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)
Adrian is hoping that he has a chance with Norah and will do everything and anything in his power to keep Norah and Xavier apart....
Thank you for the updates. I hope that Norah will remember Xavier and their relationship before the accident and that they will ever be to....
Thank you, thank you for the updates today, which is also my birthday. The saga continues. I really want Norah and Xavier to be together... but he has to want Norah....
May we have updates please. Thank you....
Why can't m Xavier just admit that he loves Norah...
Why can't m Xavier just admit that he loves Norah...
Norah took Estelle to tutor her brother. Both of them are around the same age. So why is Janice and Xavier father feel that there's an age gap for Norah and Xavier. L I know they will be together....
Norah isn't a girl, but a twenty -five year old beautiful woman that loves Xavier Fleming/Gonzalez/Hanson....
Update 3103 hasn't been received and it hold pertinent information. Please fix it for us. Thank you....
This is great! I love the updates....