The Platonic Trap novel Chapter 115

Ever since she moved into Alistair's estate, Celia had been trying to figure out how to ensure he came back more frequently.

Work was the perfect excuse. That was why she had used her recent graduation as a reason to ask for an internship at Zucker Corp. She needed a justifiable way to force a "closer connection" with him.

If she actually put her mind to it, those files would have been sorted in record time. But instead, she simply kept her screen on, intentionally dawdling as she processed the completely useless data.

She stayed at her desk until 10:00 PM.

Alistair's message finally came through.

Alistair: [The staff at Aerie Manor told me you haven't come home yet.]

He had flown out of town that afternoon for a business trip and wasn't scheduled to return for two weeks.

As the master of the estate, word that she hadn't returned had reached him almost immediately.

Seeing the message, a calculated smile touched Celia's lips. She tapped her screen.

Celia: [First day on the job! I'm still a bit clumsy, so I'm catching up on some files.]

Alistair: [When are you going home?]

Celia: [Soon, soon! I'm almost done!]

Alistair: [Alright. Let me know if you run into any trouble.]

Celia: [I know. Get some rest, Uncle Alistair~]

Alistair: [You too.]

Locking her phone, Celia's smile deepened.

No, it still wasn't enough.

She dragged the pointless task out until 2:00 AM.

Finally, she stretched her arms, shut down the computer, and drove home.

The Aerie Manor.

The moment she walked through the doors, a maid rushed forward to take her bag and coat.

"Ms. Stafford, why are you back so late today?" the maid asked with genuine concern.

She gave a clipped reply and hung up before he could spit out another word.

After getting washed and dressed, she skipped the breakfast the chef had prepared, told the staff there was an emergency at work, and drove straight to the office.

When she arrived, the floor was empty. Neither Larry nor the rest of the project team was there.

Checking her phone, Celia realized she was over an hour early for the official start of the workday.

Larry was obviously targeting her. She'd known that from the start.

She called him several times before he finally picked up.

"Mr. Lambert, I'm at the office. Where are you?"

"Just start fixing the files. I won't be in for another hour."

Hearing that, Celia almost laughed out of sheer anger.

So he had panicked her into rushing to the office at the crack of dawn, while he was still comfortably sleeping in his own bed?

A vicious, cold light flashed in her eyes as she narrowed them at the empty room.