The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate (Brandon and Sophia) novel Chapter 763

Kent felt his heart skip a beat. “This is out of nowhere. Why would Mr. Crawley suddenly tell you to wire me money?”

“That, I’m afraid, I don’t know,” the finance officer replied, all business. “We just act on the instructions we receive.”

“Did Mr. Crawley say anything else?” Kent pressed.

“No, nothing.”

“Nothing at all?” Kent frowned.

He hesitated, then asked, “Can you tell me his exact words?”

“He just said to transfer this amount to your payroll account.”

“…Alright, I understand. Thank you,” Kent managed after a beat, trying to steady his nerves.

He hung up, his mind in turmoil, unable to resist glancing toward Brandon’s office. The blinds were still down; Brandon hadn’t come in yet. Was he running late, or was he not coming at all today?

Since dropping Sophia home the night before, Kent hadn’t seen Brandon, nor had they spoken by phone or messaged on WhatsApp. Brandon hadn’t reached out, and Kent, feeling guilty, hadn’t dared to make the first move. So whether Brandon had gone home, whether he’d talked things out with Sophia, what came of it—Kent knew nothing. He didn’t even know if the contract with Harvey Ferber had gone through. All he’d heard was that Ferber hadn’t looked too pleased, and legal still hadn’t received a signed copy back from Brandon.

He’d thought about texting Sophia to ask how things ended up, but he’d held off. He didn’t want to risk interrupting if she and Brandon were together, or worse, have Brandon intercept the message and see their chat. Besides, Kent was busy last night. So, he’d let it go.

He’d planned to gauge Brandon’s mood today and maybe fish for answers. Instead, before he even saw Brandon’s face, he got a hefty bank transfer without any explanation.

They say you shouldn’t accept rewards you haven’t earned, and the unease in Kent’s chest grew. He’d worked with Brandon for years; the man was always clear about rewards and consequences. This—getting a large sum with no reason—was a first. Kent couldn’t think of anything he’d done lately that deserved a bonus, much less one in the seven figures. If anything, he’d done something punishable just yesterday—ignoring Brandon’s warning and encouraging Sophia to sabotage the deal.

It wasn’t a huge offense, but it wasn’t nothing either. Now Kent wasn’t sure if this mysterious payment meant things had spun out of control, or if everything had worked out for the better. He couldn’t tell anymore.

He used to be able to. Before Sophia’s accident, if Brandon was late or absent, there was only one explanation—they’d had a fight. After the accident, if Brandon was late, it meant he was lost in grief over Sophia. Now that Sophia was back, there were two possibilities: either they’d fought, or they were off somewhere being disgustingly happy.

Kent had no idea which it was today. With a silent sigh, he looked away from Brandon’s empty office, then hesitated, opening up Google. He typed into the search bar: “How to calculate severance pay.”

A flood of results popped up. Kent clicked on one at random, comparing the guidelines line by line as he grabbed a notepad and pen to estimate how much severance he’d get if he were being fired—and whether it matched the amount Brandon had sent.

He was so caught up in his calculations, he didn’t notice Lynn, his assistant, approaching with a stack of reports until she was right behind him. She caught a glimpse of his screen—giant letters spelling out “How is severance pay calculated?”—and she froze, leaning closer.

On the monitor, a legal summary was displayed: “According to Section 47 of the Zenitha Employment Act, employees are entitled to one month’s salary for every full year of service.” Kent’s notepad was covered in messy calculations, his face tense as he worked out years of service and potential payout.

His handwriting was barely legible, but Lynn recognized her own hire date among the scrawled numbers.

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