She never expected that this time, it would all fall on Joanna.
Would Chester personally accompany his precious first love to visit those girls?
Celestine stirred her coffee absentmindedly, her gaze eventually landing on a surging new headline.
#Mirabelle and Joanna Join Forces at Bloom Initiative, Old Grudges Buried, Hand–in–Hand for a Cause#
Celestine pressed her lips together.
Ha. Chester was even more thorough than she’d imagined.
By putting the root of the conflict front and center, he left the fans with nothing to fight about. If the main parties had already made peace, what business did anyone else have in dragging it out?
This subtle PR maneuver was leagues beyond the dry, half–hearted resignation statement the Fordham Group crafted for her last time.
Celestine’s lips curled into a smile–cold and sharp.
Flossie caught her expression out of the corner of her eye and hugged herself in mock fear. “Celly, what’s with that look? You’re actually scaring me.”
“It’s nothing.” Celestine shook off her thoughts, giving a light laugh. “Just admiring how creative the media gets with their headlines.”
In the photos, Mirabelle was standing as far from Joanna as she could, at least six feet between them, and the forced smile on her face was probably her all–time
worst acting moment.
Celestine guessed Zeke must have pulled Mirabelle aside and put the pressure on that day.
That bastard–he never played fair.
Celestine sighed softly.
No matter how she tried, she couldn’t just ignore it.
She sent a quick message to check on Mirabelle.
The reply came back instantly–Mirabelle was clearly wide awake.
1/3
15:00
Mirabelle: You saw it, right?! That whole thing with Joanna is a total farce! Fake!
Fake! FAKE!
Celestine stared at the screen, the flood of exclamation points practically vibrating
with Mirabelle’s frustration.
She was considering how to respond when another message popped up.
Mirabelle: Please don’t get the wrong idea, Celly! It’s impossible to explain over
text–want to meet up and talk?
Mirabelle: [cute kitten pleading gif]
Celestine didn’t notice a new message popping up from someone else at the same
time.
Flossie, who’d been sitting on the floor devouring gossip, suddenly cried out, “Celly, my leg’s asleep! Help me up–I’m dying here!”
Celestine rolled her eyes but couldn’t help laughing.
She reached out and pulled Flossie to her feet.
By the time she glanced back at her phone, she saw that Mirabelle had sent three more gifs of kittens tilting their heads, all stacking up in the chat.
Celestine typed quickly.
Celestine: Sorry, got distracted just now.
Celestine: Of course I believe you. I know you wouldn’t do it unless you had no choice. Let’s see how things go tonight–I need to stop by home first. (heart emoji)
After replying, Flossie promptly dragged her off to help with her color grading.
Celestine never noticed she’d replied to the wrong conversation entirely.
President Prescott’s Office
“What’s the deal, Vernon? If the boss wants to kill us, can’t he at least make it quick? Last week he said this proposal just needed a little tweaking, and now it’s suddenly garbage?”
“Exactly! I’m no spring chicken–another year and I’ll be collecting my pension. Mr. Prescott’s mood swings are about to force me into early retirement!”
“Can I ask something? Has the boss been single too long? Maybe he’s just… out of
15:00
balance. I know a great specialist, want me to give you the number?”
In the executive suite, a group of top–tier professionals crowded around Vernon, grumbling and venting their collective misery.
Vernon was just as frustrated. The boss had come in this morning like he’d swallowed a handful of bullets–nothing and no one was safe, not even the office dog.
Of course, he couldn’t say any of that out loud.
Vernon took a deep breath and straightened up.
“Alright, enough, clear out! Abel, are you sure you heard the boss right? Last week he was just being polite–how have you lasted this long without picking up on his sarcasm?”
“And Laird, just admit you’re going bald. Don’t think I don’t know you only just turned thirty–stop pretending you’re some old–timer on his last legs!”
“And as for you, poking into the boss’s love life? You must have a death wish! But before you all run, hand over that doctor’s number–you never know when it might come in handy!”
15:00
