Noreen knocked on the door of Seth’s office. Only after he gave her permission did she turn the handle and step inside.
“Mr. Harcourt.” Her tone was all business, crisp and formal.
Seth looked up. “I’ll be heading to the hospital soon to visit a patient. I need you to stop by the Harcourt estate and pick up an old ginseng root and a few other health supplements that a client gifted us. I’ve already told Evelyn you’d being, so just go straight there.”
“Of course,” Noreen replied. After all, this was part of her job.
That ginseng root was exceptionally valuable–over a hundred years old, by all ounts. Seth was willing to give it away.
Whoever it was for, they must be someone important.
Noreen didn’t pry. Her mind was preupied with thoughts of her resignation letter. It had been a week already.
But Seth hadn’t said a word about it.
Had he missed it? Or was there another reason?
She wanted to ask, partly to rify things, partly to gauge his reaction–so she’d know how to n her next move.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Seth’s personal phone rang.
It was sitting right on his desk, and when the screen lit up, the name “Bianca” shed across it.
Noreen’s brow furrowed.
Within moments, Seth had answered the call and put it on speaker, showing no intention of keeping the conversation private.
Well, why should he? After all, Bianca was his long–lost love—the one he’d quietly cherished for years. Now that fate had finally brought them back together, why wouldn’t he want the world to know?
Unlike her. Seven years, always in the shadows.
“Seth, I just woke up and saw your message,” Bianca’s voice was thick with sleep,
12:01
as soft andnguid as silk warmed by morning sunlight.
There was a drowsy lilt to her words–a sweetness that could drive any man crazy.
Noreen was a woman herself; she understood those subtle tricks women used.
She didn’t know if Seth noticed, but she could tell he was enjoying every second of it.
“I figured as much,” Seth said. “That’s why I didn’t want to wake you.”
“If you ever need anything, just call me,” Bianca’s voice was almost syrupy, making Noreen’s skin crawl.
“It’s nothing urgent. I just wanted to let you know–I’ll stop by the hospital <i>to </i>visit your motherter.”
So that was it. Noreen understood now.
No wonder Seth was being so generous. He was going to visit Bianca’s mother.
Trying to win over his future mother–inw, of course.
Bianca clearly perked up when she heard he wasing to the hospital. “Really? When will you get here?”
“Around noon.” Seth checked the time on his watch.
“Perfect. Let’s have lunch together. It’ll be my way of thanking you for helping us out. My mom keeps telling me to thank you.”
“Sure.” Putting down his pen, Seth gave Bianca his full attention.
Noreen took the hint and slipped quietly out of the office, leaving them to their loved–up conversation.
Still, that sickly–sweet scent of romance seemed to seep right through the closed door.
She decided to leave the Aurelion Group a little early and head to the Harcourt estate to pick up the ginseng.
Seth didn’t live at the old family house except for special asions, when he’d return to have dinner with Wade Harcourt.
Most of the time, the estate was quiet–just Wade and Evelyn, who looked after him. Everyone else left after work.
It had been over two weeks since Noreenst visited the Harcourt estate.
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12-02
She made a small detour on the way, stopping by a bakery to pick up Wade’s favorite pastries.
When she arrived, Wade was in the garden, scattering feed for the <i>koi </i>in the pond.
The front gate, as always, was half–open–she could just let herself in.
Noreen knew this was Wade’s way of weing her.
Every time she was expected, Wade would have Evelyn leave the gate open for her. Evelyn had confided this little secret to Noreen once, since Wade himself was always so stern and reserved.