Chapter 42

Clara turned to Ethan and thanked him softly. As Ethan was about to respond, his phone buzzed with a familiar ringtone. He quickly excused himself, taking his phone as he walked out to answer the call. Seizing the moment, Ryan leaned closer to Clara and held up his phone, displaying a WhatsApp QR code. "Ms. Salford, let's exchange contacts. If you ever need anything, you can always contact me." Clara didn't see any reason to decline. She would be working here for a long time and wanted to maintain good relationships with her colleagues. Taking out her phone, she exchanged contacts with everyone at the table. By the time they'd finished adding each other, Ethan returned. His usual calm demeanor was gone, replaced with an uncharacteristic tension. "Sorry. Something urgent came up at home. I need to leave right away," Ethan said as he grabbed his car keys from the table. He hesitated briefly before glancing at Clara. "Ms. Salford, are you going to be okay getting home?" Clara quickl