The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate



The next day at work, Kent noticed something off about Brandon.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but Brandon seemed to have a spring in his step, a twinkle in his eye.noveldrama

Kent couldn't pinpoint it, but the vibe was crystal clear.

"Something up?"

After the morning meeting, Brandon pulled Kent aside for a chat.

He'd been eyeing him all morning.

"Nope!" Kent, called out on the carpet, quickly shook his head in denial, but couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Mr. Crawley, you seem to be in a good mood today, huh?"

That earned him a cool glance from Brandon. "What does that have to do with the work you're about to report?"

"Nothing." Kent shook his head with conviction and steered the conversation back to business. "Checked in with Dennis. He's got zilch going on in the West district. His cover story is he's in town to visit his daughter."

Brandon's brow furrowed slightly. Marian was in the West district, so the story seemed legit on the surface.

"Where's Darcy now?" Brandon inquired.

Kent shrugged. "Word is he's holed up in Wye City, a homebody not clocking in at work."

Brandon nodded thoughtfully. "What about Augus? Any red flags?"

Kent shook his head. "Nothing fishy so far."

"Keep an eye on that," Brandon instructed.

"Will do," Kent confirmed.

"And Nell?"

"Got his ID sorted, all legit with the real-name system. He's still tagging along with Jerry, fitting in with the crew like a glove. Seems solid, doubt anyone would dare mess with him now."

"How's it going with the construction crew?" Brandon asked.

"Still scouting for people," Kent replied.

"Don't drag your feet on that."

"Yeah, we've got eyes on it."

Brandon nodded and dismissed Kent to get back to work.

Back in his office, Kent made a point to ring Tomas and check on the headhunting progress. Tomas also reported they were still on the hunt.

But come afternoon, Tomas rang Kent out of the blue, announcing they'd snagged a new construction crew, an old collaborator fresh off another gig, currently hanging out in Zion City, ready to hit the ground running the next day.

"What are the odds?" Kent was taken aback.

"Tell me about it. Had to do some serious digging to find out," Tomas said, buzzing with excitement on the other end. "The crew's foreman's name is Simon, an old buddy of the Starlight Group. We've worked on a few jobs together before."

Kent remembered the name. They had indeed collaborated in the past.

"Shoot me the crew's resumes," Kent requested.

"Sure thing. Sending to your email now. Check it out," Tomas, quick on the draw at his computer, promptly dispatched the crew's profiles. Kent got the notification and opened up the email. The names were all familiar faces, a crew they'd worked with before, known for their solid reputation and skills.

Kent gave the list a once-over and greenlit the team.

"So about tomorrow night's construction." Tomas brought up on the phone, "The geomancer had pegged tomorrow after midnight for pouring the bridge piers. I've confirmed with Simon, they can report to the site tomorrow, ready to roll. Timing's perfect, actually. Jerry's already got the groundwork laid out, so we're on track. What do you think? Stick to the geomancer's schedule and go ahead as planned?"

"Let me run it by Mr. Crawley first," Kent didn't dare call the shots on his own, "I'll buzz you with an update."

"Got it."

Kent hung up, printed out the new crew's information, and knocked on Brandon's office door.