<spanng="EN">Analise’s POV


    <spanng="EN">After my father made an appearance, my headache got even worse. Noticing Tiffany and Gretchen giving me the death re, I just wanted to leave. I had no energy to put up with anything else tonight. I was done. I told Emily and Gwen to stay there and enjoy their night, but they insisted on leaving with me.


    <spanng="EN">My head was pounding so badly that I didn’t argue when Gwen insisted I stay the night at her house. Honestly, I didn’t want to go back to Fashion Forward. Gwen gave me a nightgown to wear while she washes my clothes today. I took a long shower as I plotted my next steps. I needed to move a few things forward.


    <spanng="EN">I had tipped off Roger and his family that I was only getting started. As much as I loved my new car, I was going to have to leave it here in Gwen’s garage until I moved into my home. I needed it to be safe. Hiring a driver/bodyguard as well as a bodyguard was going to have to be two weeks early. I could tell that Sasha, Joyce, or Tiffany would be happy to hire someone to cut my break lines. I would be making that call in the morning. I had already set it up. I just needed to call them and tell them when to start.


    <spanng="EN">I knew that my father hated it when I didn’tply. I knew I was in for an argument tomorrow night, and Dad wasn’t going to back down. I also knew it would be four against one, which was fine. We did need to have a family meeting. I’m going to make sure that this is the first andst time that Dad ever threatens my business. I finished my shower and just went through the motions tonight, as I did my skin care. I had just started a routine. Thedies suggested that I needed to start a skin care routine when they helped me pick out my makeup.


    <spanng="EN">I hadn’t spoken to Gwen or Emily on the way home. My mind was working overtime. Gwen knew what the issue was, but I hadn’t told Emily. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a valuable and trusted friend. It was because I didn’t like to talk about it. Gwen only knew because we always went over the applications together. When I saw that Tiffany and Gretchen had applied to be brand ambassadors for Fashion Forward, my hands started to shake.


    <spanng="EN">Gwen doesn’t know the whole story, but she heard some of it that day. She was happy not just to kick them out of ourpany, but also to ensure that otherpanies heard what we had done. Some were surprised, as they hadn’t expected us to reject Tiffany Vaughn because of who her family was. She considered herself an influencer, but she didn’t have that many followers. She had applied several years ago. She didn’t haven many followers back then either. She was trying to gain more followers by working here. She has about fifty thousand followers now, which honestly wasn’t very many.


    <spanng="EN">I didn’t eat, I wasn’t hungry. I just went straight to bed. I knew that tomorrow was going to be a tough day. I already anticipated how tonight would go. I tossed and turned for hours, unable to sleep. When I fall asleep, the ping of a notification would wake me up. I finally had to turn my phone off at one in the morning. When sleep did finallye, it was filled with nightmares.


    <spanng="EN">I woke up when Gwen entered to put my clothes on the dresser for me. I probably got three hours of sleep. I was sure that I would need a driver today. I turned my phone back on and saw about forty text messages. Half of them were from Roger. I’ve never received twenty text messages from Roger in a month before. This had to be some kind of record for him.


    <spanng="EN">I didn’t read any of the texts. My head still hurts from the stress ofst night, and theck of sleep hasn’t helped. I rode to work with Gewn. Emily didn’t have to be there untilter. I used the time to call and start my security team today. It was short notice, but they would be here this afternoon. I had looked through Roger’s texts to see that he wanted me to drop by thepany at one. I told him I would be there, but I didn’t tell him I would be alone.


    <spanng="EN">I went straight to my office and decided to take a nap. I needed to get more sleep today. As much as they all deserved it, I still needed to control myself and what I said. I turned off the light andy down on my couch. This time, I managed to sleep a few more hours, with no nightmares. Maybe it was because my office had a special scent in it. I felt safe here, but I felt better when I woke up.


    <spanng="EN">My new security detail would be here in thirty minutes, and I had gotten ready to go to see Roger. The gate guard had been notified that they would be driving me around for the foreseeable future. I had sent a message to Rodney Briggs before I took my nap, so he was ready to meet us there at twelve fifty. Roger won’t be alone. Of that, I am sure. He is going to be very surprised that I’m not alone either. I already know that this isn’t going to be as fun as I had imagined.


    <spanng="EN">I learned that the hard wayst night. I curled my hair and left it down. I liked the waves it made. I quickly put some mascara on and a little eyeliner. I had bought arge brush set, and smudged the copper colored liner, which made my eyes pop. I put on red lipstick, as I was preparing for war. I put on my new favorite outfit. It was a ck button–down shirt and my ck pencil skirt. I put a slim gold belt around my waist. I never used to wear a belt, but this one was a gift from Emily. She insisted that the belt would emphasize my new hourss figure. She was right, it did, I slipped on my ballet ts and put my heels into my purse.


    <spanng="EN">I hadn’t eaten yet, but I was ready early as I wanted to stop and get a coffee, one that I knew I needed. I was in front of Fashion Forward offices at the appropriate time, and they were already there. The one in the passenger seat got out to open my door for me. They both had earpieces and looked formidable. ording to the man I spoke with when I called, all of their employees were former military. I didn’t ask for handsome guys, but hey, if that’s who I was assigned, who am I to argue?


    <spanng="EN">The man behind the wheel was a charmer named Charlie, and Drew was in the passenger seat. Charlie pulled out to leave, and the guard at the gate waved us out. After we pulled out into the street, I asked, “Can we stop for coffee? I know it’ste, but my sleep was terrible, and I need a pick–me–up. It’s my treat if you want one too.”


    <spanng="EN">“You don’t have to do that, Ms. Caldwell. We can get our own,” Charlie replied.


    <spanng="EN">“I want to, you guys might end up in a fight, sooner thanter, so I want to make sure that I take care of your both,” I responded with a smile.


    <spanng="EN">“Gun fight? Or fist fight?” Drew asked.


    <spanng="EN">“Fist fight, it isn’t that serious, well, not yet. But please, for the time being, call me Ms. Wade. My ex–fiancé, Roger Cook, doesn’t know that I’m a Caldwell, and he won’t until after our wedding date has passed. But I am from the Caldwell family, and you will be seeing them tonight. You don’t have to speak to them. I don’t n on speaking to them either,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">“Your ex–fiancé doesn’t know who you are?” Charlie asked in surprise.


    <spanng="EN">“No, my parents didn’t show me off; they like to be private. I want to get you up to speed. Roger and I were co–owners until I found out that he had married his first love. Making our wedding a sham. He won’t file it since I mean so little to him. I sold my shares and informed the investors I had brought in that I am no longer part of thepany. Thepany won’t be able to survive without me. He wants me to sign a document that would allow him to steal my jewelry designs today. That is what the one p.m. meeting will be about. My attorney will be meeting us there, and I won’t be signing anything. Try to keep a straight face. I’m sure his wife will be there. She was being given my former position in thepany. Roger’s going to lose it. He needs my designs for thepany to be sessful. He’s about to learn a hard lesson today,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">Charlie pulled into a drive–through and I gave him my order. He ended up paying for all of our drinks, despite my trying to give him a twenty. “Ms. Wade, you’ve been through enough, so it’s my treat today. We have your back. We won’t let anything happen to you.


    <spanng="EN">“Thank you, Charlie,” I replied in almost a whisper because that was one of the nicest things I’ve heard in al long time. The fact that it came from a stranger who doesn’t even know me hit home. I had to look up and start blinking to keep the tears from escaping. I’m not going to cry, not in front of anyone else. I will probably be crying in the shower tonight, like I usually do..


    <spanng="EN">They could tell that I was upset, so they stopped speaking, and we rode in afortable silence as we headed to thepany. I had them pull into the visitors‘ parking in front of the building. I wasn’t an employee anymore. I changed my shoes. I wore the ck heels with the red bottoms, and refreshed my lipstick. I felt like I had my armor on. No matter what Roger does or what Sasha says, they can’t hurt me. Not anymore, they’re not important to me at all. We didn’t get out until Rodney pulled up. We all got out together, and I introduced my bodyguards to Rodney.


    <spanng="EN">“Roger is going to hate seeing you with them,” Rodney teased. He knows me. He knew that I was already anxious about this. I have been non–confrontational for most of my life. They all walked behind me as headed towards the entrance. I could already see Sasha and Dixon standing at the receptionist’s desk.


    <spanng="EN">The moment I entered, I heard Dixon call out, “Elizabeth, this was a meeting between you and Roger, Who are all these people?”


    <spanng="EN">“My attorney and my security. I don’t feel safe here anymore,” I replied calmly.


    <spanng="EN">“Well, they can’t be present for the meeting. I’m sorry, but they have to stay down here in the lobby,” Sasha said as she walked up to block me.


    <spanng="EN">“That’s fine, Sasha. Please inform Roger that you’re the reason for the cancetion of today’s meeting. Rodney, prepare another letter, Please, include the number of units they produced after the contracts expired. I want payment for them, immediately. Also, send Roger a bill for your time. You lost an houring here today,” I said as I headed right back to the front doors.