My Wife is a Hacker by Summer

Nicole understood Lulu and Patricia's worries, but she wasn't too concerned.
She knew about Lawrence's past deeds and felt in control.
At first, she respected Lawrence because she thought she owed him for saving her life.
But after discovering it was all manipulation, she stopped worrying about that debt.
Knowing Lawrence was after the Fire Crest and Water Crest, and probably had already acted, Nicole chose to wait and see what
would happen.
She knew soon it would be clear who the winner or loser would be.
After leaving Nicole's office, Lulu turned to Patricia.
"Patricia, you're staying to protect Nicole.
What about Ellar, aren't you going back there?" Lulu asked.
"My primary duty is here, and everything at BayCorp has stabilized; they don't need me there anymore," Patricia replied, her
priority clearly being Nicole's safety at the moment.
"And what about you and Ellar? What's going on with you two?" Lulu probed further.
"Us?" Patricia bit her lip slightly, "There's nothing going on between us." "Oh," Lulu responded, then added, "I won't keep you any
longer, I'll get back to work." As Lulu entered her office, Patricia was puzzled by Lulu's recent behavior, wondering, ‘Why is Lulu
asking me all these odd questions? What's so interesting about me and Ellar to her?’ Lulu liked to gossip, but this was different.
Patricia felt uneasy, thinking, 'Is something up with Ellar?' Ellar seemed fine, not worried about anything.
Patricia decided to see Ellar after work to check if her worries had any basis or to find out anything new from him.
As the workday ended, Nicole, Patricia, and Lulu left the office together.
Patricia watched Nicole being picked up by Jared, feeling a sense of relief as they departed.
She then hailed a taxi.

"Where are you headed?" Lulu asked casually.
Patricia glanced at Lulu and eventually replied, "Heading home." She decided it was best not to mention her plan to visit Ellar.
After Patricia left, Spencer arrived to pick up Lulu, and she too departed, leaving the company's entrance now quiet and the lively
scene subdued.
The black car that had been parked nearby also slowly drove away.
Arriving at BayCorp, Patricia found Ellar just stepping out.
"Why are you here?" Ellar was visibly surprised to see her.
"T have something to ask you," Patricia got straight to the point.
" Have you been keeping something from me lately?" Ellar felt a jolt of panic.
'How did Patricia find out?' He thought he had been discreet, with only his assistant involved in the covert tasks he had arranged.
"Is there really something?" Patricia's voice rose slightly when Ellar remained silent.
After a moment's hesitation, Ellar tried to maintain a calm facade.
" No, what could I possibly be hiding?" The uncertainty in his voice didn't escape Patricia, and the subtle evasion did nothing to
ease her growing suspicion.
Her instincts told her that something was amiss, prompting her resolve to get to the bottom of it.