Chapter 19

It wasn't until 3:00 am that Stephanie finally felt sleepy. Her alarm went off at 10:00 am the next day. She groggily got out of bed and realized Hubert and Rita had already gone to work. Her breakfast was all set in the kitchen. After freshening up, Stephanie ate while going over the two interviews she had scheduled for the afternoon—one at 2:00 pm and the other at 4:30 pm—both within a half hour's drive from home. Once she confirmed the routes, she went back to her room to clean up and started getting ready. Stephanie grabbed her bag and headed down at 1:00 pm, only to find Liam and Ivan still there, looking like they'd pulled an all-nighter. As soon as Liam spotted her, he got up and blocked her path. His voice was heavy with fatigue as he pleaded, "Steph, can we talk?" Stephanie checked the time and said flatly, "Sorry, I'm busy." Liam stayed frozen in place after being turned down again. Realizing he wasn't going to move, Stephanie didn't bother saying another word. She sl