Semua Bab Love's Redemption: Bab 251 - Bab 260

Ron hung up the phone with a sigh but turned to me with a smile. "Take a seat, Ms. Kay," he said, gesturing to a chair.I sat down, and he sighed again. "It's getting harder to find top talent these days."From his call earlier, I had already figured that out. "Are we really that short on technical staff right now?""We are," he said, shaking his head. "One of our senior engineers quit yesterday. We were already stretched thin, and this just makes it worse."For once, he looked a bit stressed—a side of him I hadn't seen before. Usually, he was all smiles, like nothing ever bothered him."The job market's super polarized right now," I said, sharing my thoughts. "We've got tons of people with fancy degrees, but hardly anyone with the real hands-on experience we need. It's like there's no shortage of gig workers, but try finding someone who'll actually get their hands dirty."Ron nodded, giving me a thumbs up. "Exactly. You get it. You're seriously a pro at both business and HR—a to

After sending that, I added: [Some young hottie.]Then I just stared at my phone, waiting. One second, two seconds, three seconds... still nothing.Um, what?Was he mad? Or just ignoring me?My fingers hovered over the screen, almost typing, "Hey, you good?" but then deleted it. Twice.If he was gonna flip out over some random guy sending me flowers, then what would be next? Would he go all possessive like Jace did?Back in high school, I had guys coming up to me all the time, and Jace acted like I was his personal property. Even when I was working at RiverwaveCorp, people flirted without knowing I was engaged, and he was the same—super jealous, always overreacting.He'd get so mad. He wouldn't just get on the guy's case but also make it my fault for being, I don't know, "too friendly" or something.To keep the peace, I'd end up avoiding any guy friends who might set him off.I swore I'd never let that happen again.So, I tossed my phone aside and got back to work.About ten

I didn't touch the pumpkin milk drinks and waited to see what the waiter would do.But before the waiter could move, Jace picked up both glasses. He set one in front of me and held the other, turning to Lindey. "Mom, your blood sugar's high. I asked them to make peanut milk for you instead."Lindey looked like she wanted to argue, but Jace was already placing the second glass in front of Tanya.Tanya gave him a weak, almost fragile smile.She looked so pitiful that even I felt a little uncomfortable, and I was sure any guy watching would've been tempted to play the hero.Lindey must've noticed too, because she didn't say anything else.Then the dishes started arriving, all my favorites. Lindey piled food onto my plate like I was incapable of serving myself, making it impossible to keep up.Meanwhile, Jace and Tanya sat there like extras in the background, completely ignored.I felt embarrassed for them.If I were in their place, I'd probably end up with a serious case of indig

Jace's tone was harsh."Jace, I get it. Your mom doesn't like me, and nothing I do is gonna change that. I'm sorry you're stuck dealing with this because of me," Tanya said, finally realizing the truth.Her apology was way too humble, almost like she was beating herself up.But what had she actually done wrong? If anything, she was guilty of loving him too much, putting up with all this drama just to be with him."It's my choice to deal with this crap, but stop making it worse," Jace snapped, sounding more annoyed than ever."Wait, Jace, what are you talking about? I don't get it," Tanya said, her voice turning softer, almost like she was trying to appear more delicate."What's going on with Brad?" The way Jace said it made it clear he was blaming her for something."What about Brad? Did he mess up again? Did you have to clean up his mess?" Tanya asked, her voice a little shaky.Jace scoffed. "You really don't know?""Jace, seriously, I have no clue what you're talking about,"

I'd failed miserably as a daughter. I knew my parents died in a car accident, but I didn't know a single detail about what happened that day.Lindey's expression shifted, and she gently grabbed my wrist. "Rea, we agreed not to talk about this anymore. It's in the past.""I'm not a kid anymore. I can handle it. Please, just tell me," I said, squeezing her hand back.Her hand trembled slightly. "It's over. Why bring it up again?"I stayed quiet for a few seconds. "Lindey, they were my parents. The only family I had."My parents grew up in an orphanage, and when they were gone, I became an orphan too.Maybe my words got through to her. After a long pause, Lindey finally spoke. "When Matthew and I got to the crash site, your mother was already gone. Your father was barely hanging on. He grabbed Matthew's hand and could only say your name..."Lindey choked up and stopped, and I felt a lump in my throat too.It was like ripping open an old wound, and now I understood why Lindey had b