It was obvious Gaylord hade looking for Charlene. Thorne paused mid-step as he was leaving, shot Gaylord a nce, but said nothing-just turned and


    walked out.


    Gaylord watched Thorne''s retreating figure, then looked back at Charlene, who stood in the doorway wearing pajamas, her hair still damp from a recent shower. A frown creased his brow as he put the pieces together.


    Clearly, Thorne hade for Charlene as well.<fnb0ee> ?????? ???? Find[?]ovel</fnb0ee>


    But as far as Gaylord knew, there was no connection between Thorne and Charlene. Even if there was business to discuss, it should have been handled by The Henderson Group''s Mr. Windsor meeting with Stewart. Why would Thorne himself need to see Charlene at this hour?


    Charlene noticed the look Gaylord was giving her-the same look he''d given Thorne-and could mostly guess what he was thinking. But she didn''tment on it. Instead, she asked, "It''ste. Did you need something?"


    Snapping out of his thoughts, Gaylord replied, "I had some ideas I wanted to go over with you."


    He was, of course, referring to work.


    Charlene nodded. "Come in."


    Her suite was spacious, with afortable sitting area and a desk set up for work.


    Gaylord took a seat on the sofa. He hesitated, then couldn''t help himself and asked, "Why was Mr. Henderson here sote?" Worried she might misunderstand, he quickly added, "I don''t mean anything by it—I''m just surprised, that''s all."


    When he''d walked in on her and Thorne earlier, neither had looked remotely flustered or guilty.


    That alone told him there was nothing between them.


    Still, he couldn''t quite figure out why Thorne woulde see Charlene alone.


    Charlene opened herptop and, with no change of expression, answered in an even tone, "He wanted to discuss something personal."


    Personal?


    Gaylord''s mind paused-then suddenly, he remembered Vesta.


    It dawned on him that there was some old personal grudge between Charlene and Vesta. Was Thorne here to mediate that? To h?fp resolve things between the


    women?  s


    Thinking along these lines, Gaylord recalled that his own decision to


    return to thepany had


    something to do with Vesta, too. But now, thinking back on it, those events felt as distant as if they''d happened a lifetime ago.  s


    Charlene shifted the conversation to business.


    Gaylord had never pictured Thorne and Charlene together, and knowing Charlene''s character, he couldn''t


    imagine her getting involved wi


    someone else''s boyfriend. Since she''d said Thorne''s visit was personal and didn''t want to borate, he assumed she didn''t want to talk about Vesta, so he


    dropped the subject and focused on work.


    s


    Truthfully, Gaylord hade to Charlene because he wanted to discuss a work idea-but he couldn''t deny there was some personal motive as well.


    As they talked over the details, his gaze kept drifting to her. The way her damp


    hair clung to her neck, the droplets of water tracing along her skin...


    Gaylord felt his throat go dry. He quickly averted his gaze, cleared his throat, and said, "Maybe you should dry your hair first?"


    Charlene nodded. "Alright. Organize those notes from earlier, and I''ll be right back."


    "Sure," Gaylord replied.


    Charlene went to her bedroom to blow-dry her hair.


    When she returned, her hair dry and neat, she and Gaylord had only just resumed


    their discussion when her phone chimed with a text.


    She nced at her screen. It was a message from Thorne: *Minnie says you haven''t replied to her.*


    With Thorne''s reminder, Charlene suddenly remembered-she really had almost forgotten about Jasmine reaching out to her.


    She texted back: *Got it.*