After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 226

Catherine could practically see Lawrence’s playful, coaxing smile on the other end of the line. Her heart started to race, and even through the phone, she felt the heat of his presence.

“Okay, I get it. You too,” Catherine replied softly, then hung up.

Downstairs, Shirley came home. She’d been pulling late nights at work for days, ever since a bug showed up in Resonance AI. So far, no solution in sight.

“Hey, Shirley, you’re back.” Alice hurried down to meet her. The moment she saw Shirley’s tired face, her heart ached.

“Still working overtime? Didn’t Waldo give you a break?” Alice handed her a bowl of the bird’s nest soup she’d just made in the kitchen.

Shirley stirred the soup, her eyes clouded with frustration. “There’s a problem at work.”

“Is it serious?” Alice asked, her tone gentle.

Shirley didn’t want to get into it. Work drama wouldn’t mean much to her mom anyway. She finished the soup, then headed upstairs. As she passed by Catherine’s door, a flicker of annoyance flashed in her eyes.

Word was, Catherine was now running the Apex Initiative project all by herself. But Shirley hadn’t seen her working late even once. With Catherine’s skill set, how was she breezing through so easily?

Inside her room, Catherine heard Shirley come home and couldn’t suppress a little smile. She figured the glitch in Shirley’s Resonance AI must have finally come to light.

She’d taken a look at Shirley’s project before. There were multiple bugs, and no way to upgrade the system—just endless patches to keep things limping along.

Shirley was desperate to prove herself to Waldo and win his approval. Now that her system was falling apart, it wouldn’t be long before everyone knew about it.

Catherine was just waiting for the truth to come out.

Just then, her phone buzzed. It was Nettie. “Catherine, I’m starting to get nervous. What should I do?”

Tomorrow was Friday—the dinner with the Bugatti owner from that car accident.

“Don’t stress. Just treat it like any other meal,” Catherine replied, trying to be reassuring.

She turned to Naomi. “I have a meeting upstairs soon.”

“It’s probably with the president. Catherine, you’re finally going to meet him face to face.”

Catherine thought, if she really did see the boss, she owed him a proper thank you. After all, he’d helped her get her grandma’s bracelet back.

At 9:50, Catherine arrived outside Conference Room Three. Standing next to Magee was a young man with an unmistakable presence.

Was he the president?

“Catherine, come here. Let me introduce you. This is Nicol,” Magee said.

Catherine gave Nicol a once-over. He looked right back at her, and his eyes immediately brightened. He reached out his hand. “Hi.”