Chapter 50

Charlene took a while to reply. "Will you keep it a secret that I brought you here today?" she asked, giving Sally a gentle scratch on the head. Please don't tell Minnie. Eagerly, Sally nodded. "Gotcha." Minnie had been abrasive when she had last given Charlene a hug. In all honesty, Sally was a little afraid of her and dared not speak to her very often. Furthermore, Minnie would swell up and glare whenever she saw Sally, suggesting that she still harbored resentment. Jasmine, Vesta, and Thorne appeared to be the ideal family in the distance. Charlene couldn't help but think it was lovely as she watched them. She turned her attention elsewhere. Charlene and Sally eventually got out of the car after Thorne and Vesta had left.

Jasmine's mother, Charlene, was known to Jasmine's teacher. She assumed Charlene was preoccupied when she observed Jasmine being dropped off by her father and another woman. She was momentarily perplexed, however, when she noticed Charlene clutching Sally's hand. "Ms. Ross, you and Sally..." "Mrs. Sullivan asked me to drop off something because she had an emergency. "Hey Sally," Charlene clarified. "Oh, I see," the teacher sighed in relief and added cautiously, "It's just that... Jasmine just arrived at school, too, but..."

Charlene smiled reassuringly, "I know." The teacher was still perplexed, but she didn't ask any more questions since Charlene appeared to be aware and unconcerned. "What time will you get here?" Stewart called as Charlene was just getting into the car after leaving the preschool. "In about ten minutes." "Okay." Stewart was waiting for Charlene at the entrance to PrimeStar when she arrived. He threw up his arms to welcome her. "Welcome back." Charlene grinned and gave him a brief embrace. Raleigh, meantime, was on the phone and leaning against a window in the company's hallway.

As soon as he saw the entryway, Charlene's look charmed him. But Vesta's call came through, and he hastily looked away. He started the conversation with a laugh. "Good morning, Vesta. When are you going to be in the office? Raleigh's face changed at every word Vesta spoke. Raleigh soon went back to his job, and his coworkers saw that something was strange about him. "What's up with you, Raleigh? Are you ill? Raleigh gave a silent shake of his head. A ripple of excitement went around the workplace as people began to stream in: "Did you see? Mr. Ferguson brought a real knockout to the office." "Is she really so beautiful?" "Don't pull my leg!" "She really is. She's even more beautiful than a movie star, and she's glowing!"

Raleigh's thoughts instantly went back to the stunning woman who had welcomed Stewart at the door. "And guess what? I heard she's joining our company today as a new employee!" said a different coworker. At this realization, Raleigh hesitated. In college, Vesta was his junior. He suggested her to Stewart as soon as he found out she was interested in working at PrimeStar, and at their initial encounter, Stewart appeared to be quite impressed. Vesta's first day was scheduled for that day. When he called Vesta earlier to find out when she would be arriving, he learned that Stewart had abruptly left her for "personal reasons." What those individual motivations were... As Raleigh contemplated this, Stewart entered the room accompanied by Charlene.