Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 151 Natalia hesitated in her stride, thinking she might have misheard.

Linda repeated the message on the other end of the phone.

"Ms. Jenkins, there's a snag with the project you're overseeing. You'll need to take a business trip." Natalia remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do I have to go myself?" "The client specifically requested negotiations with the project head." After a brief pause, Natalia agreed.

After all, she hadn't formally resigned from Ivy Gemstone.

"I'll need my assistant to accompany me." There was a moment of silence from Linda before she replied, "Alright, Ms. Jenkins, I'll inform your assistant to meet you at the airport tomorrow." The next day, Natalia was up early, packing her things for the airport.

Once there, she received a call from Ronin.

"Ms. Jenkins, it's the weekend-you must have stnow, right?" Natalia offered a tight-lipped smile. "Sorry, Mr. Joyner, I'm at the airport heading out on a business matter." Ronin was clearly taken aback.

"Business on the weekend?" Natalia didn't elaborate; after all, it was an internal affair at Ivy Gemstone.

Ronin sounded slightly irked. "I suspect Hamilton did this on purpose." Natalia chuckled softly, "Mr. Joyner, I still haven't left Ivy Gemstone, remember?" With no other option, Ronin let it be.

"Well, when you get back, how about I pick you up? There are sdetails about the new company launch I need to discuss with you." After a moment's thought, Natalia agreed.

"Okay." She didn't mention the photo she had seen the night before. It wasn't necessary.

Though she could sense Ronin's interest in her, their relationship was strictly professional.

Entering the departure lounge, Natalia reviewed documents while waiting for Tess.

An hour before boarding, with no sign of Tess, Natalia couldn't help but call her.

Tess sounded surprised when she answered.

"Boss? Why are you calling at this hour? Is something wrong?" Natalia's face darkened.

"Didn't Linda tell you about the business trip?" Tess replied, "No, should I be joining you, Boss?" Frowning and massaging her temples, Natalia realized it was too late for Tess to make it now.

"No need, just get srest." After hanging up, Natalia took a deep breath and called Hamilton, only to be met with the beep of a disconnected call.

A surge of anger welled up inside her. She hadn't initially thought this trip was a ploy by Hamilton. Given his character, he wouldn't joke about company business. But now, she couldn't help but think otherwise. She didn't bother calling Linda again. This wasn't something Linda could decide.

Boarding tcquickly. Natalia, pulling her suitcase, boarded the plane and saw Hamilton sitting beside her assigned seat.

Her lips tightened as she approached.

"Enjoying this little game?" Hamilton glanced up. "Sending you on a business trip is playing games? Ms. Jenkins, you seem to be quite above it all." Natalia pressed her lips into a thin line, opting instead to ask a flight attendant for a different seat. But the flight was full, and she reluctantly took her place beside Hamilton.

Hamilton looked at her. "Now that you have Ronin, can't stand sitting with me?" Natalia didn't bite, simply rubbing her temples wearily.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" he prodded.

Without responding, Natalia closed her eyes as soon as she sat down. Indeed, she hadn't slept well, and the contract issue was weighing heavily on her mind. She burned the midnight oil just to prepare the documents needed. She had been swamped lately, and her body hadn't fully recovered. Thus, she fell into slumber not long after takeoff.

Hamilton's gaze lingered on her face, his eyes clouded with obscure emotions. After a while, he gently shifted her head onto his shoulder.

When she awoke, the plane had landed. It took her a moment to realize she was resting on Hamilton's shoulder, covered by a blazer-it was the one she had bought for him.

Natalia's eyes fixated on the Roninet, lost in a flood of memories. Countless trips with Hamilton had ended just like this. Each tshe awoke, she found herself leaning on him, his coat draped over her.

She let out a wry smile, realizing smemories were like shards of glass, piercing from her throat to her heart. Sitting upright, she muttered a "Thank you." Hamilton smirked. "And how do you plan to thank me?" Natalia bit her lip, remaining silent as Hamilton stood up and walked off the plane. She followed, lugging her suitcase behind.

Stepping out into the cold, she felt a chill. Boria City was frigid around the holidays. The biting air made Natalia hunch her shoulders.

Before she could react, a warm coat landed on her shoulders, and the blazer was taken from her hands. Hamilton's scent of woody cologne lingered on the coat.

Natalia frowned slightly, discomforted, but before she could protest, Hamilton's voice cut through.

"Wear it. Catching a cold will only delay our work." Natalia pressed her lips together and didn't respond further. The car arranged by the partner company was already waiting.

Once inside, Natalia returned the coat to Hamilton and rummaged through her luggage for a thick sweater of her own.

Hamilton watched her every move, his brows knitting together tighter and tighter until he finally let out a sardonic chuckle.

"So eager to draw a line between us, huh?" Natalia remained silent.

She had no intention of arguing with him in public.

They proceeded to their business meeting at the partner company.

Somehow, the other party had caught wind of sinsider information and insisted on pushing down the partnership fee by ten percent. Neither Natalia nor Hamilton agreed to such terms, and the negotiation ended in a stalemate.

By the tthey returned to the hotel, it was well past 10 PM.

However, upon arriving at the hotel, Natalia discovered that Linda had only booked one room for them in the sprawling establishment. Clutching her ID, she turned to glance at Hamilton. He was just leaning casually against the front desk, arms crossed, observing her.

"I didn't book the room." Natalia scoffed.

Even if Hamilton wasn't the one who booked it, she was certain he had a hand in it.

"I'll get another room," she announced.

The receptionist offered an apologetic smile that seemed to stretch a mile wide.

"I'm terribly sorry, but Boria City is hosting an International Expo right now, and accommodations are quite seance. This is, unfortunately, the only suite we have available at the moment."