After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 285

“Amy, I’m getting engaged this Saturday. Would you come? My fiancé is dying to meet someone as talented as you.”

Amy raised her brows, pretending to be surprised. “Really? Congratulations. I’m free that day.”

“Perfect,” Shirley replied. “I’ll have a driver pick you up and bring you to the hotel.”

“No need. Just send me the address. I can get there myself,” Amy said easily.

Shirley nodded, not pushing it. She was the one asking for help, after all.

They chatted a bit longer before Shirley left, feeling more hopeful than she had in days. The second she got into her car, she sent Amy’s optimization plan to her team and told them to start running tests.

She had barely driven ten minutes when her phone rang. One of her team members was on the line, his voice buzzing with excitement. “Shirley, the core ideas are perfect. We already fixed three major bugs.”

Relief and excitement rushed through Shirley. Amy was a genius. One quick plan from her and three of their toughest problems were gone. She had to get Amy to join The James Group soon. No way was she letting that kind of talent slip away.

Her phone rang again. This time, it was Waldo.

Shirley answered, already smiling. “Waldo, hey.”

“Did you meet Amy? Are you sure she’s the creator of Resonance AI?” Waldo’s voice sounded serious.

“I’m sure,” Shirley replied. “I tested her. She gave me optimization ideas right away, all of which worked. Only Resonance AI’s creator could do that.”

“No,” Shirley snapped. There was no way she’d let her broke, embarrassing father anywhere near her engagement party.

“But I’m your father. My blood runs in your veins, I—”

“Stop.” Shirley cut him off sharply, a flash of disgust on her face. “Don’t call me that. Don’t even think about ruining this for me. If you do, you’ll regret it.”

Garnett’s voice got small. “Shirley, how can you say that? It’s not like I didn’t want to raise you. Your mother took you and married into the Blair family without telling me. Can’t I even see you for a minute?”

Annoyance tightened Shirley’s expression. She hated him. To her, he was just a loser.

“I’ll send you some money. Stay out of sight until I’m married into the James family. Don’t mess this up for me.” With that, she hung up, barely able to contain her anger. Waldo could never find out she wasn’t Nestor’s biological daughter. If he did, everything she’d worked for in the James family would fall apart.