The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 54

Even though the deals were small, they were just enough to scrape by and hit her KPIs.

Garnett had been living at a hotel the entire time, completely ignoring her existence, and she was more than happy to enjoy the peace.

One morning, Lavinia had an appointment with a lab director. Caught in gridlock traffic, she was on the verge of being late.

"You can just pull over here. I'll walk the rest of the way."

The driver stopped by the curb. Lavinia hopped out, gripped her bag, and started to jog.

She hadn't gone far when her heel wedged violently into a crack in the pavement, nearly sending her sprawling.

Catching her balance, she yanked her foot upward, but the heel was lodged deep, completely stuck.

Someone walked over, crouched beside her, and effortlessly pulled the shoe free.

Lavinia's face went pale the moment she recognized him.

"Charley, what are you..."

"Just passing by." He looked up at her. "In a rush?"

"I—I'm running late." Lavinia started walking as she spoke, but a sharp spike of pain shot through her foot.

She had twisted her ankle in the rush.

"Is it that urgent?" Charley asked.

"Yeah." She awkwardly avoided his gaze.

"Where to?"

"Just a few blocks up."

Charley glanced down the street. "I'll help you walk."

"No need. I can manage."

She hobbled forward, silently praying he would just leave and not follow her.

True to form, he didn't follow.

Lavinia let out a massive sigh of relief as she walked into the building.

The lab she was visiting was founded by Zachary Abbott, another Zale alumni.

When she walked in, Zachary was staring at his lab equipment, looking utterly defeated. Lavinia asked what was wrong. It turned out one of his papers had been flagged for review, and he needed to replicate the experimental results to verify it.

"Does it hurt?"

It did, but she shook her head again.

"It's sprained. Of course it hurts." He pulled a pain-relief spray from the bag, applied it, and then pulled out a pair of flat shoes.

While she was upstairs in a meeting, he had gone to buy her medicine and comfortable shoes? He even remembered her shoe size.

Lavinia put the flats on and immediately felt the relief.

"Charley, how much were these? I'll transfer it to you."

"Buy me dinner."

He fired back so fast it caught her off guard.

What was she supposed to do? She couldn't say no.

"Sure. What do you feel like eating?" she asked.

He smiled. "My childhood buddy opened a patio restaurant nearby. I'll make him give you a discount."