chapter281

"I'll give you a checkup another day."

Connor looked at her, concern softening his voice. "You have enough on your plate already. I don't want you getting worn out. I found a doctor for myself. I'll just let them take a look."

Lydia blinked, putting two and two together. Miracle Hands. Connor was so

determined to see this legendary doctor, she figured she might as well let him go for

it.

"Alright, take care on the road," she said.

Before leaving, Connor pulled her close, holding her gently for a moment. He pressed a kiss to her temple, lingering there, reluctant to let go. Then he finally released her and got into the car.

Aiden, waiting behind the wheel, watched the whole thing with a bit of envy. Connor and Lydia looked picture-perfect together. He'd already finished the assignment from the old man, though, so he didn't dare sneak another shot.

As soon as Connor was settled, Aiden started the engine, ready to go, but Connor stopped him. "Wait."

Aiden turned, puzzled. "What's up, Boss?"

Connor took his time, pulling out his phone, tapping it a couple of times, then showing the screen to Aiden.

Aiden's mind went blank in an instant.

"You took this?" Connor's voice was calm and cold as usual.

Connor figured out that Aiden was the only one who could have taken the photo, especially from that angle.

B... Boss... His voice shook, his palms growing sweaty. He was done for. Was he about to get shipped off somewhere remote?

"Boss, it was Mr. Jefferson. He

made me do it. He was worried

about you and Lydia, so he gave me strict orders. I really didn't want to. Aiden was nearly in tears. The old manywas, so uffeliable was off the photo supposed to be just for him How did it end up on the boss' phone? If they wanted him gone, couldn't they just say so instead of playing these games?

Connor raised an eyebrow, half amused. Just as he thought. Aiden would never

have had the guts to do it on his own.

"The photo's not bad. Go get a bonus from finance," Connor said.

Aiden, who had braced himself for the worst, was stunned. What did that even mean?

Connor looked at him. Next time, send the photos to me directly. Don't send them to anyone else. Or you'll find yourself on a flight out of here."

Aiden felt like he'd just survived a wild rollercoaster. His heart was racing, but at least he was safe... for now.

"Yes, Boss! I'll remember that!" he said, almost breathless with relief.

Meanwhile, Lydia's group chat was

exploding with messages. She

couldn't stand watching everyone overthink and gossip, so she tagged everyone and typed He's my fiance Were just seeing how things go

She smiled to herself as she put her phone away. The notifications blew up again. The old folks had nothing better to do and loved to gossip. For them, the group chat was just another way to pass the time.

Back inside, Lydia greeted everyone downstairs, then headed up to her room. She still had a lot to get done.

Garrett said his goodbyes, then went upstairs too. He stopped in front of Lydia's door and knocked softly. Lydia?

Lydia heard him and quickly opened the door. "Garrett, what's up?"

Garrett pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. I wasn't sure what you liked, so the gifts I bought were probably a little generic. Take this card. There's fifty million on it. Its not much, but you can buy whatever you want. Don't be shy with me."