Brandon sneaked a glance at her, noticing she was getting squished and having a hard time turning around. He shuffled a tiny step to the side, making some room for her.
A thoughtful, subtle gesture.
Sophia felt a little warmth in her heart and wanted to say "thanks," but seeing the crowd, she bit her tongue and stayed quiet, just quietly standing next to Brandon.
When the elevator stopped at the next floor, more people squeezed in.
The already tight space got even tighter.
Sophia had no choice but to inch closer to Brandon, her forearm brushing against
the back of his arm, fitting together like puzzle pieces.
Their familiar body heat transferred through the fabric of their clothes.
It was a bit awkward for Sophia.
She carefully tried to move her arm back, but before she could, she got jostled
and her fingers accidentally hooked onto Brandon's.
The warm touch zapped through their skin on contact.
Brandon gave her a look.
Sophia's cheeks flared up. "Sorry."
Her awkward apology came out as her fingers, still hooked with his, reluctantly unclasped, leaving her with a strange, inexplicable feeling.
Cindy, standing right next to Sophia, saw her cheeks blazing and got worried. "Director Yearwood, what's wrong?"
Her voice was loud, drawing everyone's attention.
They all saw the unusual redness on her face.
"Why's your face so red?" Don blurted out.
Sophia offered an awkward smile. "Too many people here, feeling a bit short of breath."
Her hand, still tangled with Brandon's fingers, tried to sneak away without making
a scene, but the more she panicked, the more she fumbled.
After several failed attempts to pull her fingers free from the crowd, she kept accidentally hooking Brandon's fingers again and again.
Sophia wanted to bury herself in a hole and, in a moment of resignation, gave up trying, but then Brandon suddenly took hold of her flustered fingers.
All her embarrassment was soothed away in an instant.
Sophia couldn't help but glance at Brandon.
He was coolly focusing on the elevator doors, his handsome face calm and unruffled.
Sophia suddenly felt grateful and reassured.
The elevator doors soon opened at the third floor, the conference area.
People filed out.
Brandon also let go of Sophia's fingers and followed the crowd out.
Sophia trailed behind, looking at his impassive face and hesitated before softly speaking up. "Sorry about earlier."
Brandon spared her a glance. "No worries."
Sophia smiled, said no more, bid farewell, and caught up with her colleagues, heading towards the meeting room.
Brandon took a last look at her retreating figure before heading to the meeting room himself.
The meeting was mainly about the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony for the Zenithan-style resort project.
It was Star-Dempsey Architects' first project and also the Starlight Group's own venture, so Don was particularly invested in it.
Even Brandon, who rarely attended meetings, was there.
But Brandon wasn't in the main seat.
He was seated to the left of the main seat.
Sophia was seated to the right, with Ivan next to her.
Her seat was directly opposite Brandon's.
This seating arrangement piled on the pressure for Sophia.
Especially since Brandon, despite being the largest shareholder of Star Dempsey Architects, was just there to attend the meeting and didn't need to speak or arrange work.
He sat there the whole time without moving, just calmly watching Don speak, arms crossed, expression barely changing, occasionally glancing at Sophia before quickly looking away.
Sophia did notice Brandon's glances.
Whether it was the aftermath of that one crazy day and two nights, or the pressure Brandon brought in the workplace, every look from him made her feel uneasy, and she found herself sitting up straighter than usual.
Everyone else was equally on their best behavior, not daring to breathe too loud. Thankfully, around noon, there was a short break in the meeting.
Since the meeting wasn't over yet and to save time, Don had Cindy order boxed lunches for everyone.
When the lunches arrived downstairs, Don announced, "Everyone, go ahead and eat," and called for a break.
The tense atmosphere of the meeting relaxed for a moment, but seeing Brandon still seated, no one dared to let loose too much. One by one, they made excuses to go down and help with the lunches, disappearing in a flash.
The meeting room was suddenly left with just a few of the management, like Don, Brandon, Sophia, Ivan, and Marian, who everyone jokingly referred to as "the preferred one".
Her familiarity when she first greeted Patricia, and her playful request for Don to give her a job, left a strong impression on everyone, making it clear she had a significant relationship with Don and even the company's foundation. Marian never shied away. She took the "preferred one" nickname in stride and was never intimidated by Brandon, the big boss of the company.
So she couldn't be bothered to join the crowd for takeout. As soon as the meeting was paused, she stretched out luxuriously and smiled at Don, "Mr. Dempsey, your meetings are seriously long, huh? If I'd known, I wouldn't have come. I'm exhausted."
Her soft, coquettish tone didn't care about what others thought.
Don chuckled at her. "Do you think I dare not invite you? Otherwise, you'd complain I don't take you anywhere, and I can't explain that to your grandpa."
"Just take me out with you, that's enough," Marian said. "I don't need to be involved in company stuff."
Don played along. "Then you can head back first."
"No way, the meeting is only halfway done. Quitting halfway isn't my style," Marian laughed, refusing. Her gaze casually drifted to Brandon, "Mr. Crawley, not too busy today?"
Brandon was flipping through the meeting notes, showing no interest in engaging with her.
Marian pouted. "What a drag."
The look of disdain on her face took Don right back to the days of little Yolanda, and without thinking, he blurted out, "I wonder who used to be glued to Mr. Crawley as a kid."
It was only when the words reached the tail end that he realized what he had just said, and instinctively, he shot a glance at Sophia.
Sophia seemed to have turned a deaf ear, fully engrossed in a conversation with Ivan about the latest property development project.
Brandon, who had been flipping through some documents, froze and fixed Don with a stare that carried a clear warning.
Yolanda was a taboo topic between Brandon and Sophia.
That was the takeaway Don had gathered from his recent interactions with the
duo.