Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 12

No clue how Hilary got her hands on my digits.

And it was crystal clear that her dinner invite wasn’t just about the food she had got ulterior motives.

What was she fishing for?

Could it be that Hogan hadn’t spilled the beans about Cecilia to her yet?

Whatever it was, I was not keen on getting tangled up in the Zade family drama anymore.

So I said, “Sorry Mrs. Hilary, gotta grind at work tomorrow.”

She probably didn’t see that coming. There was a pause on the line before I heard Hilary start to gripe, “I heard from Hogan that Rainbow Capital’s backing your project. I’ll have to talk to him about not putting too much on your plate.”

Talk about pulling the investor–mom card to pressure me.

I rubbed my temples and relented, “Mrs. Hilary, is tomorrow night okay?”

“Sure thing! I’ll send you the address. Just remember to bring your boyfriend along, okay?”

Boyfriend? Since when?

Oh well, I would cross that bridge when I get to Hilary tomorrow.

I showed up at this fancy restaurant on the outskirts

town.

waitstaff were dressed to the nines – clearly, this joint was a money pit.

riding high

looked at me in surprise, “Why solo? Where’s

“He’s busy.”

narrowed with suspicion before she continued, “No worries, Hogan’s still on his way. Let’s order first.”

on the

coming tonight

probing look, “Xaviera, your company’s working with Hogan, right?

introduced Cecilia to the

Chapter 12

really cross paths with Mr. Zade much,

“I was at Rainbow Capital

an expensive cocktail dress from a designer, for a

were fixed on me after

want to

circus, not my monkeys, especially when

you know. I’ve seen Ms. Irwin’s file regular background, her family runs a snack shop, nothing special academically. I just can’t fathom what Hogan sees in her.”

was plain and simple – in Hilary’s book, Cecilia wasn’t good enough for Hogan.

I was