Chapter 15

Charisse sat in the hotel restaurant, slowly picking at her breakfast while shooting off a quick message to someone named "Awen." Awen worked for Clayton and had given her his contact info yesterday, saying she could reach out if she ever needed anything. "Hey, just wondering—when would be a good time to return the gown I wore last night?" she texted. The reply came almost instantly: "Mr. Ellis said the dress is yours." So basically—no need to return it. Charisse wasn't surprised. A man who casually hung a painting worth over two hundred million bucks in a hallway wasn't about to care about one designer gown. It wasn't her decision to keep it, sure, but asking never hurt. Right after finishing her meal, Charisse got a call from the hospital. Her dad had regained consciousness. She quickly wrapped things up at work and rushed over. But her dad's condition still wasn't great. He had to go in for another surgery that afternoon. She stayed with him the whole time, only breathing easy once