The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 202

Sophia was at home, swamped with work when she got the message.

The new firm had just landed a gig for an architectural design, a whole real estate project. She was deep-diving into the client's needs at home.

When Sophia saw Kent's message pop up, she did a double-take, puzzled as to why he'd suddenly hit her up for Susan's WhatsApp.

She shot him a text back real quick, [What's up? You need Susan's WhatsApp for something?]

"It's no biggie." Kent seemed a bit shy asking for a girl's contact - maybe it was his first time, [Isn't Susan in Skyrim City? I'm just here with Mr. Crawley on a biz trip, and figured since I'm in town, why not catch up for a meal and settle the tab of dinners I owe her.]

Sophia's heart skipped a beat, [So, you're on a business trip in there?]

She was clueless that they had jetted off, especially to somewhere as far as Skyrim City.

Ever since Brandon declared they'd keep out of each other's hair last night, she hadn't caught sight of him. She didn't bump into him at the cafeteria today either. Sophia figured he must have grabbed a bite outside or dodged the lunch rush, not that he had taken off on a business trip.

Kent, oblivious to Sophia's thoughts, texted back pronto, [Yup, got some merger talks and a new mall opening, so we'll be hanging around here for a bit. Perfect chance to invite Susan out.]

Sophia read his reply, her emotions all over the place, unable to quite pin down the taste.

[Mind if I check with her first? She's not too keen on keeping ties with folks here, doesn't want any unnecessary drama.] She texted back to Kent.

Kent, recalling the scoop he got about Susan's family drama, nodded understandingly, [Cool, run it by her first.]

[Okay.]

After replying to Kent, Sophia pinged Susan with a message, [Kent's in there with Brandon on a work thing, and asked for your WhatsApp to grab a meal with you.]

Susan hit back with a string of [???????] and immediately made a video call.

"What's he want inviting me out to eat for?"

Susan was totally befuddled on the other side of the call.

"He said he owes you a couple of meals from way back." Sophia explained, looking at her, "Still hung up over some ancient dinners; you two?"

"Stop!"

Susan cut Sophia's speculation short, "There's nothing between us, no connection. I bet he's just running errands for his boss."

Frowning, Susan added, "Don't tell me Brandon put him up to this."

"I don’t think so."

Sophia had entertained the thought but dismissed it in a flash. With Brandon's nature, his word to steer clear meant just that; he wouldn't go out of his way to arrange a meet-up with Susan.

They barely knew each other, after all.

Unaware of last night's incident, Susan furrowed her brows, "How can you be so sure?"

Seeing Susan's firm stance, Sophia could only nod, "Alright, then."

After hanging up, Sophia texted Kent, [Susan says it's not really convenient.]

Kent, phone in hand, waiting for a reply, frowned at the message. He hadn't forgotten that special request from Brandon to connect with Susan.

Even though he ended up talking to Sophia instead, and she looked like she might bolt any second, Kent feared one day Brandon might relapse and task him with tracking Sophia down again, so having Susan's contact was crucial.

[Actually, Mr. Crawley's the one who wants to invite her out.]

Reluctantly, Kent played the Brandon card.

He remembered how wary Susan was of Brandon, especially after the incident where she was forced to disclose Sophia's whereabouts before they would proceed with signing a contract.

Reading Brandon's intent in Kent's message, Sophia's heart sank. After hesitating and with Susan's reluctant approval, she reluctantly forwarded Susan's WhatsApp to Kent.

Kent immediately shot Susan a friend request, which was quickly accepted. Without missing a beat, he messaged her, [Director Cooper, where are you hanging out these days? How about we catch up over a meal?]

Susan shot back a message real quick, [Is this just you asking or is your Mr. Crawley tagging along too?]

[Just me for now.]

[Then it's a no-go.]