Chapter 19: The Encounter
As Theodore walked alongside his colleague, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. His thoughts lingered on the fleeting image he thought he had seen in the hotel lobby.
“Mr. Schaefer, what’s wrong?”
His colleague’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Nothing,” Theodore replied quickly, brushing it off.
He was sure it was Valerie he had glimpsed. But how could that be? Terrence was still in Houston, so Valerie had to be too, right?
His mind raced, but he chalked it up to the stress of the ongoing collaboration with the Murray Group. The late nights, the constant pressure — it was all getting to him. Surely, he was just hallucinating. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog in his mind.
Pushing the thoughts aside, Theodore briskly made his way toward the front desk, intent on getting the check-in process over with so he could focus on his business dealings.
A Call From the Past
The next day, Valerie’s phone rang, an unknown number flashing on the screen. She hesitated before picking up, but then she heard the voice on the other end — professional, crisp, and demanding.
“This is the secretary of Ricky Murray. He requests a meeting with you at the Murray Group at 3 p.m. this afternoon. If you cannot make it, we can reschedule for another time.”
Valerie raised an eyebrow.
Ricky, her fiancé, was just as commanding as Terrence, but in a way that didn’t have the same weight behind it. While Terrence’s authority felt oppressive, Ricky’s was smoother, almost charming. And strangely, she didn’t dislike it.
It was business, after all. No feelings involved. Maybe that was what she needed right now: distance, a relationship based solely on mutual benefit, not emotional entanglement.
At exactly 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Valerie arrived at the Murray Group headquarters, stepping into a lavishly decorated office. The man sitting before her in a wheelchair was none other than Ricky Murray — handsome, striking, and possessing a calm, almost serene demeanor.
Where Terrence felt like the coldest ice in winter, Ricky felt like a gentle breeze on a summer’s day. His presence was both calming and enticing in a way that Valerie hadn’t expected.
“I remember my fiancée is Abbigail. Why did your mother send you here?” Ricky asked with a slight smirk.
Valerie couldn’t help but notice the humor in his voice. His words weren’t pointed, not accusatory. He was speaking to her as if they were old acquaintances, as if he hadn’t just learned of her being here.
“I like you, so I volunteered to replace Abbigail,” Valerie replied coolly, her voice firm but polite.
Ricky’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Valerie,” he said, his tone shifting slightly, “not only the people in Houston know that you like Terrence, the people in Washington D.C. know it too.”
Valerie flinched slightly at the mention of Terrence, but she quickly regained her composure.
“That was in the past. Now, I have changed my mind,” she said, her words steady and unwavering.
Ricky studied her closely, his gaze intense. For a moment, there was silence between them, as if he were trying to read her, to understand her deeper than what was on the surface.
“Did you really move on from Terrence?” Ricky asked, his voice softer, intrigued.
Before Valerie could respond, there was a knock at the door.
“Mr. Murray, the business partner arrived early,” the voice from outside announced.
Ricky, without missing a beat, glanced at Valerie with a knowing smile before turning to the door.
“We’ll have to pick this up later, then,” he said, gesturing for her to wait.
Valerie stood there for a moment, her thoughts a whirlpool. There was something about Ricky that made her feel both at ease and on edge, all at once.
