"You'll figure it out," he said casually, still looking out. "Once you go through your personal journey."
Tiana blinked. What?
Her eyes snapped wide open, brain rebooting. "Is he… talking to me?"
"You'll recognize your style," he added—calm, assured, like it was obvious.
She stared. Smile frozen. Head nodding. Acting like she understood.
But her thoughts were full panic:
"I have no idea what he's talking about!"
"Did I just time-travel into a philosophy lecture??"
Her head tilted ever so politely, eyes turning back to the window.
"It's best if you just keep quiet at this point."
"Are you planning to stay in here?"
"Uhh??!"
Tiana blinked, catching sight of his cold expression.
"Why not, sir?" she asked with a bright, confused smile.
"I'm a very busy man. So get out."
It felt like an iron door slammed on her ego. She glanced around—yep, they were already back at the company.
"My apologies. I'll be off," she said quickly, scrambling out of the car.
She turned and waved awkwardly. "Thank you! Have a nice trip—"
VROOOM.
The car dashed off, ignoring her.
"…Okay. Rude," she muttered, lowering her hand.
She stormed toward the entrance, heels clicking furiously.
"Seriously, what is wrong with this family?"
Then she smirked to herself, fire in her eyes.
"That jerk… just wait till I become the best designer. I'll make sure you choke on my success."
"But wait…"
Amother mischievous smirk curled on her lips.
"Why wait till then? Despite my clumsy attempt at seduction, I still have an opportunity to get close to him… After all, he accepted my designs—which means more in-person meetings."
"Yay!!"
She jumped in the air, her smile wide with triumph.
"Are you okay, Tia?"
She turned to see Jaden, the Head of the modeling camera team.
"Oh, I'm fine! Just having the best day ever." She grinned. "The CEO just accepted my designs!"
And with a little hum, she turned away, practically skipping off.
"But thank you for checking on me though!" she called back, waving sweetly.
Jaden smiled and waved back.
To him, Tiana was like a bright butterfly—always fluttering, always enthusiastic. Her energy was infectious.
"Jaden, let's go."
Ray leaned in with a teasing grin.
"But seriously, if you're not gonna say something to her soon… just be ready to watch her get taken."
"Enough, let's go,"
Jaden said, nudging Ray away from his ear.
But even as they walked off, Jaden couldn't help but smile—Tiana's cheerful movements kept replaying in his mind.
"A secret I can't let her know yet…"
Meanwhile…
Tiana's phone buzzed with a text.
Hannah: "Hey girl, why not go out tonight? I'm dying to hit a little restaurant or something."
She smiled to herself.
"Well… after this little victory, I guess I deserve that too."
But as the elevator moved, she leaned her head against the wall, eyes resting on the bursting lights of the city.
A quiet thought crept in.
"Despite the embarrassing moments with him…"
She smiled faintly.
"I actually enjoyed his company… for a man I plan on taking advantage of."
********************************************
Back home after a long day, Tiana tied her hair up in a messy bun, a sigh slipping from her lips as she tossed her bag onto the bed.
"I'll work on his 'corrections and improve' once I get back and email it to him,"
she mimicked in a low, mock-serious tone, raising an invisible eyebrow like Ethan.
Then she grinned.
"Pfft. 'Improve,' he says. I should improve your personality first."
Just as she was about to head into the shower, her Apple Watch buzzed.
An email.
"Not looking at it. I'm going to shower and then head out with my girl. Celebration mode: activated."
She disappeared into the bathroom, humming lightly.
Minutes later, she came out wrapped in a towel, heading for her dresser. But just as she lifted her foot—
She froze.
"Wait… where's my anklet?"
She scanned the room. Under the dresser? No. On the bed? No. Near the bathroom door?
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Don't tell me I misplaced it—again!"
Trying to stay calm, she retraced her steps.
That anklet wasn't just any accessory—her grandmother had gifted it to her on her 19th birthday: delicate gold with tiny blue stones.
"No, no, no. Not today. I just had one thing go right—don't take this away too."
"I just want to enjoy a win without a shadow being thrown at me!"
In no time, she'd flipped her room upside down, screaming dramatically like the world had ended.
"I guess I'm not going out today then…"
She slumped onto her fluffy bed, groaning in pure disappointment.
Her Watch buzzed again.
"Alright, look, mister—!" she snapped, raising her wrist—
Only to see it was a message from Hannah.
Hannah: "Heading to the spot now. Ride and Treat's on me miss broke 😉"
Tiana sighed, picking up her phone.
"Not now, woman. I'm currently at war with a missing anklet."
She opened the attached restaurant location.
"Wait… that's out of town?"
A brief pout, then—
"Actually… now that I think about it…"
A mischievous grin curled her lips.
"I hope it fell in his car."
She stood up, letting her hair down like a villain in a rom-com.
"Well then. Let's hope it did."
"I'll try emailing that once I finish turning in the rest of my work,"
she thought slightly, slipping into her dress.
********************
Meanwhile, Ethan and his siblings were walking into the restaurant.
"Do you think he's actually going to eat with her around?" Linda whispered, bumping her shoulder against Evelyn.
"I don't know," Evelyn replied with a smirk. "But who knows what miracle Mother might pull on her precious son today."
Linda laughed. "Can you imagine? If she starts feeding him in public?"
But the laughter died the moment Ethan looked over his shoulder — just one cold glance.
"Oops. I think I overdid it." Linda immediately turned away, her face heating up.
"Hey, I didn't say anything!" Evelyn raised her hands defensively. "Please stop staring at me like that, brother."
"Alright, enough you two," a firm and elegant voice cut through the group. "Have some respect, you little chaos."
"Big sister!" Linda beamed as Aaliyah stepped out of her car, her commanding presence filling the scene as always.
Meanwhile, Evelyn followed Ethan inside where their parents were already seated. The staffs immediately rushed to attend to them.
Linda lingered outside, waiting for Aaliyah.
"Why isn't Lux with you, sis?"
"You know how things are between him and Ethan," Aaliyah said, stepping inside.
"Tough," Linda muttered with a grin.
"Didn't want him showing up anyway,"she thought with a small victorious smile.