She quickly looked away and focused on her food, stabbing a piece of grilled chicken like it had personally offended her.Vivian, however, was not about to let it slide, because she had literally caught her staring at their boss.She gave a low whistle and leaned in with a grin, wiggling her brows. “Ooooh… Someone was oogling.”Kimberly froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. “What?”Vivian laughed, her voice just loud enough to make Kimberly’s stomach flip. “You were staring, Kim. Like, full-on, mouth-parted, caught in-the-moment staring. Don't lie, because I caught you.”“I was not!” Kimberly hissed, her cheeks burning as she glanced around to make sure no one heard her.“And she still lied,” Vivian dragged the word out dramatically, laughing and clearly enjoying herself. “Do you like our boss?”“What? No!” Kimberly’s response came so fast and sharp it could’ve cracked the glass on the table. “Why would you even say that?”Vivian raised both hands like she was innocent. “I don’t k
Landon shook his head with a sigh, but then his expression shifted, suddenly remembering something.“By the way,” he said, leaning forward a bit, “Markus told me you moved the creative directors’ meeting to tomorrow. Any reason?”Bryce exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah. I just needed the morning to breathe. Too much happened last night, and this morning.”Landon gave a small nod. “Understandable.” He paused, then added, “But honestly, they’re itching to pitch that new campaign. I glanced through it last night. It’s strong. Fresh angle, bold messaging. Might be one of the best ideas the team has come up with in months.”Bryce arched a brow. “It's that good?”“It's better,” Landon replied. “You’ll want to hear them out. It might even be perfect for the Paris launch, and the upcoming event. The timing lines up.”Bryce leaned back in his chair, considering it. “Alright. Let’s keep the meeting for tomorrow morning then. First thing. And tell Markus to push the board check-in
Sienna blinked, a deep frown formed across her face.“What?”Keira nodded seriously, her spoon halfway to her mouth, “He won’t marry you. He already has my mommy. Right, Daddy?”She turned her gaze to Bryce.His eyes widened slightly, his heart skipping but he said nothing.Silence fell afterwards.Sienna’s mouth parted slightly, like she’d been slapped by a ghost.She couldn't believe the audacity of this little girl.Who did she think she and her Mom were?“Excuse me?” she asked, breaking the absolute silence. She tried to laugh it off, though her voice cracked around the edges.Keira looked up at her, chewing like nothing was wrong in the world. “My mommy is prettier than you anyway. And she gives better hugs. I don't think you give hugs.”Bryce instinctively cleared his throat, stepping forward, trying the extinguish the fire that was about to spread out. “Keira…”But Keira was surely not done yet. “And she doesn’t wear so much paint on her face.”She dropped the last bomb.Edna,
The next morning at Bryce’s home….Edna sat on the edge of little Keira’s bed, carefully tying the laces of her glittery pink sneakers.“Hold still, sweetie. We don’t want one shoe tighter than the other,” she said with a gentle chuckle as Keira dangled her legs, wiggling her toes with delight.“But it tickles when you touch my toes like that.” Keira giggled, bouncing a little.She was already dressed in her neat sky-blue school uniform, her backpack sitting and waiting by the door.“You're too ticklish, that's all,” Edna smiled, smoothing Keira’s soft curls with careful hands. Keira giggled, staring down at Edna.There was a fondness in Edna's gaze, the kind that came not from obligation, but genuine affection.Edna had worked in Bryce’s home for years, seen all kinds of people come in and go. But this little girl was different. Not just because she was her boss's daughter though.The child had a way of warming the quiet halls with her laughter, filling the house with a life Edna h
“Princess,” Bryce called softly, nudging Keira’s shoulder, “Why don’t you go grab your storybook? You can show your Mom the new one you picked last night.”Keira hesitated, glancing between her mom and dad, then she nodded and slid off his lap. “Okay!”As soon as her tiny footsteps disappeared down the hallway, silence returned. It was even heavier now, as Kimberly and Bryce stared at each other through the screen.Neither of them spoke at first.Then finally, Bryce broke the quiet as he said: “She misses you.”He said it out loud before he could even stop himself.He didn't want Kimberly to know that Keira was missing her presence badly, even when he knew he didn't need to tell Kimberly about it.Kimberly looked down briefly, then back at him. “I miss her too. Every second.”“You could’ve called.” Bryce said.“I didn’t think I was allowed to,” she replied gently, a hint of sadness in her voice.Bryce’s jaw tightened. He couldn’t argue. He hadn’t exactly made it easy for her.“I didn’
Cindy was so happy Keira's school didn't hesitate to help out when she rushed down there to help her friend out of the mess Clara was trying to get her into.Thank goodness the school wasn't that far too.The room fell eerily silent after Cindy's words.Every eye in the room focused only on her and the small flash drive now held between her fingers like a loaded weapon.Clara took a cautious step back, the fake limp suddenly less convincing. One of the officers almost caught that, but Clara being a sly fox, was quick to hife it again.She couldn't even believe Cindy was here.No, she couldn't believe Kimberly and Cindy were still friends up till date.She had never expected to see these two women again in her life, especially Cindy.But of course she found Kimberly again.... and now Cindy too?The lead officer raised a brow, asking, “What the hell is going on?”“I think you should ask this pretender here,” Cindy's voice was filled with fury as she said that, turning to glare at Clara