Letitia glanced around, making sure the coast was clear, and then tugged at Vidoniaâs sleeve. âThereâs
something Iâve gotta spill the beans on.â
âShoot.â
âI found the guy from that night.â
Vidonia widened her eyes in shock. âWho is it? Howâd you get in touch? You sure itâs him?â
âPositive.â Letitia nodded, âEverything checks out.â
âWho?â
âElgin.â
Vidonia stared at Letitia, her eyes glued open in disbelief. âSay what now?â
âItâs him, no doubt about it,â Letitia confirmed. âAfter I got my new earbuds, I overheard the
conversation between Shela and my mom. Thatâs how I found out.â
Vidonia sat next to Letitia, totally gobsmacked.
This was just too much to handle.
So much information to take in.
âGive me a second to wrap my head around this⦠If itâs Elgin, then that means⦠Heâs the father of
your child, and he⦠he got rid of your baby himself!?!â
Letitia nodded again.
Every time they talked about it, it was like ripping off a band-aid for her.
âGood heavens, my poor Letitiaâ¦â Vidonia wrapped her in a hug, âDonât be too down about it.â
The one person who always got her was her best friend forever.
âActing like it doesnât sting would be a straight-up lie. I need time to heal,â Letitia patted her shoulder,
âItâs cool.â
âHow can it be cool, huh? Letitia, Iâm with you through thick and thin.â
Out of nowhere, Samson popped up beside them.
âWhatâs with you two, always huddled up, whispering secrets? Everythingâs been quiet as a church
mouse lately. Whatâs up?â
Vidonia rolled her eyes at him, âNone of your business.â
âWell, you werenât saying that yesterdayâ¦â
âYesterday was yesterday, today is today!â
Hearing that, Samson heaved a sigh of relief, âThank goodness, Vidoniaâs back to her old self. You
freaked me out yesterday!â
As they were talking, Ranen suddenly showed up at the Jewelry Department entrance.
âMr. Stewart, Mr. Ramirez wants to see you. Also, all of executives of the Jewelry Department need to
call an impromptu meeting
âAlright, Samson replied.
Vidonia looked puzzled, âWhy the sudden meeting?â
âWhen the big cheese speaks, who dares not to listen? Better brace yourselfâ
Letitia silently nodded.
In the CEOâs office, Samson walked in, âWhatâs the big emergency that had Ranen fetching me?â
Elgin tossed a wedding ring onto the desk, âGet rid of It.â
âThatâs for Shelaâ¦â
âFrom now on, I donât want to hear that name.â
âWhat happened?â Samson asked.
Elgin, pressing the bridge of his nose, didnât know where to begin but still spilled the beans to Samson.
With years of brotherhood, he trusted him.
After hearing it all, Samson was dumbfounded.
âPull down all the promotions for the ring and act like it never happened!â Elgin ordered, âNot a word
from anyone!â
âBut we were about to go public, get the buzz going, and now youâreâ¦â
âYou deaf or what?â
Samson coughed and leaned in conspiratorially, âIâve got an idea.
Elgin gave him a look.
âWe can continue our promotions. After all, nobody knows who Mrs. Ramirez is and you can prepare
this surprise for Letitia.â
Samson replied smugly.
âWhatâs wrong? Isnât it a good one?â Samson asked, âLetitia likes romance too.â
âDid you get your head stuck in a door?â Elgin shot back, âThe ring was Letitiaâs design. Sheâd seen all
those plans and knew they were tailor-made for Shela. Now you wanna slap them on her⦠What do
you take her for?â Elgin would never do such a thing.
His deep loyalty and affection for Letitia couldnât be summed up with just a ring.
She was precious, deserving of the best, the most heartfelt.
âHow dare you always brag about your charms as a playboy?â Elgin gave him a sideways glance, âIn
important situations, all youâve got are lousy ideas!â
Samson tried to justify, âMy planâs a last resort, but it beats doing nothing. Sure, the ring and the
promotion were all for Shela at first. But Shela was a fake, an imposter. The one youâve always wanted
to give it to was Letitia!â
Elgin pursed his lips, silent.
âYou werenât giving it to Shela, but to the woman from that night. And now you realize Letitia is that
woman,â Samson explained, âDoesnât that make perfect sense?â
Elgin stood up, âLetâs head to the meeting.â
As they headed to the conference room, they ran into Letitia, about to go in.
She wouldnât even look at Elgin, completely ignoring him.
The doorway was not so wide, so Elgin and Samson had to step aside.
As the big bosses of the company, they had their exclusive elevator. It was always the staff making way
for them, not the other way around.
Elgin stopped and moved aside.
In addition, he also yanked Samson a bit, âBack off, will you?â
Samson stumbled, âDamn, I can strut around in this company, and I have to make way?â
âYou can strut all you want in front of me, just except Letitia.â
âJeez.â Samson muttered, âGin, Iâm positive youâre gonna end up whipped.â
âWhipped?â
âYeah!â
Elgin pondered the term for a moment, with a slight smile crept up, âDoesnât sound too bad.â
Samson was speechless.
A man head over heels in love was beyond reason.
After Letitia entered the conference room, Elgin and Samson followed one after the other.
The workplace was full of sharp cookies, and everyone was secretly astonished by the scene.
What was the deal with this Letitia, huh? Even Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Stewart had to step aside to give
her some
room.
When you bump into those two big bosses, didnât everyone just nod, say hello, and scoot over to let
them pass first?
Letitia took a seat.
Elgin strode up to the front of the conference table, glanced at her and said, âLetâs get this meeting
started.â
âBefore we dive in, Iâve got an announcement,â Samson chimed in, âThe whole shebang about Mr.
Ramirez crafting a wedding ring for the missus is on ice. Weâre putting a pin in it and not pushing it as
the marketing gig of âRamirez Romanticaâ to rake in the fans and clicks.â
Everyone was all ears, listening in silence.
Vidoniaâs always been a thorn in the side, and sheâs had it in for Shela for ages. She snorted, âWeâre
calling it quits without reason? Talk about wasted effortâ¦â
Samson gave her a fierce tug under the table, trying to rein her in, but no dice.
Why did she just love to butt heads with Elgin?