All Chapters of Divorced, Remarried, and Done With Them: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Claire texted back an acknowledgment, then turned to Serena. "It'll be easier for Stella to sleep at home tonight. Let her go back."Then she looked at her daughter. "Come on. Put your shoes on. The bodyguard is downstairs, so I'll walk you down."Stella's whole face brightened.Yes! She didn't have to spend the night at the hospital after all.She hopped off the bed, slipped on her shoes, and immediately reached for Claire's hand. "I'm ready, Mommy. Let's go!"Before leaving, she turned and waved cheerfully at Serena and Gordon.Claire noticed how happy she was to go, and whatever warmth had remained in her expression faded a little more.Serena, on the other hand, clearly hated to see her granddaughter leave so soon. She pulled a few hundred in cash from her pocket and tried to give it to Stella.Claire stopped her. "She doesn't need that. Keep it for yourself."Then she took Stella downstairs.The moment they stepped out of the hospital, a cold gust of night air swept over them. St

At Southridge Development, Claire got out of the cab and went inside. Since the person Grandpa Walter had arranged to send hadn't arrived yet, she planned to wait in the lobby.Her phone buzzed almost immediately.It was a message from Walter.Walter: [Claire, traffic is a little backed up this morning, so the person I sent may be late. Go ahead to the project team's conference room on the third floor and wait there. I've already made the arrangements.]Claire found herself wondering who he had sent.Claire: [Okay. Thank you, Grandpa Walter.]She put away her phone and headed upstairs.The conference room had been set aside specifically for the newly formed project team, and quite a few people were already there.Several of them looked puzzled when Claire walked in. They didn't recognize her, but assumed she must have been sent by one of the companies involved in the project, so no one questioned her. A few people simply gave her another glance, noticing her fair complexion and slim le

"There are special circumstances that prevent Claire from explaining everything, but she's more than capable of handling this project. I can vouch for her."The conference room went quiet.Everyone turned toward the man who had just entered.Claire recognized him immediately. It was Marcus Shaw, one of Grandpa Walter's longtime aides and the military liaison attached to the government side of the project.She gave him a grateful smile.It wasn't that Claire had never worked on major projects before. The problem was that most of them had involved government or military contracts, and the work was classified. She simply wasn't allowed to put those projects on a public résumé or discuss them in detail.Henry looked visibly relieved and hurried over to greet him."Major Shaw."Marcus gave him a polite nod, then acknowledged Claire with one of his own.Recognition quickly spread through the room."That's General Renner's aide.""If he came here personally to vouch for her, then it has to b

Her message was met with complete silence.Claire stared at the screen, her fingers pressing harder into the phone case. She still had a project meeting coming up, so she couldn't stand around waiting for Luke indefinitely.After several more minutes passed without a reply, she put her phone away and headed upstairs.The meeting focused on plans for the industrial park itself.Derek was leading the discussion when he turned to Claire. "Everyone else has already toured the existing site. I'll take you over there tomorrow morning so you can get familiar with it."Claire nodded. "All right. Thank you, Mr. Chase."Several people around the table seemed relieved. They had accepted that Claire was staying on the team, but that didn't mean their doubts about her had disappeared. At the very least, they were glad she was going to see the site right away instead of holding up the project.The meeting lasted nearly two hours, and by the time it ended, it was almost noon.Everyone began packing

"Don't worry. I'm not going to meet with them," Julian said. "And as for Bella's family company, Crestview wouldn't work with them before, and we certainly won't start now."Claire finally relaxed and smiled. "Thanks, Julian.""What are you thanking me for? Crestview wouldn't be where it is today without you."At this point, I'm just waiting for you to finish the project you're working on and come back. Then you can show all of them exactly how wrong they were about you."Claire laughed. "Alright."Julian laughed too, though he was still a little worried about her. "What time are you done tonight? Want to go out for a drink?""No, thanks."Claire wasn't interested in drinking. Right now, she'd much rather spend the time studying, sharpening her skills, or visiting her parents at the hospital."All right. Call me if you need anything.""I will."By the time they hung up, Claire was in a much better mood.When she got back to Southridge, she grabbed a quick taco in the cafeteria, then re