Chapter 215
It was almost lunchtime when Ryan walked in, his white shirt soaked with sweat. He shook his thick hair and then spotted the chocolate on his desk.
He looked around, picked up the chocolate, and asked, “Who’s the lovely lady who gave me this? Thanks, but I don’t really do sweets.”
Yolanda’s face flushed as she stood up. She said, “It’s imported, not sweet at all. Give it a try and you’ll know.”
Ryan glanced at me and then walked over to Yolanda. “Thanks for the thought, but I really don’t eat this stuff.”
I couldn’t help but smile and shake my head. With looks like Ryan’s, he was bound to catch the eye of every girl around. He had this youthful, sunny vibe that was impossible to ignore.
People started heading out for lunch, and I was about to leave, too. I had plans to meet Melissa.
Just as I was getting up, with no one else around, Ryan suddenly whipped off his shirt, showing off those lean muscles and that mix of youthful and mature appeal. He shot me a wink over his shoulder, and my heart did a little flip.
Honestly, most guys’ bodies were pretty much the same to me. Jared’d always kept himself in great shape anyway.
I walked past him and said, “Better put your shirt back on. The AC’s blasting, you’ll catch a cold.”
“Ms. Murphy, where are you going? How about I treat you to lunch?” Ryan asked sincerely.
“No, thanks. I’ve got plans with a friend,” I said and walked out.
Ryan quickly threw on a white T-shirt and caught up to me at the door. “Ms. Murphy, is your lunch date a guy or a girl?”
“Just someone,” I replied, heading toward my car.
Ryan stood in the doorway, stunned for a long moment.
I arrived at the restaurant first, sitting by the window and taking in the view. With a little downtime after all the hustle, my heart finally felt at peace. Back when I didn’t have a job, my days always felt so empty.
I once heard someone say that everyone needed something to hold onto in life—a belief, a person, or a dream. Without that anchor, it was easy to feel lost and wonder what the point of living even was.
Right now, I was just grateful for my family. They were always there for me, and honestly, they were what kept me going, and what made me want to be my best self.
“Victoria, sorry I’m late again,” Melissa said, grinning as she walked over. She plopped down, drank a cup of water, and finally let out a breath. “It’s so hot out there. I swear I’m about to melt.”
I smiled at her. “Your skin’s looking amazing lately. Guess love really is the best beauty treatment.”
“I put on makeup today–had a gig to go to. Oh, and this set is the one you gave me! You said you can’t buy it anywhere, is that for real?” Melissa leaned in and asked with curiosity.
I nodded. “Yeah, a rich woman I know introduced it to me. You can’t buy it anywhere.”
“It’s amazing,” Melissa sighed. “Turns out the really top-tier stuff is never for ordinary people like us. Even if we wanted it, we couldn’t afford it.”
“Honestly, having the right mindset is the ultimate beauty hack,” I said with a smile, trying to cheer her up.
“I love that.” Melissa perked right up. “Oh, did you see Mr. Hallman’s interview yesterday?”
My heart skipped a beat. I knew Melissa would ask about this. I only caught it by accident when I flipped on the TV yesterday.
“Yeah, I happened to catch it,” I admitted.
“So… what’s on your mind?” Melissa shot me a teasing look. “Now that you can finally divorce your husband with nothing holding you back, all those top-tier guys are just waiting for you to give them a shot.”