mid–thirties.

A relined, elegant woman entered the room, looking to be In her mid–thirties,

Sean gestured toward her. “Lottle, this is the restoration expert I btold /byou about–Louisa Sinir.”

Charlotte’s eyes lit up with surprise. She had expected some elderly craftsman, not a stunning woman with an effortless air of sophistication.

Charlotte quickly stood up and stepped forward, shaking Louisa’s hand with excitement. “Dr. Sinir, It’s an honor! I’m Charlotte Riley. My ceramic figurine is in your hands now.”

Louisa blinked, then let out augh. “Dr. Sinir? Am I performing surgery or fixing porcin?”

Charlotte froze, cringing as the words registered.

Oh god. Had she just made her sound like a brain surgeon?

She cleared her throat, face warming. “That….e out wrong. My bad.”

“It’s fine.” Louisa was still li

“bYou’ve /balways been reserved and ridiculously picky. Before I got here, I was dying to know what kind of women could actually win you over.”

She turned back to Charlotte with a teasing grin. “Now that I’ve met you, I get it. If I were him, bI’d /bbe smitten toob./bb” /b

“bPlease/b, have a seat.” Charlotte pulled out ba /bchair for hor.

Louisa sat down as Charlotte poured her a cup of tea

“Here you go.”

Louisa took a sip and nodded approvingly. “Not bad.”

Sean’s voice was calm as he interjected. “Lottie, you don’t have to be so polite. I paid her a heftymission. You’re the client–you can act

like one

Charlotte smiled and nodded, obediently returning to her seat next to him.

Louisa rolled ber eyes. b“/bbYou /breally know how to kill the moodb, /bbSean/b.”

Then she tumed back bto /bCharlotte, her expression soft. “Did you bring the pieces with you?”

“Not yet, Louisa–oh wait, can I call you that? Or should I say Miss Sinir?

“Louisa is fine.” She grinned.

“Great. The figurine is at my house. Would you minding over after dinner so I bcan /bgive it to you?”

“Sure, no problem.“

After dinner, Louisa followed Charlotte back to the Riley estate.

Charlotte carefully unwrapped the bundle of porcin shards and handed them over. “Louisa, do byou /bthink this can still be bsaved/b?”

Louisa opened the package, her brows lifting slightly. “Damn this thing’s shattered.”

Charlotte’s heart clenched.

fixed.”

“Rx.” Louisa patted her shoulder like they were old friends. “Since it’s in my hands now, I’ll make sure it gets fixe

Charlotte finally let out a breath of relief “Thank you. I breally /bappreciate it.”

“Piece of cake.”

Louisa was internally celebrating

A simple restoration Job, and Sean had paid her a million for it?

bWhat /ba deal

“Do you have any pictures of the original?”

“Yeah, I’ll send them over.”

“Perfect. I need any details, I’ll check in with you. I should get going now.”

“I’ll have the driver take you home.”

“Sounds good.”

bWith /bthe restoration taken care of, it was time to deal with Wendy and Zac.

Charlotte picked up her phone and called her cousin, Steven.

“Hey, Steven, I need a favor,”

Later that night, fresh out of the shower, Charlottey in bed when her phone buzzed.

She nced at the screen. It was an unknown number from Harbor bCity/b.

Probably a potential client

She answered. “Hello?”

Silence.

She frowned. “bHello/bb? /bCan you hear me?”

bStill /bno response.

u’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up.

“If you”

A low voice finally came through the receiver. “It’s me.”

Her grip tightened around the phone.

“Charlotte, unblock me–my number and on the app