Charlene knew why York was there. She had already made her position clear to him before. But his persistence...


    She paused, then looked at York seriously. "I''m sorry, but I don''t think I''ll be ready for a new rtionship for a very long time. So, Mr. Watson, you shouldn''t—"


    She didn''t want to lead him on.


    York knew what she was going to say. He interrupted her, "I understand, but you don''t have to try and talk me out of it." With that, he gently pressed a bouquet of flowers into her arms. "I hope you like them."


    Seeing her standing there motionless, he smiled. "You should go on up. I won''t bother you any longer."


    Charlene looked down at the flowers, hesitated, and finally shook her head, handing them back to York. "Thank you, but... I''m sorry." Without another word, she turned and went into the building.


    York wasn''t angry. He watched her until she was out of sight before turning to leave, but at that moment, he saw Gaylord standing nearby. Their eyes met. York gave a slight nod, said nothing, and got into his car. Gaylord also remained silent. He had overheard Charlene turning York down.


    York hadn''t reacted to the rejection, but Gaylord knew he wouldn''t give up that easily. The moment Charlene was actually divorced, York would make his move. Though he knew Charlene had a child, Gaylord didn''t know much about her past. But from her response to York, he suddenly understood that she must have been deeply hurt in the marriage she was trying to end. York must have realized this too, which was why he had chosen not to press her further.


    ***


    Charlene worked at her office for a while before heading over to The Henderson Group again Around noon while she was still there Veste arrived at the building once again.


    This time, Coy was in the office. He paused when he saw Vesta. "Ms. Hawkins, are you here to see Mr. Henderson?"


    Vesta tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "Yes. Is Thorne... not in the office?"


    Coy nodded. "Mr. Henderson went out for a meeting with Josh early this morning."


    A hint of awkwardness touched Vesta''s smile. "I see... Thank you. I''lle back when he''s free."


    The fact that Vesta didn''t know


    Thorne''s schedule made it clear to


    Coy that the problems between them were even more serious than he had imagined. Yet, there was he could do.


    Still seeing


    Vesta turn to leave,


    not hesitated


    before saying, "If there''s anything I can help with, please don''t hesitate to ask."


    Vesta offered a small smile. "Thank you, Coy. I''ll let you know if I need anything." With that, she left.


    As she was going downstairs, she


    ran right into Charlene, Mr. Windsor, and their group. Mr. Windsor and the others, who thought they understood Thorne''s intentions, felt a wave of awkwardness as they looked from Vesta to Charlene, Charlenepletely ignored Vesta, and Vesta did the same. Vesta kept a smile on her face, greeting Mr. Windsor''s team as if nothing was wrong, then turned and left once she reached the ground floor.


    When she returned to her office, before she could even say a word, Maureen saw


    her early return and knew the oue. "You didn''t see Thorne again?"


    Vesta sat down. "No," she said quietly.