She lifted the phone to her ear with a friendly yet distant chuckle, "Mr. Barlow!"
Barlow's voice came through with enthusiasm, "Ms. Jarvis, about that collaboration we discussed yesterday, I'm in quite a hurry over here. How about we meet tonight to talk details, what do you say?"
Sylvia's tone remained unchanged, "I'm terribly sorry, I'm not feeling very well today and was thinking of heading home early. Let's reschedule!"
Barlow's voice lost some of its warmth, "Turning down a business opportunity that's knocking at your door?"
"Of course not, it's just that I'm really not feeling up to it. I'll set a time to discuss everything with Mr. Barlow soon!"
Barlow let out a meaningful chuckle, "Alright then, I wish Ms. Jarvis a speedy recovery, and let's firm up the details of our partnership as soon as possible."
"Thank you for your trust, Mr. Barlow!"
After hanging up, Sylvia strolled over to the couch and plopped down next to Gabriel, tilting her head to rest on his shoulder, her eyes half-closed as she mumbled, "Don't push me to work. I need to rest a bit. As my bodyguard, you can't have any objections."
Gabriel replied with mock seriousness, "I'm not quite up to speed on the job description. Does a bodyguard's duties include providing kisses and a shoulder to lean on?"
Sylvia nestled into his embrace with a laugh, tilting her head back to look at him, "It's more than that. You're my round-the-clock, full-service bodyguard!"
Gabriel pinched her chin gently, "Is this what bodyguards do?"
Sylvia nearly blurted out a response but caught the words at the tip of her tongue, refraining from speaking out of turn.
Gabriel let go and took a sip of his coffee, which had gone tepid, commenting casually, "Must be tough, a young woman doing business like this."
Leaning on his shoulder, Sylvia's posture was relaxed, but her voice was earnest, "It's good to be busy. As for what others say, I've never cared."
"Take care of yourself!" Gabriel advised.
Sylvia looked down, "I will!"
Sylvia thought to herself, ironically, they had only done that last part!
She replied with a smile, "Got it, let's wrap up for the day!"
"See you, boss!" Milanda waved cheerfully, eager to head home.
The rest of the company had already left, and the office building quieted down. Sylvia walked toward her office at a leisurely pace.
Normally, she often worked late by herself, and the silent, dark office sometimes made her feel too alone.
But today, perhaps because she knew he was waiting for her, she’s happy
Pushing open the door to her office, she saw the man sitting on the sofa, as if a lonely, dark corner had suddenly been filled with an influx of light.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Thank you for the updates, this is so exciting now that Sylvia is connecting with her family....
Yea, so glad Mrs. Winters and Evelyn got caught. Thanks for the updates....
Yea,yea,yea so happy for Sylvia, Georgia and Gabriel. Thank you ... now for Evelyn....
Update 2842 isn't working, please fix it. Thank you for the updates....
Evelyn will MAFO that Jonathan has someone checking on her and the Winters family. I really do hope her scheme is revealed and she is put out of the Jarvis family. She's jealous and vindictive. Thank you for the updates....
Thank you for the updates. Update 2836 isn't working....
Update 2836 isn't working, please fix it. Thank you as always for the updates....
Is author planning to finally reveal Sylvia's true identity? 😍...
I wish that Gabriel would begin his pursuit of Sylvia. Thank you for the updates....
Update 2812 isn't working, please fix it. Thank you...