Chapter 56

Daryl woke up to a frigid morning, feeling the chill of the cold air seeping into his bones. He groaned as he rolled over, checking the time on his phone to see it was already past eight o'clock.

Suddenly, his phone rang, and he saw it was his assistant calling. "Hello?" he answered, still feeling groggy.

"Good morning, Daryl," his assistant greeted him in a chirpy voice. "I just wanted to confirm whether you'll be showing up to work today. It's Monday morning, and we have an important meeting at ten."

Daryl frowned, rubbing his eyes. He had completely forgotten about the meeting, lost in the haze of his weekend. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that," he said, his voice hoarse. "I'll make it in. Thanks for reminding me."

"Great," the assistant replied cheerily. "Anything else you need from me before you head in?"

"No, I should be fine," Daryl said, stretching his arms. "Thanks again."

As he hung up, Daryl felt a pang of regret. He had been working tirelessly for months, trying to climb the c