The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 83

The next morning, Natalie woke up even earlier than Hassan.

When she walked out, the housekeeper was just starting to prepare breakfast. "Mrs. Carlson, are you leaving without eating?"

Natalie cast a glance her way. "I'm not eating."

The housekeeper suddenly stepped out of the kitchen, spatula in hand. "Cecily said you need to eat three home-cooked meals a day from now on. She says you're too slender for a healthy pregnancy."

Natalie's expression darkened. "Then you can tell her the problem lies with her grandson, not me."

With that, she walked straight out the door.

Hassan emerged from the bedroom just in time to hear her parting words.

The housekeeper looked at him cautiously. "Should I relay that message to Cecily?"

"No need," Hassan replied coldly.

"Understood."

Hassan looked down at his phone. There was a message from Zeke:

"Nexus Team has a dinner meeting with Mr. Walsh today. Would you like me to arrange for you to attend?"

Hassan replied: "Arrange it."

He quickly got ready. Completely devoid of any appetite for breakfast, he left the house.

Natalie spent the entire morning in the lab.

They had a lunch meeting scheduled with upper management. Originally, Natalie hadn't wanted to attend this kind of corporate dinner.

However, Professor Adler mentioned that the higher-ups had specifically requested to meet their newest team member.

After all, management was the one cutting her seven-figure salary.

Natalie had no choice but to agree.

Marvin Ford stood beside her, leaning in to whisper, "If you really don't want to go, just fake a stomachache later. I'll cover for you. Professor Adler wouldn't have the heart to blame you anyway."

Natalie shook her head. "I already agreed. It's just one meal; it's fine."

She just hoped no one there would recognize her.

At noon, the seven core members headed out together.

As their car pulled into the underground parking garage, Natalie stepped out and froze the moment she spotted a familiar license plate. It was Hassan's.

He was here too.

She nodded.

Standing up, she addressed the room. "Gentlemen, my stomach is feeling a bit upset. I'm going to step out for a moment."

The executives nodded. Natalie noticed one of them staring at her with a distinctly sleazy look, but she didn't overthink it and quickly left the room.

She hid in the restroom for ten minutes before texting Professor Adler, saying she felt sick and was going to the hospital to get checked out.

Professor Adler didn't make a fuss, simply telling her to take care of herself.

Natalie walked out, intending to leave the hotel entirely.

But the moment she stepped into the hallway, she ran into the exact same executive who had been eyeing her creepily in the private room.

He looked to be in his late forties or fifties, with a bloated, overweight frame that screamed of excessive indulgence.

A spike of fear hit Natalie, and she instinctively stepped back.

Before she could, he grabbed her hand. "Seven, right? That's what I heard Professor Adler call you. Mind if I call you that?"

"Please let go of me," she demanded, her voice ice-cold.

Instead of backing off, the man's gaze only grew more amused and predatory.