Chapter 197
By now, they had pulled up to a restaurant. James parked in an empty spot and turned to Abigail. “A client told me about this place. Even if you had dinner, you need to try it. Their food is incredible, seriously.” Abigail had actually eaten a lot at the birthday party, but James’ words made her curious.
Inside, they found their reserved table. James ordered a pitcher of passion fruit juice for Abigail right away. She loved it and poured herself a glass as soon as it arrived. Sebastian and James ordered different drinks. Abigail sat next to Sebastian, with James across the table.
When the menu came, she looked at James. “Why don’t you order? I don’t know what’s good here.” “Spicy cod steak is a must-try dish,” he said. “Their version is awesome. I guarantee you’ll like it. It’s a signature dish here.” “Okay.” Abigail nodded, looking quite agreeable.
As Sebastian poured his coffee, he said to Abigail, “I’m going abroad tomorrow. The previous contract isn’t settled yet, and the client is pushing me.” Abigail was confused for a moment, wondering why he was telling her this. After a while, she said, “Then go ahead with peace of mind. I’ll take care of your cat this time.” Sebastian was almost amused by her response. He had hoped Abigail would come with him. ‘Oh, well,’ he thought. “All right,” he said with a sigh. James was laughing hard. ‘Dating someone who’s slow to catch on is indeed quite tiring,’ he thought.
Seeing that he wasn’t satisfied with her answer, Abigail hesitated for a moment and then said, “I can’t help you with the contract abroad. Technically, you are only a little better than me.” “Only a little better?” Sebastian didn’t agree with that. “Yeah, I’m younger. I’ll catch up to you sooner or later, so you’re only a tiny bit better,” Abigail said, confident in her skills. Sebastian propped his chin on his hand and turned to look at her, his eyes full of lazy amusement. “Alright, then, how long do you think it’ll take?” “Two years tops. Once I’ve learned all I can at Halden Group, I’ll enroll in community college to study more advanced stuff,” Abigail said.
James laughed, “You might need more time than that. Even if you ace the exams and get into a good program, community college is usually four years.” “True, but I can work while I study. School’s never been too hard for me.” After all, getting into Vanguard University hadn’t been a struggle. “When your record’s cleared, apply for financial aid. I’ll also ask around. Maybe we can get you out of taking the entrance exams,” Sebastian said. “Financial aid?” Abigail had no idea she could get compensation after clearing her name. “Sure. I remember you worked on some government projects in prison. With your situation, they usually cut you some slack for college admissions.” Sebastian spelled it out for her. James nodded in agreement. “With financial aid, three years’ worth of backpay, and compensation for emotional distress, you should get about 200 thousand dollars. You might even qualify for a housing grant.” While 200 thousand dollars wasn’t a fortune for her these days, a place to live in Cobridge was definitely valuable. “There’s compensation too?” she muttered to herself. “Yep. But you can’t start the application until Daniella’s been sentenced and you get the original acquittal document. So you need to keep a tight watch on her—make sure she doesn’t pull a runner,” James said with a smile. Abigail sounded excited. “Once I have that acquittal, I’ll be completely cleared, right? Just like a normal person?” “Exactly.” Sebastian nodded, his eyes gentle.
“Then I really need to keep an eye on Daniella,” Abigail repeated softly. “James, I need you to take the lead on monitoring Daniella,” Sebastian told him firmly. James jumped in immediately, “For sure. Not just me, Ralph’s looking into this too…” His voice died down under Sebastian’s cold stare. He thought, ‘Right, Ralph was Abigail’s first love. Bringing up that he’s helping out would only stir up trouble for Sebastian.’ “Hey, try this passion fruit juice. See if it tastes different from the stuff you usually drink. If it’s too sour and not sweet enough, I’ll lodge a complaint.” James quickly changed the subject while Abigail was still thinking about it. Abigail took a sip and nodded. “It’s plenty sweet. No need to complain. But I wonder how Ralph’s investigation is going.”