Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 1921

Sabina's face went ghostly pale, her pride stung as if Jonathan had publicly slapped her, the humiliation burning beneath her skin.

Jonathan leaned back in his chair with an air of languid authority, his voice a chilling blade, "Focus on your work, Sabina. Don't waste your time on trivialities. I need an assistant who can get things done, not someone who's just trying to cozy up to the boss. If you're aiming to be the latter, you're on the fast track to being shown the door. Got it?"

Sabina clenched her palms, embarrassed to the point of wishing the ground would swallow her whole. Without daring to meet Jonathan's gaze, she murmured a mortified, "Understood."

"Then out you go," Jonathan dismissed her with a tone devoid of any warmth.

Sabina spun on her heel and left the room.

Once outside his office, her face was still a mask of anger and shame, making her have a momentary impulse to immediately go and resign and never appear in front of Jonathan again.

Why was it that Estelle seemed to win Jonathan’s favor with nothing but flattery, while Sabina herself was met with scorn?

Kally approached, frowning in concern as she took in Sabina's troubled expression. "What happened? Did Mr. Lamont chew you out?"

He had indeed been in a foul mood these past few days.

Sabina shot Kally an icy glare, "Mind your own business and focus on your work. Less gossiping!"

Kally's eyes widened, watching Sabina storm off in a huff. She muttered under her breath, "What's gotten into her?"

Back in the office, Kally handed Jonathan some documents to sign, asking softly, "Mr. Lamont, why hasn't Ms. Macclain been around?"

Jonathan's pen paused, his reply succinct, "She went home."

"Oh!" Kally realized, understanding why her boss had been so off-kilter – he was temporarily separated from his girlfriend.

After Jonathan finished signing, Kally gathered the documents and respectfully said, "The executive meeting starts in ten minutes. I'll go prepare the materials."

"Okay," he nodded.

The morning flew by, and Jonathan had a lunch meeting which kept him until three in the afternoon. Taking a phone call, he stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, noticing how the weather had turned, snowflakes beginning to drift down.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Bye!"

Estelle's lips curled into a smile as she ended the call.

Jonathan powered down his phone, his gaze returning to the intensifying snowfall. A nagging feeling crept in. Something felt off.

It had been two days, three calls, and every time Estelle had picked up exactly after seven seconds. He had a sharp sense of timing; it couldn't be a coincidence.

More so, during the call, Buddy had been perched right above Estelle, yet it hadn't made a single sound. Usually, during their calls, Buddy was always a playful nuisance, calling out for Ella or Jonathan.

And for all these days, he had never once seen Estelle and her grandfather together in the frame.

Jonathan stood up abruptly, his thoughts seeming far-fetched even to himself. But once the seed of doubt was planted, it refused to be tamed.