Chapter 128

"I'm sorry, Mr. Robinson made some nasty comments about me, so I let him take over," Abigail came clean, and hung her head.

"What kind of comments?" James asked curiously.

"He said I was only getting these opportunities because I was sleeping with Mr. Robinson." Abigail didn't sugarcoat it.

James started coughing hard.

Sebastian heard this and looked her up and down with lazy interest. "Why are you being so honest this time?"

"You're absolutely right, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let my personal feelings interfere with work and waste your time." Abigail was quick to admit her mistake. After all, this was about their business partnership, and Halden Group depended on him for their livelihood. She knew what mattered most.

"You're like our little sister, so we can handle a bit of attitude from you," Sebastian said with a smile, his tone lightly teasing.

Abigail looked up, clearly embarrassed. "I wasn't trying to take advantage of our relationship."

"Are you kidding? You should totally use our relationship to give that loser a proper beatdown!" James jumped in immediately.

"Sit down and let's get to your report," Sebastian said, not making a big deal out of it.

Abigail started heading toward a separate chair, but James quickly stepped in.

He put his hands on her shoulders and steered her right next to Sebastian. "How can you give a proper report sitting way over there? You two talk things over while I grab some drinks. Wait for me, okay?"

"Sure," Abigail replied awkwardly.

Once James left, Abigail immediately opened her bag and pulled out a USB drive. "This is the summary I put together yesterday. Take a look at it first."

Sebastian took it and plugged it into his computer. While he reviewed the meeting summary, Abigail sat beside him, chatting with James.

James asked what kind of coffee she wanted, but Abigail didn’t know much about the good coffee places around here. "What brand tastes best?"

"The expensive ones usually taste better. Since you don’t know, I’ll pick something for you," James said.

Just as Abigail answered, she heard Sebastian say, "The meeting summary looks good. Mr. Newman confirmed you guys can handle the shared database project and have it all mapped out, right?"

"Yeah." Abigail immediately put her phone away.

"Then let them get started and you can do the final review. James has been wanting to ask you for help with something, but he’s been too shy to bring it up."

"What is it?" Abigail looked at him.

Sebastian handed her the USB drive back and said casually, "The Manning family has a car that's selling pretty well overseas. Their vehicles have smart systems built in, and they need us to go take a look."

"Sure, sounds good to check it out." Abigail thought it would be interesting to see.

Sebastian nodded and went back to looking at files on his computer.

Abigail sat nearby, feeling a bit awkward. She looked down at her phone uncomfortably.

Chapter 126

After Sebastian finished reading the documents, he glanced at Abigail beside him. "How do you feel about being back home?"

"It's been really good. Grandpa looks out for me in everything." Abigail's voice was warm as she answered.

"Mm." Sebastian nodded.

They fell into silence again.

"If there's nothing else, I should head back to the office." Abigail figured there wasn't much point in staying around when she could just go back to work.

"You don't like spending time with me?" Sebastian took off his glasses and turned to look at her.

Abigail was caught off guard and looked up at him. "That's not what I meant. It's just that there's nothing for me to do here."

"We don't need to be doing something all the time when we're together. Just sitting quietly, each doing our own thing—that's nice too." Sebastian's tone was calm and matter-of-fact.

His words made Abigail's heart skip a beat. She watched him for a moment, then quickly looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up. She knew he was a player, but she still got flustered when he said things like that.

Abigail licked her lips and asked quietly, "Are you hitting on me?"

"Is that not okay?" Sebastian asked back.

Abigail's throat tightened. Of course it was okay, but thinking about how his relationships never lasted long, she managed to calm herself down. "You've had plenty of girlfriends. I'd rather not get involved with you."

"Who told you I've had plenty of girlfriends?" Sebastian's lips twisted into a casual smile.

"That woman you broke up with on the street last time. I don't want to end up getting dumped in public like that. It would be humiliating." For once, Abigail was being bold.

She used to have a crush on Ralph but never dared tell him. She'd follow him around like a lost puppy everywhere he went.

Abigail wasn't sure if Ralph had known how she felt back then, but during her long stretch in prison, she'd made herself a promise. From now on, when it came to feelings, she'd be straightforward. If she liked someone, she'd say so. If she didn't, she'd make that clear too.

At least then, Abigail wouldn't be the only one left hurting in the end.

Sebastian let out a short laugh. "Well, I wouldn't dump you in the middle of the street, if that's what you're worried about."