In a Love Nest with the Aloof CEO novel Chapter 58

“I guess I kicked their asses back there. Then again, it’s not like they were that hard to deal with,” Skylar said.

Tobias beheld the girl’s pint-size frame intently and listened to her bravado without comment.

“Who’s been picking on you? You could just tell me.”

Be it a few simple words, they meant the world to her.

Because no one else said anything like that to her. Ever.

All the other kids heckled her and called her mother a murderer when she was little.

Her grandmother taught her that poor children could not afford to pick fights with anyone. Endure it. Take the high road. That was what she would always say.

And whenever she needed someone to have her back when she got older, Jeremy was nowhere to be found.

Skylar shook her head. “I can take care of this myself!”

She reminded herself that she should not harbor such expectations from someone like Tobias.

And so, she left it at that.

Neither was he going to make her, as he had his own ways of finding out.

Her belly then proposed to change the subject. She held a hand to it when it started growling too loudly.

Tobias picked up the phone and called for room service. He ended the call with a specific request. “We’ll have something healthier.”

Half the contents of the bottled water were emptied to help stave off her hunger pangs.

“I don’t like healthy,” she said.

Her palate leaned towards savory. Even Laura’s home cooking was deemed a tad too light.

In fact, hot sauce was an indispensable staple for her in almost everything.

Tobias went for the first-aid kit from which he acquired and passed along the iodine tincture. “A lighter palate will help with the healing.”

Skylar glanced down at the wound on her arm and did not think it warranted a trip to the hospital. She reckoned that it would be fine before long.

Their orders were tabled fairly quickly. To her, the plant-based cuisine was more aesthetic than appetizing.

But beggars could never be choosers. Hence, she picked up the cutlery anyway.

“Did you choose to bunk with a guy on purpose?” Tobias’s question was not helping.

“There’s a rumor spreading in the campus’ forum. The girls in class are shunning me because they believe that I might have something contagious.”

She then dolefully thrust out her phone towards him to prove her case.

His reaction to the post was unexpectedly mild.

Not quite what she had hoped for, but her disappointment was fleeting.

She almost forgot that whatever was between Tobias and herself was just a game.

His detachment, as such, was more than appropriate.

“So like, who’s this guy to you?”

She picked up the fork to shovel in another mouthful of salad. “Never met him! I don’t know who posted that, cause I’ve never taken that photo.”

Tobias remained a picture of calm. “Did you try finding out?”

That reminded her that she had yet to check in with Penelope regarding the IP tracing.

Penelope: I’m too much of a noob to be able to nail down this champ. So sorry, babe.

Skylar tapped away and sent back an “Ok” emoji.

She exhaled before she turned back to Tobias. “I can’t identify the culprit. Do you think the hackers from your company might be able to help?”