?Chapter 431:


    “Yes,” n confirmed without flinching.


    “Alright then.” Freya didn’t argue, only added, “Just let me know when you’re going so I cane along to handle the phone.” n nodded.


    They both got ready, left the house, and made their way to the Briggs Group office.


    When Toby walked up like he did every morning, n shut him down cold. “Stay out of my sight today. I don’t want to look at you.”


    Toby stared at n, his brow furrowed in confusion.


    Had he stepped on andmine without realizing it? What had he done to earn his boss’s frosty re?


    Not one to grope around in the dark, Toby waited until Freya had gone off to manage her own affairs, then quietly followed n into his office. The moment the door shut behind them, he asked outright, “Sir, are you avoiding me because of what happenedst night?” At once, n’s face turned cold, like frost creeping across a windowpane.


    The audacity—to bring it up!


    “That wasn’t on me! After you picked Mr. Shaw, I double-checked with you, and you said you didn’t need me to send you. That’s why I left!” Toby defended himself, a voice inside him screaming that if he didn’t sort this out now, the year-end bonus might slip through his fingers like sand through a sieve.


    n shot back with barely contained irritation, “I was drunk. Do you seriously take instructions from someone three sheets to the wind?” Toby’s mouth snapped shut—n had a point. But the truth was, Kristian had such an imposing presence that Toby didn’t dare step on his toes.


    “If someday I’m drunk again and say I want to try skydiving without a parachute, will you just let me leap off the edge?” n’s voice grew sharp as he started tearing apart Toby’s logic. Toby felt hisposure unravel.


    “You’re joking.”


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    “No, you’re the one making a joke of me.” The memory of the previous night clung to n like a bad taste—especially everything that had happened in front of Kristian. Utterly mortifying.


    And yet, what stung the most—why had he chosen Kristian?


    Why?


    The question gnawed at him like a riddle with no answer.


    “Can you recall exactly what Kristian said when he offered to take me home? Word for word. Don’t skip a single detail,” n pressed, still unsettled by the whole thing.


    Freya had heard a version of events from Gerard, who worked closely with Kristian.


    Whether Gerard had colored the truth remained to be seen.


    But Toby? Toby wouldn’t dare lie.


    “He just asked if you wanted him or me to send you. You picked him.” Toby didn’t sugarcoat it.


    Though n and Kristian had seemed a bit too familiar the night before, Toby didn’t bring that up—those weren’t Kristian’s words.


    n let out a long sigh, defeated.


    He muttered that he wanted to be left alone and waved Toby away. The rest of the day, he locked himself in the office, drowning in regret. Freya, meanwhile, had spent the entire day waiting for him to take action.


    But by the time the office clocks ticked toward closing, not a single word had been said about apologizing to Kristian. At exactly 5:30 PM, her phone buzzed with a message.


    Kristian had written to say his new phone was ready and asked if she could help transfer the data. She replied simply, “Okay.”


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