The Cherished Wife by Chweety

Charles took a quick glance at his phone screen, then back at Ronald. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, really," Ronald said, puzzled by the odd look of Charles's phone chat interface. He never pegged Charles as the type to dive into Messenger, but there he was, thumbing through it. Ronald could not resist a playful jab. "You haven't just added your wife on there,

have you?"

Charles pocketed his phone with a raised eyebrow. "Got an issue with that?"

"No way! Why would I?" Ronald backpedaled quickly. "I mean, Messenger's all about keeping in touch, right, Mr. Hoffman? Don't you want to add a few more people?" "Such as?"

"Like Mr. Lennon, Mr. Smith, or even me." Ronald gestured to himself with a grin. "Come on, Mr. Hoffman. These smartphone apps are super handy, right? Staying connected is a breeze. Plus, if you ever ping me on Messenger, you'll get an instant reply, I promise." "So, Mr. Wells, you're saying you'd drop everything to reply to me, even if you were working?" Charles leaned back, tapping his desk, eyeing Ronald with a playful smirk.

Ronald, clueless to the teasing edge in Charles's voice, nodded vigorously. "Absolutely! Whenever you reach out, I'm on it—no matter where I am or what I'm up to!"

twist. "So, during work, your phone is

heart sank

washed over him. He

straight into Charles's trap Panicking, he shook his

vigorously. "Mr. Hoffman, yo

got

all wrong. I didn't mean

"If there's no issue, get out of here!" "Right, I've got tons to do, I'll head out now, going

grabbed the number, and picked what she thought was a lucky one-number 2. She had heard through the grapevine

celebrating love.