February 14th was Valentine’s Day,
Charlotte was currently single <b>and </bpletely focused <b>on </bunching herw firm. She had zero interest in celebrating
The office space she had leased downtown <b>was </b>still under renovation. Somehow, Zac found out the location of her new firm and, <b>in </b>a grand gesture, had sixty–six congrattory flower baskets delivered to the site.
Just as Charlotte was discussing a partnership with Scott at a cafe, her phone rang, It was <b>one </b>of the construction workers.
“Miss Riley, someone just sent <b>y </b>
you sixty–six flower baskets. The <b>hallway </b>can’t fit them, so they’re all piled inside. You’ll need toe <b>deal </b>with it. It’s blocking everything, and we can’t get any work done.”
“Flower baskets? Was there a name on them?”
Yeah. From a Mr. Zac Gibson.
Charlotte’s <b>head </b>immediately started throbbing
She let out a long breath, massaging her remples with visible frustration. “Got it. I’lle by shortly and arrange to have them cleared out. Just <b>take </b>a break in the meantime.”
After ending the <b>call</b>, Charlotte turned to Scott. “Something came up at the office. I need to head over<b>. </b>Sorry, but we’ll have to sign the contract another time.”
“No need to apologize.”
Scott stood up with her, his tone calm <b>and </b>understanding. “It it’s rted to the firm, mind if Ie <b>along</b>? It’d be good to see the space, since
e we’ll be
Charlotte paused, then nodded. “Sure You’re going to be a partner anyway–might as well give you <b>a </b>tour.”
“GTML”
When they arrived at the office, Charlotte toolt one look at the room packed wall to wall with flower baskets and frowned, thoroughly annoyed.
She walked over and <b>picked </b>one at random, eyeing the red ribbon attached
“Wishing you great sess on the grand opening of your <bw </b>firm -Zac Gibson”
Charlotte stared at the ribbon, <b>visibly </b>unimpressed
<b>“</b>Grand opening? What is this–a bakery?” she thought.
Scott caught sight of the message on the ribbon <b>too</b><b>. </b>
“Zac Gibson?”
Charlotte rubbed her temples again, clearly exasperated. “Yeah. Sorry you had to see this.”
Scott nced at her, his tone even. “Mind if I ask who he <b>is</b>?”
Since they were going to be partners, Charlotte felt he had a right to know. It <b>was </b>better to be upfront than risk misunderstanding or jeopardizing the
coboration
“He’s my ex boyfriend. We broke up over six months ago.”
“Ex–boyfriend….” Scott repeated softly.
Sorry about the scene.” Charlotte said again, a little embarrassed,
Scott looked at her. “Wasn’t your ex Sean Jasper?”
Charlotte blinked. “You knew about that?”
Scott adjusted his sses. “Mia mentioned it once”
The truth was, he had known about her engagement to Sean for a long time. But that wasn’t something he could bring up
Curlotte offered a sheepish exnation “Zar was actually my first boyfriend. I met him right after graduation when I was working in Harbor City. After we broke up, I moved back to Jersey City to prepare for the arranged marriage with Sean. That didn’t work out either for a number of reasons.”
simply gave a quiet
| didn’t press further.
Charlotte added, “I’ll get these baskets cleared out right away. Don’t worry. I won’t let Zac interfere with the firm’s operations.”
25 Bonus
Charlotte called a housekeeping servi to remove the flower baskets. They arrived quickly, and within half an hour, all sixty–six baskets were gone.
renovation crew resumed work, and Charlotte gare Scott a tour of the office floor, the two of them discussing design ns andyout ideas for the
During a break, one of the workers grinned and said, “Miss Riley, is this your boyfriend? Starting a firm together, huh?
Charlotta habit of blushing when she was caught off guard. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she quickly waved her hands. “Oh no, no. You’ve got it.
He’s just my business partner, not my boyfriend.”