?Chapter 142:


    Overwhelmed with tion, Joyce didn’t wait for the workday to conclude. She grabbed her purse and left the office early.


    Her heels clicked decisively against the floor as she made her way to the upscale salon upstairs.


    At the salon, Joyce splurged on an exclusive annual membership card costing $500,000, insisting on receiving the premier service they offered. Joyce was in high spirits. Dani’s setback had already made her day sweeter, and now, the prospect of her imminent engagement to Alexander filled her with a sense of triumph.


    As shey on the treatment bed, fantasizing about her uing luxurious life, a jasmine aroma wafted into the room.


    Normally, Joyce adored this fragrance.


    Yet today, as soon as it hit her senses, she sat up abruptly, her hand over her mouth, feeling queasy. Grabbing a ss of water, she gulped it down, attempting to quell the sudden nausea.


    “What the hell is happening?” she whispered to herself, her frustration evident.


    “Pregnancy can’t be contagious, can it? I need to keep my distance from Dani!”


    After her spa session, Joyce headed for the elevator. As the doors slid open, a brisk breeze swept through the lobby.


    A man entered, covered in grime and still sporting a hard hat. Joyce’s expression twisted into a scowl of disdain. Wheeling around, she was ready to chastise the man for his disarray. However, her rebuke froze on her lips when she recognized him.


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    “Cedric? What on earth happened to you?” She observed his condition—his clothing caked with dirt and his face lined with sweat, as though he had juste from a construction site.


    The sight of him, so unkempt and incongruent with the setting, filled her with embarrassment. In her mind, shepared Cedric’s ruggedness to Alexander’s polished demeanor, and any residual affection she might have felt for Cedric evaporated.


    Without sparing him another look, Joyce straightened herself and walked briskly away.


    Meanwhile, Cedric headed to the 25th floor. Lillian was stationed outside the CEO’s office, peering through the slightly open door.


    Upon the sound of the elevator’s arrival, she turned and saw Cedric, his appearance marked by toil and dust. She realized immediately that he hadn’t bothered to clean up after leaving the construction site.


    “Why did youe here like this?” she asked in a low voice.


    Cedric nced through the door’s narrow crack. The office was quiet, empty of any activity.


    “She’s on the couch, asleep. Don’t wake her,” Lillian murmured, nodding towards the interior.


    Those close to Dani understood that she often sought refuge in sleep when troubled. As a child, neglected and alone, she had learned to soothe her emotions through slumber—a coping mechanism that persisted into her adult life.


    Cedric nodded in acknowledgment, catching his breath.


    “Alright.”


    “How’s everything at the site?”


    Cedric responded simply, “It’s fine.”


    Lillian suggested, “You should really have someone else oversee the site. Can you manage shuttling back and forth like this? I heard your secretary even set up an office there. Cedric, you need to delegate.


    You can’t keep going at this pace. It’s too much. With all that’s happening at Phillips Group, how can you handle it all?”


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