Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Fine.” I pursed my lips, ultimately deciding to leave a shred of dignity for him before Margaret. Or perhaps it was for my own sake.

For the moment, I couldn’t quite pin down Margaret’s purpose for her visit. Was she genuinely feeling she shouldn’t accept the necklace? Or was she there to declare. something?-

A flicker of emotion passed across Margaret’s face too swiftly to be caught. She smiled. “I was worried this necklace might cause some misunderstanding between you two. Seems like it hasn’t, so I’ll be heading back now.”

Emma escorted her out.

As soon as the front door closed, I stepped away from Bryant’s embrace, “You said it was for Steven, right? And Margaret’s married, isn’t she? Since when did she become one of Steven’s flings? Hmm…”

Bryant silenced me with a kiss, fierce and urgent, almost as if venting some frustration.

Only when I found it hard to breathe did he slightly loosen his hold, caressing my head as he admitted his fault. “I lied to you.”

#

He pulled me close. “Margaret’s divorced. I was worried about her, so I gave her the gift.”

I was startled. Then I got what Bryant meant by “Congrats on your fresh start” in the video.

I bit my lip, half-doubting, “Is that all?”

“That’s all.” His voice was firm and soothing as he explained, “You know Margaret’s mother saved my life at the cost of her own. I couldn’t just ignore her.”

I had heard about that from Emma. Bryant’s biological mother died during childbirth, and when he was five, his father remarried Margaret’s mother.

Despite being a stepmother, she was kind to Bryant, treating him as her child. She even went so far as to risk her life to save Bryant, ending up in a vegetative state for many years.

If it was for that reason, it made sense.

I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, yet I couldn’t help but gently remind him, “Bryant, I believe you just wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, and you only see her as a sister.”

That necklace eventually ended up in storage.

Perhaps, my suspicions hadn’t completely vanished. They were just temporarily

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10:34

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I froze solid for a moment. It was as if I needed to double-check to ensure what I read in the email was real.

Yes, there was no mistake. Margaret, who parachuted to become the head of the Design Department, would be my direct supervisor.

“Jane, do you know her?” Christine noticed my offbeat reaction, waved a hand before my face, and voiced her guess.

I put down my phone, replying, “Yeah, Margaret is Bryant’s half-sister, the one I mentioned to you before.”

After graduation, everyone scattered to the winds, but Christine and I, having been thick as thieves since college, had made a pact to stay in RiverCity, come hell or high water.

Christine clicked her tongue. “Damn, talk about nepotism.”

I stayed quiet, nodding along to what she was saying.

“Has Bryant lost his mind?” Christine didn’t hold back on her complaints, venting on my behalf, “Why her? I’ve never even heard of her in the design circles. And Bryant, just like that, hands her the director’s spot? And you, what does he think of you…”

“All right, that’s enough.” I cut her off gently, “It doesn’t matter. If he wants to give it to me, he will.”

And if he didn’t, someone else would.

But since we were in the company cafe, I didn’t think it necessary to air these thoughts out loud to avoid giving the gossipmongers any fodder.

“Do you have plans then?” Christine knew me well enough to guess. As we left the caf and saw no one around, she sneaked a question, draping an arm over my shoulder.

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

Christine pressed further, “Come on, Jane. Spill it.”

I replied, “I guess you could say that, but I haven’t decided yet.”

Four years into my job, I’d never thought about jumping ship. The Ferguson Group felt lik my comfort zone. Leaving would probably require a push, something, or someone to give me a push.

Back in the office, I dove into designing a new limited edition for Christmas, skipping lunch.

Technically, it should’ve been a task for the director, but with the director’s position vacant, it naturally fell to the deputy director, so I had to buckle down.

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