The Miracle of You

“Of course. Personally, I don’t see the point of keeping something like this hidden. After all, it only shows one’s sincerity. It’s not easy to be so devoted to someone for fourteen whole years, you know?” Grady sighed fondly. “Ah, to be young again.”

Camille chuckled awkwardly. “Michael – I mean, Mr. McGregor just regards me as a close friend and nothing more. But I am indeed grateful that he still considers me as one of his… confidants.”

For some reason, the words just felt wrong after she said them out loud.

Camille felt a mixture of complicated emotions swirling in her stomach, and she was too afraid to decipher what they might be. That would only open up a can of worms that she certainly wasn’t ready for.

“Hmm… well. As someone who is much older than you two, I can only give you a piece of advice.” Grady’s expression softened. “You should spend more time and treasure those who are precious to you while they’re still here. While you still have the opportunity to do so.”

Camille turned to him in surprise. “…Mr. Thompson?”

Grady’s eyes had a distant look in them as he gazed out the window where the entire city could be seen.

“I’m saying this so you would have no regrets. Life is fragile enough as it is. Unexpected things happen. That’s the reality.” He sighed quietly. “But even when living, there’s still suffering. So if you have the chance to be happy, take it. Don’t be like me.”

Camille looked at him questioningly, but Grady did not seem to notice.

Or maybe he just ignored it.

The two of them finally finished their coffee and went back to work.

It took about a week for Grady to open up to her again.

But this time, it was because of an observation that Camille could see clearly before her eyes.

“What… happened?” she asked tentatively, watching as Grady finished his phone call – which had occurred during one of their overtime shifts – and returned to his seat. His face was pale, and he seemed to be trembling slightly.

When Grady didn’t answer, Camille hesitated. He had this haunted look in his eyes, which made her almost afraid to ask.

“Are you all right?” she questioned again. If he chose not to respond or if he reacted angrily, then she would leave it alone.

Grady closed his eyes. “I apologize for the interruption, Miss Parker. We can continue…”

Camille frowned slightly. “Not when you look like you’ve seen a ghost. We can take a short break.” She put the folders down on the desk and stood up, approaching him slowly. “What’s wrong? Did something happen at home? Do you need to leave?”

“No, no. It’s not that…” Grady took a deep breath. He suddenly looked tired, as if he had suddenly aged five years. “It’s my daughter.”

He tried to say it calmly, like a neutral party, but it was clearly failing. He looked shaken.

Camille suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for him.

She had never seen him like this. He must have received some terrible news.

What could have happened?

“Is she all right?” Camille asked in concern.

“She was involved in an incident, but she’s not hurt. Just a little shaken.” He let out a deep, tired sigh. “It’s not serious enough for her to go to the hospital, but it’s… I mean, this… been going on for a while.”

Camille frowned. “What do you mean?”

“My daughter got involved with a gang member and they had a bad breakup. Now, her ex-boyfriend is dead set on harassing us. Nothing too threatening, but I’m afraid that it might be…” Grady suddenly shook his head and forced a smile. “Sorry. It’s not your problem. I’ve just been stressed about this for a while.”

“No, it’s not a problem at all,” Camille assured. “You can tell me about it if you’d like. But if you’re not comfortable with it, it’s fine, too. However, I’d like to help you if I ca-”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary,” Grady interrupted. “But thank you. I appreciate the sentiment, Miss Parker. I truly mean this.”

After that, Grady insisted on continuing their work, and Camille had no choice but to comply.

All the while, she quietly observed Grady’s expression and noticed the tired resignation in his eyes. It was as if he was used to it by now, but the stress was making him look more and more tired.

His words weren’t detailed enough for her to get a good grasp on the situation, but Camille knew very well what it meant to get involved with a gang member.

As big as this city was, there were a lot of underground dealings going on. There were some families who lived under two identities and had ties to the mafia. There were also top families in the country who belonged in the upper class but were secretly doing underground operations.

Everyone knew that getting involved with someone who had connections to the underworld was bad news. It was likely that Grady’s daughter had gotten herself into a big mess, having unknowingly been seduced by a gang member.

Some gangs tended to take revenge when they felt that they had been greatly offended, while others would harass a target just for the fun of it.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Either way, it was a bad situation overall. Gangs were not exactly known for being sympathetic.

Later that night, before going to bed, Camille sat at her desk in her bedroom, staring listlessly at her laptop.

Ever since Christian had demanded that she gather information on both Michael and Grady down to the last detail, he had demanded that she give him a daily report.

Even though there was video surveillance in the company, the audio was difficult to decipher. If she claimed that she hadn’t heard anything significant from Grady earlier, Christian would know that she was lying thanks to the surveillance cameras.

‘Should I just write that he has family problems and keep it generic?’ she thought to herself. ‘I’m sure even Christian knows that Mr. Thompson isn’t so quick to open up to people.’

‘Maybe a fight with his wife or daughter. Yeah, that would do it.’

Camille knew that if she mentioned that Grady’s daughter was involved with a gang, Christian might somehow use that to his advantage.

Also…

Hmm… She never knew that Grady had a daughter.