?Chapter 495:

    And now she was supposed to buy him a car and a house when she didn’t even have those things herself?

    She pushed ra’s hand off her shoulder, irritated. “I just squeezed that money out of him. If I ask for more now, he’ll dump me. Then your son’s car and house are toast.”

    ra stiffened. That snapped her right back to reality. Doreen was her golden ticket. She couldn’t risk blowing this.

    “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I won’t show up again. Just… pick up when I call, okay? If I have toe back, it won’t be pretty.”

    Doreen rolled her eyes. “Got it. Just go already.”

    She’d tried to keep everything under wraps, but ra still sniffed it out. Now that her mother hadtched on, Doreen knew she’d never hear the end of it.

    Ste’s meeting with Steven had gone better than expected — both of them were pleased with the proposal. Even the client was convinced.

    Later that day, after wrapping up her follow-up with the client, Ste was heading to her car when she heard someone call out behind her.

    She turned and spotted Shaun walking toward her.

    “Syl, long time no see. You here on a project too?”

    Ste gave a polite nod. “Small world, Mr. Smith.”

    Her tone was cool, and the “Mr. Smith” was intentional. It put distance between them. Meanwhile, Shaun’s use of “Syl” sounded too familiar, as if they were still close. They weren’t.

    But Shaun either didn’t notice or pretended not to. “I’m still bummed ourst deal tanked. You up for another gig?” he asked.

    Ste wasn’t opposed to a solid paycheck, but anything connected to Shaun still made her wary — especially after that mess with Nixon.

    Now that she had her footing at Neb Group, the projects were bigger, and the paychecks didn’te with strings attached.

    “Sorry, Mr. Smith,” she said firmly. “My schedule’s full. Can’t take on your project.”

    Your favorite stories are on g?lnσνe??s?c?m

    Shaun waved it off casually. “No problem. Another time.”

    Then his gaze lingered a little too long. “Still… it’s been forever. At least grab dinner with me?”

    It was one of those requests that was hard to decline withouting off as rude or burning bridges.

    Just as she opened her mouth toe up with a gentle excuse, her phone buzzed from inside her bag.

    Saved by the bell. “Sorry,” Ste said, giving him a quick smile as she answered the call.

    “Ms. Gilbert, we’ve got a situation at the art gallery!”

    Ste’s posture stiffened. “What kind of situation?”

    “One of the paintings—it got sshed with paint. It wasn’t framed yet, and we can’t clean it off. It lookspletely ruined.”

    Her heart sank. These weren’t student sketches—they were high-end pieces, each worth six figures minimum. If even one got destroyed…

    “Alright. Stay put. I’m on my way.”

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