Chapter 89\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The atmosphere in Ridley Sterling\u2019s office felt surprisingly comfortable as I walked him through my presentation. Light from the floor\u2013to- ceiling windows illuminated the sleek Danish furniture and the glass desk where my carefully prepared portfolio lay open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Sterling, the design exhibition is scheduled for this Saturday. I sent all the procedural details to your email yesterday, which you can review at your convenience,\u201d I said, maintaining my professional tone. \u201cThe exhibition will run for ninety minutes total. We\u2019ve scheduled you for opening remarks, and you\u2019ll also need to deliver the closing address\u2026 Unless, of course, you\u2019d prefer to delegate those\u00a0<\/p>\n
responsibilities to someone else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat won\u2019t be necessary,\u201d Ridley replied, leaning back in his chair. His silver cufflinks caught the light as he adjusted his position. \u201cI\u2019ll\u00a0<\/p>\n
handle it myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He studied me with those piercing eyes. \u201cThis is your first time managing an event of this scale, isn\u2019t it, Ms. Wright?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, straightening my shoulders. \u201cIt is. But I\u2019m confident I can execute it flawlessly. The fact that you\u2019ve entrusted me with this responsibility tells me you believe in my abilities. I won\u2019t disappoint you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something in me always came alive when discussing work. Like a vintage pendant light that had been covered in dust, finally cleaned and\u00a0<\/p>\n
illuminated, revealing its true brilliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley closed the portfolio with a decisive motion. \u201cGood. I look forward to seeing the results. You may return to your preparations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated momentarily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was that it? Just a business discussion? I\u2019d half\u2013expected\u2026 what exactly?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt a flush creep up my neck as I gathered my materials. \u201cI\u2019ll get back to work then, Mr. Sterling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I reached the door and turned the handle, it opened with a soft click. I found myself face\u2013to\u2013face with a familiar woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018You?!\u201d she exclaimed, her eyes widening in recognition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked, immediately placing her as the woman from Navy Pier with that troubled little girl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d she demanded, her voice tight with anxiety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her hand clutched her designer purse so tightly her knuckles whitened. The hostility radiating from her caught me off guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t I be here?\u201d I replied coolly, maintaining my composure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:18 Sat, Jan 31 d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 89\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. \u201cFirst you deliberately approach Aria at Navy Pier, and now you\u2019re here trying to get close to Ridley? What exactly are you after?\u2018 Her voice lowered to a hiss. \u201cI\u2019m warning you\u2013stay away from Sterling Design Group or Ill make sure you\u00a0<\/p>\n
regret setting foot in Chicago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The audacity! I nearly laughed at her presumption.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy, what impressive threats,\u201d I said with a slight curl of my lip. \u201cIs this your strategy? Aiming to be someone\u2019s stepmother and now\u00a0<\/p>\n
shopping around for alternative prospects?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered the little girl\u2019s eyes, filled with such sadness when this woman took her away. Clearly, the child hadn\u2019t been comfortable with her, yet she apparently had the authority to take her to public places. The situation struck me as decidedly odd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face flushed with anger, and I noticed her hand twitch upward as if she might actually strike me. Before she could complete the motion, footsteps approached from behind her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley Sterling appeared in the doorway, and the transformation in the woman was immediate and remarkable. Her aggressive posture softened, her eyes filling with practiced tears as she turned toward him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRidley\u2026\u201d she said softly, her voice deliberately vulnerable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the display.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s happening here?\u201d Ridley asked, his tone revealing nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman rushed to explain. \u201cRidley, I came to discuss Aria\u2019s condition, but this woman blocked me from your office. Tears spilled down her cheeks with theatrical precision. \u201cI know I shouldn\u2019t interrupt your workday, but Aria\u2019s situation couldn\u2019t wait\u2026 I had no choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aria? Ridley had some connection with Aria, that little girl? Could he be Aria\u2019s Uncle? Oh, that\u2019s more complicated now. Could it be that she wanted to approach Ridley by taking care of his niece?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stop it, Cedar. I maintained my composure, biting back my curiosity. No need to come across as nosy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis lady\u2019s designer outfit suggests she\u2019s from a prominent family,\u201d I observed calmly. \u201cYet instead of handling problems herself, she runs crying to a man for help. How does she expect to succeed in high society with so little backbone? Aspiring to join the Sterling family while expecting you to solve all her problems seems rather presumptuous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her expression shifted from feigned distress to genuine shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t put words in my mouth,\u201d she stammered. \u201cI never said anything about joining the Sterling family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight, my mistake,\u201d I replied with subtle sarcasm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned desperately to Ridley. \u201cPlease don\u2019t listen to her. I would never presume\u2026 I know my place. I\u2019ve never thought of myself as a potential mother for Aria.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:18 Sat, Jan 31 d\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 89\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough, Daisy,\u201d Ridley cut her off, his voice like ice. \u201cIs this the extent of the Black family\u2019s etiquette training?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman\u2013Daisy Black, apparently\u2013blanched visibly. The hatred in her eyes when she glanced at me was unmistakable, though she quickly masked it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI apologize, Ridley. I lost my composure,\u201d she said, regaining control. \u201cAria\u2019s condition is concerning. Can we discuss it privately?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley nodded curtly and returned to his office. Daisy shot me one last venomous look before following him inside, her shoulders squared\u00a0<\/p>\n
with artificial dignity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t help but chuckle as they disappeared into the office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What century was this woman living in? The damsel in distress routine to attract a powerful man\u2019s attention seemed pathetically outdated. If she thought a few tears would sway someone like Ridley, she severely underestimated him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I headed back to my workstation, but couldn\u2019t shake the encounter from my mind. The little girl I\u2019d met at Navy Pier\u2013Aria, apparently- had seemed so troubled in that woman\u2019s presence. What was their connection? And why did Daisy have such authority over her?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something wasn\u2019t adding up, but I had a design exhibition to organize. Whatever drama was unfolding in the Sterling family would have\u00a0<\/p>\n
to remain a mystery for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our UnfiAnished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 89 Chapter 89\u00a0 Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0 The atmosphere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zero-stars-for-daddy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}