After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 216

After breakfast, Catherine got a text from Nettie. Dinner tonight?

Lawrence’s phone buzzed too. The message was short. “Lawrence, let’s meet tonight.”

It was from Nicol.

Lawrence replied with a simple, “Sure.”

News spread fast. The Blair Group had just become a Nexus Dynamics subsidiary, and everyone in the industry was talking about it. Other business owners couldn’t hide their envy. When you joined Nexus Dynamics, you might as well buckle up and get ready for takeoff. Everything changed overnight.

Nestor was so happy, he could barely sleep. He felt years younger. Alice had heard about the acquisition too, but she couldn’t enjoy it. All the credit for The Blair Group’s success seemed to land at Lawrence’s feet.

By the time Shirley got married, Lawrence would probably be running the whole company.

Shirley slept in that morning. She and her team had stayed up late, trying to figure out the watermark problem. No matter what they tried, the mark wouldn’t come off.

At least the creator of Resonance AI wasn’t around anymore. If the original author showed up, that stubborn watermark would be all the proof anyone needed to accuse them of stealing.

She needed to figure out what that watermark really meant.

Around five, Catherine let Lawrence know she’d be out for dinner with Nettie. He replied that he had plans too.

Time with your best friend was always precious. Catherine arrived early at a restaurant near the office and waited for Nettie to show up.

Meanwhile, in his top-floor office at Nexus Dynamics, Lawrence was in a video meeting when his phone lit up again. “Lawrence, same place as always.”

He texted back, “Okay.”

At five, the streets weren’t too busy. Nettie was behind the wheel of her red Mercedes, heading toward Nexus Dynamics.

A tall man in a dark gray suit got out. He was ridiculously handsome, though right now, his face was clouded with annoyance.

It was Nicol.

He glanced at the back of his car. A patch of paint was scraped off, a deep scratch running along the surface. Then he looked at Nettie, studying her.

“I’m so sorry, really! There was this black plastic bag on my windshield, I couldn’t see anything, that’s why I—” Nettie tried to explain, her voice rushed and shaky. But the look on Nicol’s face said he wasn’t buying it.

Nettie glanced back at her windshield. The plastic bag was gone. Her excuse sounded like a total lie.

Nicol’s eyes narrowed. He took a good look at her. She looked about twenty-four or twenty-five, short hair brushing her shoulders, her features sharp and pretty. Something about her made him want to tease her.

“So, tell me,” he said, one eyebrow raised. “Do you like my car?”