The following morning, Maxine woke up early. She quickly took a bath and dressed up. Then she headed to Martha’s room.She called the old lady in a low voice, worried she might wake up the rest of the housekeepers. “Do you need anything, Mrs. Hartmann?”Maxine was startled when the woman suddenly spoke behind her. She clutched her chest and smiled, “Martha, please, just call me Maxine. I’m not qualified for that title.”Martha reached out for her arm and gave it a light squeeze. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”The old lady liked her. In Martha’s heart, she can feel Maxine is innocent. She knew Sean was a little confused about his brother’s murder. But she believed that Maxine was not the culprit.“Can you tell me where I can wash this?” Maxine asked, showing Martha the handkerchief.“Is that Sean’s?” she asked with a teasing smile. Maxine immediately shook her head to dismiss whatever the woman was thinking. “He lent it to me.”Martha nodded, still not convinced that Sean had lent h

“I’m Maxine!”She introduced herself, still smiling, and that drew the last straw. When he heard Elo’s footsteps, he wrapped his coat around Maxine’s waist and pushed her towards the stairs.“What are you doing? I need to shake her hand!” Elo called him out, but his friend ignored him.“Go upstairs, change your clothes, and stay there until Elo leaves,” he instructed. Although confused, Maxine obeyed and headed to her room.“The greed, man! The greed!” Elo whined, but Sean just plopped on the couch without saying anything.Instead of paying attention to his childlike friend, he turned to the sketches on the couch. He picked them up, one by one, and called the housekeeper.“Yes, Sean?”“What are these?” he asked again, handing the papers to the old lady.After looking at it, she hid the papers behind her back, “Sorry, these might be Maxine’s sketches. She got bored earlier and asked for a pen and paper. She spent hours drawing.”“Drawing what?” Elo asked. “Let me see,” then Martha hand

The next day, Elo woke up at seven in the morning. He saw Martha in the kitchen, and the old lady offered him breakfast, but he settled for coffee.“How are things with the couple? And why was Maxine sleeping under the stairs?” Elo asked.“It was just like what you saw last night. Less Maxine’s tantrum,” she giggled. “She told us that Sean took her mother and sister to Scottsville, and she hasn’t talked to them for weeks.”“Wait,” putting a hand up to halt the old lady and then pressed between his eyes. He had not heard much yet, but he was already feeling depressed. “You mean, he suspected her of killing his brother, but he still married her? Then he took her family hostage?”Martha pulled a chair and started telling Elo everything the woman told her. “According to Maxine, she got kidnapped one night right next to the club she was working. When she woke up, she was at an asylum, where she met Sean. He told her he was looking for a stripper named Sasha, which was correct. Maxine’s kno

“Surprise!” Elo yelled inside the CEO’s office.“If that’s all, sir, I’ll get going.”Sean nodded to Vito, and the man exited the office. Then he turned his attention to Elo. “Why are you here?”“As I said, I have a surprise for you!”“What is it?”“Come in!” Elo yelled again, and the office door opened. Sean’s mouth fell open when he saw the woman. “You were stunned, too, right?”Clearing his throat, he glared at his friend, “Did you finally convince her?”Elo nodded, then gestured for Maxine to sit on the chair in front of Sean’s desk. When she did, Elo took the other chair. “It was Martha who convinced her,” he giggled.Sean turned to Maxine. “Are you sure about this?” He asked, and the woman nodded. “Can you do it?” Once again, she nodded in response. “What is wrong with you?”She looked up, and her brow automatically arched, “I was answering your questions. Was that wrong?”Sean scowled, but Elo laughed. Then he stood up and grabbed the woman’s wrist. “Let’s go! You should at lea

“Are you ready?” Elo asked. He’s been watching Maxine from a few feet away, and he could not hide his fondness for the young woman.She was wearing an off-shoulder split tight sequined evening dress. Lucile chose gold ankle-strapped heels and a gold purse to complete the look.Lisa tied her hair into a fishtail and applied a thin layer of makeup on her face. According to the woman, Maxine has a natural beauty, so she doesn’t have to use too much makeup.After Lucile and Lisa helped her, Maxine came out of the room looking elegant and sophisticated. Elo couldn’t believe she was a murderer, as Sean would call her.“I’m nervous!” Maxine exclaimed as she took the arm Elo offered. They were on their way to Fairfax to open the first boutique of L’Amour.It’s been two weeks since all the preparations finished. And L’Amour was finally operational. Elo could not stop praising Maxine, as their first release was a great hit at the market.It was a limited edition diamond set with labradorite Bia