The Platonic Trap novel Chapter 72

Ken immediately understood the implication and offered a good-natured chuckle. "Of course. However, Mr. Zucker is currently out of the office in a meeting. If you'd like to stop by, Ms. Stafford, it might be better to come a little later."

Hearing this, a faint smile curved Celia's lips. "Perfect."

Although she agreed to wait, the second Celia ended the call, she purposefully ordered a rideshare and headed straight to Zucker Corporation anyway.

When she walked into the grand lobby, the receptionist's eyes practically lit up the moment she saw her. "Good afternoon, Ms. Stafford!"

Celia blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, do you know me?"

The receptionist offered a polite, deferential bow. "Yes, ma'am. Mr. Linden specifically instructed us that whenever you arrive, we are to send you straight up. There is no need for you to wait in the reception area."

Raising a delicate eyebrow, Celia quickly caught on.

It seemed Ken was deeply traumatized by the time she had sat in the waiting room until midnight.

Thanking the receptionist, Celia stepped into the private elevator reserved for the top-floor executive suites.

As soon as the doors parted on the penthouse level, she spotted Ken. He was just about to herd a group of high-level executives into the main conference room.

Ken paused in surprise when he saw her, then quickly smiled and walked over. "Ms. Stafford, didn't I mention you could come a bit later? How did you get here so fast?"

Celia gave a helpless, charming little laugh. "My grandfather was rushing me. He claimed he absolutely needed his coffee right this second."

She paused, her smile widening. "So I figured I would just swing by to pick up the coffee to take back to him, and I can always give Uncle Alistair his gift later."

Ken nodded in understanding.

Signaling the executives to head into the conference room without him, Ken slipped into the CEO's office and returned shortly after with a beautifully packaged canister of the premium coffee.

Taking it from him, Celia beamed with gratitude. "Thank you so much, Ken. I'll get out of your way now."

"Have a safe trip back, Ms. Stafford."

"Oh, and could you do me a favor and keep the gift a secret from Uncle Alistair for now?"

Ken chuckled. "Of course. My lips are sealed."

Aware that the entire board was waiting for him, Ken gestured toward the hallway. "I have quite a bit to handle right now, so I'm afraid I can't walk you out."

Celia nodded. As Ken took a few steps away, she casually pulled out her phone and tapped the screen, feigning distress.

"Oh, no..." she murmured, her voice laced with just enough surprise to carry to Ken's ears.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify