Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 18

I casually said, “No biggie, if Hogan is cool with tossing in another five hundred thousand, make sure even his precious girl is well taken care of,”

What was more solid than cold, hard cash, right?

I was about to hang up when, lo and behold, I spotted Hogan and Cecilia not too far away.

Talk about freaky timing.

Cecilia blinked those big beautiful eyes of hers and said in a tone of surprise, “Xaviera, you live

here too?”

Hogan and Cecilia were just a stone’s throw away.

I wasn’t sure if they caught any of my chat with Wallis,

Awkwardness washed over me, tinged with a hint of guilt.

I was worried Hogan might read my mind.

After all, no investor likes someone eyeballing their wallet all day, every day.

played it cool and said, “Been living here for a few months now.”

“Me too,” Cecilia’s voice rose and fell dramatically. “But I’ve barely seen you around.”

“My schedule’s all over the place.”

Us coders were a different breed – burning the midnight oil was business as usual, and my sleep was all messed up. Sometimes I was nocturnal, so running into someone was pure serendipity.

Kinda like today.

three of us ended up sharing an elevator

Cecilia and me were the ninth and tenth floors.

pressed my floor button, Cecilia’s face froze for

thought, if I hadn’t moved in before her, she’d probably tag me as

for not thinking

did give him a

me, finally landing on

“It’s not even out at home

referring to the handbag Darren had given

11:39

Chapter 18

all I thought was it felt nice, had no clue about this Davidliu

Cecilia’s look, it must be

her straight, “A friend gave it to me.”

That bag’s a limited edition,

was the one lost for words.

had no idea it was some exclusive

scoff came at just the

“It’s just a

it’s not that,” Cecilia dialed back the envy,

slightly and

say, “Your understanding of taste isn’t that great.”

spot on.

was I clueless about bags, but my taste in men was even

I took a peek at the logo and looked up the price

bliss, they say well,

–