Nita waspletely stunned, staring at Effie in disbelief.


    Mitchell had never liked her hanging out with Effie. He looked down on her because she came from a working-ss family-her father ran a farm, and she never learned to speak with the polish Mitchell expected. She was blunt, sometimes even tactless.


    Whenever Mitchell saw her, he''d put on a sour face. Once or twice, he''d even raised his voice on purpose, right in front of her, asking Effie why she bothered inviting "people like that" out with them.


    It used to make Nita furious, but she swallowed her anger for Effie''s sake. She didn''t want to make things harder for her friend, so she endured it, pretending not to care.


    Looking back now, Nita realized Mitchell''s attitude toward her had always been a reflection of how he felt about Effie. He never respected Effie, never loved her deeply, so it was no wonder he''d turn his nose up at Effie''s best friend.


    But Lyman was different. Lyman adored Effie, and so he epted everything- and everyone that came with her.


    After a quick bite to eat, the group headed to the airport for their flight to Whisperhollow Isle.


    Effie didn''t travel with her colleagues this time. She wanted to bring Nita along, and she knew if she joined thepany group, someone would inevitably use her of taking advantage ofpany perks.


    When they arrived at Whisperhollow Isle, the air was warm and heavy with the scent of the sea. The sky stretched wide and blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds, and the sunlight sparkled off everything, making the ind feel like a dream.


    They checked into the Azure Crown Resort, a hotel with its own private stretch of beach-immactely kept, soft white sand meeting the endless blue of the sea and sky. It was beautiful, almost unreal.


    Effie and Lyman had arrived ahead of the others; the rest of thepany group hadn''tnded yet.


    Just then, Vinson Elliott showed up. He spotted Nita, who was grinning as she strolled over to Effie with aplimentary drink from the lobby. The moment he recognized her, his expression darkened.


    "Miss Nita, what are you doing here?" he demanded. "Didn''t I tell you to take your vacation days?"


    Nita jumped, startled her hand jerked, sshing cold juice onto her fingers. The chill snapped her to attention.


    She stammered, "B-boss..."


    Effie turned her gaze on Vinson, eyes sharp as daggers.


    Vinson suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He spun around to find Effie ring at him, her anger practically crackling in the air.


    His heart skipped a beat. What had he done to upset Effie? He honestly had no idea.


    Effie marched over and confronted him. "So, you''re the ve-driving boss she''s alwaysining about?"


    Vinson blinked, confused. "ve driver? Where''d you get that from?"


    Nita hurried to step between them, terrified Effie might actually take a swing at her boss.


    She said quickly, "Effie, you''ve got it all wrong!"


    Effie raised an eyebrow. "Didn''t you just call him your boss?"


    Nita nodded. “Yeah, but he only just became my boss. Mypany merged with Mr. Elliott''s firm recently, so now he''s technically in charge."


    Vinson finally caught on. "Effie, you''ve got the wrong idea! I''ve never treated her badly. When I got the employee files, I actually read through them carefully. I was shocked to see she''d never taken a vacation in years-always volunteering for overtime, never taking weekends off. I even called her in and told her she needed to rest, not work herself to death. But she just said she was fine, that she could handle it."


    "Thenst night, she messaged out of the blue to ask for time off. I was worried sick, thought maybe she''d gotten ill or something. When she said she just wanted to travel, I finally rxed."


    He exined all this in a rush, desperate to clear up the misunderstanding— especially with Lyman standing nearby. No one wanted to get on Lyman''s bad side.


    Effie narrowed her eyes, as if weighing his words, her mind clearly turning something over.