hope all is well with you. Please continue to update this novel. Thank you....
Kindly update the chapters...
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Hello, please update further chapters...
Yea! Thank you for the ten (10) episodes updates. You made my day. Be blessed in all your endeavors....
Dear author Lucy, I look forward to the updates and appreciate your writing. When logging in, you have 2654 completed updates, yet remain inconsistent with your daily updates to your readers. Due to my illness during my ongoing treatments, I enjoy reading the updates. I know we all have situations in life that we must deal with, BUT please be considerate and consistent to the readers. There has been too many times when there has been days, weeks and/or months without updates....