The next day, Harry and Rex arrived at Cole at the sa ti.
Rex spotted him imdiately and walked over with a polite smile. "Mr. Becker. What a coincidence."
Harry nodded. "Quite a coincidence."
Rex was about to say sothing else when he saw Elodie and Johnny coming out to greet them.
He paused.
Yesterday, Elodie had quickly gotten out of Dante’s car. What exactly she’d said to Dante afterward, Rex wasn’t sure.
But one thing was undeniable.
Whether at last year’s year-end party or yesterday’s forum, it seed like Dante was always the one taking the initiative with Elodie.
And Elodie? She seed completely indifferent to him.
Rex found it puzzling.
Elodie was attractive, sure. He could understand why other n might be drawn to her.
But Dante wasn’t just anyone.
And aside from looks, there was no comparison between Elodie and Sienna. None.
So why would Dante, after getting involved with Sienna, still show interest in Elodie?
Rex’s expression turned cold as he looked at her.
Elodie noticed. She t his gaze head-on, and her tone turned sharp. "Mr. Hardin, do you have sothing to say to ?"
Rex’s jaw tightened. "Miss Miller, you’re overthinking. I thought we had nothing to discuss. Or do you want to say sothing?”
Johnny and Harry had both watched the news coverage of the forum.
They both knew Rex and Elodie had crossed paths yesterday.
Johnny, hearing the tension in Rex’s voice, guessed that sothing unpleasant must have happened between them.
He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. "Oh? What happened? What’s going on?”
Elodie didn’t want to waste ti on this. Before Rex could answer, she cut in. "Nothing."
Then she turned to Harry. "Mr. Becker, please follow ."
Harry nodded, shot a brief glance at Rex, and followed Elodie into the eting room.
Johnny didn’t push it. But he knew their disagreent probably had sothing to do with Sienna.
Since Elodie didn’t want to talk about it, he let it go. He turned to Rex, his tone cool.
"Mr. Hardin, please."
—————-
This was the first ti Harry had seen Elodie since New Year’s.
The mont he’d spotted her earlier, his gaze had lingered. He couldn’t help it. He noticed how Elodie was glowing now. How extrely beautiful and radiant she had beco.
But with the tension between Elodie and Rex, none of them had noticed.
Once inside the eting room, Harry finally looked away. He sat down and said casually, "I had planned to attend yesterday’s forum, but I had to leave for a business trip. I sent soone in my place."
It was common for clients to make small talk before diving into business.
Elodie didn’t think much of it. "I see."
Harry lowered his gaze, realizing she hadn’t picked up on what he was really trying to say.
So he shifted the conversation to business.
——————-
Harry had social engagents that evening, so after wrapping up their discussion, he stood to leave.
But before he did, he looked at her.
Elodie glanced up. "Is sothing wrong?"
Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day.
Harry wanted to say sothing. Ask her if she had plans. Invite her to dinner, maybe.
But he didn’t.
He just shook his head. "Nothing."
——-
The Next Day which was the Valentine’s Day, Elodie had been so focused on work that she’d completely forgotten what day it was.
It wasn’t until she arrived at the office and soone greeted her with a cheerful "Happy Valentine’s Day!" that it suddenly clicked.
She blinked, paused, then nodded politely and headed toward her office.
But before she could reach the door, a voice called out from the entrance.
"Excuse , is Miss Miller here? Soone ordered flowers for you. Could you please co sign for them?"
Elodie turned around.
A delivery man was standing just outside the door, holding an absolutely massive bouquet of red roses.
The delivery man’s words and the extravagant display, imdiately drew everyone’s attention.
People stopped what they were doing. Heads imdiately turned. Whispers started.
Elodie stood there, frozen for just a second. Her brain trying to register what the hell was happening.
There had been rumors floating around that Elodie and Johnny were romantically involved.
But the truth was, many people in the company knew Elodie was already married.
She just rarely talked about her personal life, so most of them didn’t know the details of her marriage or how bad things had gotten.
When they saw soone sending her flowers on Valentine’s Day, a few colleagues couldn’t help but comnt enviously.
"What a huge bouquet! Is that from your husband? He must be really sweet."
"Right? I’m so jealous!"
Elodie thought to herself, Dante? Sending flowers?
Not a chance. That wasn’t even possible.
But she didn’t say that out loud.
The card attached to the bouquet listed her contact information, which ant the flowers weren’t a mistake. They were definitely ant for her.
The delivery man, after confirming she was Elodie Miller, handed her the massive bouquet and held out a clipboard.
"Please sign here."
Not wanting to make things difficult for him, Elodie signed quickly.
Then, holding the bouquet awkwardly, she turned and headed back to her office.
————
Once inside, she set the roses down on the coffee table and pulled out the elegant card tucked between the stems.
She opened it.
No na. It was just written with a short ssage written in neat handwriting.
"Happy Valentine’s Day."
She stared at it for a mont, frowning slightly.
The handwriting looked familiar. She just couldn’t place it.
At that mont, Johnny pushed the door open. He spotted the red roses imdiately and raised an eyebrow.
"Who sent those?"
Elodie shook her head. "I don’t know. But the handwriting looks kind of familiar."
Johnny let out a short laugh. "Sounds like soone has a crush on you. Any guesses?"
Elodie shook her head again. "No idea."
Johnny stroked his chin thoughtfully.
He and Elodie had been working closely together for years now, yet he’d never noticed anyone secretly harboring feelings for her.
After a mont, he smirked. Though he didn’t actually believe it, he said it anyway.
"It’s not... Dante, is it?"
Elodie’s tone was flat. "It’s not him."
She and Dante had been married for years. He’d never once celebrated Valentine’s Day with her. So why would he suddenly send her roses right before their divorce?
Besides, she still recognized his handwriting.
This wasn’t his.
Johnny nodded. "Fair enough."
He glanced at the flowers again, then added, "Still, whoever sent them put so thought into it. Those are expensive roses. Top-tier."
Maybe.
But Elodie didn’t really care.
Her mind was completely occupied with other things.
Whoever had sent the flowers hadn’t left any contact information or a na, and honestly, she couldn’t be bothered to figure it out.
"Let’s just focus on work," she said.
Johnny nodded and dropped the subject.
---
Elodie had sothing important to do today.
She was scheduled to visit Wilson Tech, an arrangent made a few days ago to finalize so technical details for their ongoing partnership.
She gathered her materials, checked the ti, and once it was close enough, she left with a few colleagues for the Bellini Tech office.
The drive was quiet throughout.
But as they pulled into the parking lot, Elodie felt her stomach tighten.
She hadn’t been here in a long ti.
And she really, really didn’t want to run into him.
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