I Was the Last to Know
Frost KibblePlot TwistsMelodramaticBiasCheating
At a company team-building dinner, my coworkers started a challenge. We had to call our husbands or boyfriends and compare how much money they sent us.
The rules were simple. Whoever got the biggest transfer and the fastest answer won.
As usual, I came in dead last.
"Seraphina, don't take it personally. Mr. Brooks may not be very romantic, but at least he's rich."
Everyone laughed and tried to smooth things over, carefully avoiding old wounds.
Like how I had spent seven years helping Conrad build his business, yet he had never once brought up marriage.
Like how Conrad had distributed company shares to the executive team, and I was the last person to find out.
Or how, on the day I was diagnosed with stomach cancer, the only person sitting beside me in the hospital waiting for the test results was my best friend.
I simply smiled and said nothing. Then my gaze landed on the new intern.
She gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles had turned white, hesitation written all over her face.
"I think I'll pass," she said quietly. "He's on a business trip. He's really busy."
The mood in the room began to grow awkward.
Trying to help her out, I leaned forward with a smile and tapped the speakerphone button as I dialed for her.
I had expected the call to go unanswered. Instead, it was picked up instantly.
The private dining room fell completely silent.
Because the voice that came through the phone belonged to my quiet, unromantic boyfriend, Conrad, and his tone was impossibly gentle.
"Babe, did you get the Valentine's Day surprise I sent you?"