?Chapter 88:


    “What’s going on?” Barrie inquired, noticing Eric’s sour mood.


    “Something happened?”


    “Yeah.” Eric acknowledged with a nod, not attempting to hide his feelings.


    His mind was preupied, thoughts of Hadley and the earlier mishaps lingering.


    Marshall, intrigued by his friend’s demeanor, asked further, “Who managed to ruffle the feathers of our Mr. Flynn? Share with us; it might lighten the mood.”


    Eric responded with a sardonicugh but then asked, “What do young women generally appreciate?”


    This morning’s events had beenrgely his own doing. He had made promises to Hadley that he hadn’t kept.


    The issue with the donuts seemed minor, but failing to keep his word was a bigger problem.


    Hadley had left Grandma’s Kitchen visibly distressed, and merely bringing her back there didn’t seem sufficient.


    Eric considered that a thoughtful gift might mend fences, yet he was clueless about her preferences.


    All day, he pondered,ing to the realization that he knew nothing about her except for her feelings for him.


    However, offering himself as a gift was out of the question.


    Thus, Eric turned to his friends for suggestions.


    “You mean it’s about a woman?”


    Barrie and Marshall chimed in simultaneously.


    Barrie scoffed, “Are you trying to figure out what Linda likes?”


    “Really?” Marshall replied. “After all these years, you should be the expert on her preferences, given all the gifts you’ve given her.”


    Eric’s irritation was apparent. “It’s not about Linda.”


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    “No way!”


    Both Marshall and Barrie were stunned, speaking in unison again.


    “You guys are exhausting,” Eric retorted, visibly annoyed.


    He was clearly serious this time.


    Barrie leaned in, intrigued. “Has Eric Flynn moved on to someone new?”


    “It’s not like that.”


    Eric immediately regretted bringing it up. “I shouldn’t have mentioned…”


    However, Marshall became more thoughtful. “Generally, women appreciate simr things. Clothes, jewelry, designer bags—it’s hard to go wrong there.”


    Was it really that simple?


    It wasn’t a particrly innovative suggestion, yet Eric had considered it as well.


    “Okay.” Eric decided to keep it simple and notplicate things further.


    “Look over there, it’s S!” Denver interjected excitedly, pointing towards the stage.


    “S? Who’s that?”


    Everyone else was confused.


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