Klein sat in silence, lips pursed, staring at his phone, emotions swirling within him.
He kept waiting for a response, but it never came.
‘Maybe she really is asleep,’ he thought, a flicker of concern crossing his mind.
Dustin, half-asleep, was jolted awake when his phone rang. Squinting at the caller ID, he let out a tired sigh and muttered, “Klein, man, what do you want now?”
‘How many times has this happened? Why does he always call me in the middle of the night?’ Dustin thought, exasperated.
“Let me ask you something. Why do women just not reply to messages?” Klein asked, his voice tinged with frustration.
Dustin blinked, shaking off the remnants of sleep. “Huh? What are you talking about?”
“I mean, why do women ignore messages?” Klein repeated, his tone earnest.
Dustin chuckled, sensing the familiar pattern. ‘Seems Klein’s tangled up in girl trouble again,’ he thought, amusement creeping in.
“Well, most of the time, if a woman doesn’t reply, it’s probably because she finds you annoying. You know what I mean?” Dustin replied, his voice light.
“So, Klein, is a girl ghosting you or what?” he teased.
The call abruptly ended, leaving Dustin shaking his head.
‘Damn! Klein doesn’t even give me a chance to mess with him,’ he muttered, a smile playing on his lips as he settled back into bed.
As George disembarked from the plane, the moment he set foot on solid ground, he noticed a flurry of missed calls from Carter.
“Carter, did you need something?” George inquired, his voice laced with curiosity and concern.
Carter, visibly frazzled, rubbed his temples in an attempt to ease his mounting stress. “It’s nothing, Dad,” he replied, his tone dismissive yet strained.
After the unexpected slap from the trending topic, Carter had lost interest in the chaos surrounding it. He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Upon arriving home, George’s assistant sent him a text, revealing that the trending topic had already fizzled out.
“Really? Are you sure?” George’s voice dripped with skepticism.
“I’m fine, really,” Carter assured him, but George sensed there was more beneath the surface. *There’s no way it’s nothing after he called me more than twenty times,* he mused, an uneasy feeling gnawing at him.
A short while later, his assistant approached him, phone in hand, a grave expression on her face.
“Mr. Harris, something significant has occurred with Emily. She’s been accused of plagiarism, and it’s been dominating the trending topics for the past five hours. Perhaps that’s why Carter was trying to reach you,” she explained, her voice steady, but George could hear the underlying urgency.
With the wedding looming on the horizon, George felt a weight settle on his shoulders, making it impossible to relax. He dialed Emily’s number without a moment’s hesitation.
“Dad, it’s so late. Is something wrong?” Emily’s voice came through, laced with confusion and concern.
George snorted in disbelief, “Don’t you know what’s going on?”
“Emily, I’ve always viewed you as my own daughter. Your brother and your mother feel the same way. We never asked for anything in return, but don’t you think it’s time we stop having to deal with situations that could tarnish the Harris name?” George articulated, his voice firm but tinged with disappointment.
Emily felt her heart plummet at his words.
“Dad, did you see what’s trending online?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
“Five hours, Emily. Of course, I saw it,” George replied, his tone unyielding and serious.
Emily could detect the simmering anger in her adoptive father’s voice, a sound she had never wanted to provoke.
“Dad, I was framed! I swear I didn’t plagiarize anything!” Emily insisted, desperation creeping into her voice.
“That’s not the issue at hand, Emily. The reason I’m calling is that you’re about to become Mrs. Harris. After the wedding, you’ll officially be my daughter-in-law. Do you genuinely believe it’s acceptable to have rumors and gossip swirling around you every single day?” George stated, his words heavy with consequence.
Emily bit her lip, trying to hold back her emotions. “Dad, someone is trying to set me up. I honestly don’t understand why Whitney has it out for me,” she confessed, the frustration evident in her voice.
She had just uncovered that Jay had contacted Whitney, and she suspected this was Whitney’s attempt to retaliate against her.
Before she could vent her frustrations to Carter, George pressed her further.
“So, you’re suggesting that Whitney orchestrated this to frame you?” George asked, his brow furrowing in thought.
“Yes, Dad! Why else would Whitney do this to me? She and Carter were so close, weren’t they?” Emily replied, her voice a mixture of innocence and indignation.
“I understand. But you need to consider what I’ve said today. Once you’re married, your family comes first. The entertainment industry may not be the right place for you anymore,” George advised, a hint of concern weaving through his words.
After hanging up, George’s frown deepened.
He glanced at the clock, recalling that Carter’s company had dealings with PrimeBridge Law Firm. “Tomorrow, reach out to PrimeBridge and find out if this is how they treat their top clients,” he instructed his assistant.
She nodded, “Yes, Mr. Harris.”
*Looks like Whitney is about to face some serious consequences,* his assistant thought, a smirk creeping onto her face.
The following morning, Whitney was tangled in her thoughts, trying to devise a strategy to respond to Klein when her phone buzzed with a call from Joanne.
“Whit, did I wake you up?” Joanne asked, her voice ringing with concern.
Whitney had barely managed to catch any sleep, her night plagued by fragmented dreams that left her feeling disoriented. Now that she was awake, the remnants of those dreams made little sense.
“No, I’m awake. What’s up, Joanne?” Whitney replied, attempting to shake off the grogginess.
“I thought you usually sleep in on weekends, Whit. There’s something important I haven’t shared with you. After we parted ways that day, Oliver came to pick me up. I casually mentioned the Jay Lockson case to him, just to see if he had any insights, but he ended up calling your boyfriend,” Joanne explained, her voice tinged with regret.
“My boyfriend?” Whitney echoed, her mind racing.
Joanne sounded apologetic as she continued, “I’m sorry; I had no idea he’d make that call. Klein found out about it. I saw yesterday’s trending topic. It seems Klein paid to make Emily a trending topic.”
Whitney’s heart raced as realization dawned on her. *So it was Klein who orchestrated Emily’s rise to trending status,* she thought, a mix of gratitude and confusion washing over her. *Did he do it to assist me?*
“Wait, does Klein know Jay too?” Whitney blurted out, her curiosity piqued.
Joanne paused, then chuckled lightly. “Come on, babe. If Jay actually knew Klein, he wouldn’t have needed me to ask a lawyer for help, right?”
*Klein is looking out for you!* Joanne exclaimed.
Whitney froze in disbelief. *Is he always the one bailing me out?* she pondered, her mind racing with the implications of his actions.
Those almost-flirty texts from the previous night made her reconsider the dynamics of her relationship with Klein.
If it was merely a business arrangement where both parties benefited, she could utilize his support without feeling guilty.
But what if he genuinely cared?
Whitney knew she couldn’t afford to fall for him overnight. *How am I supposed to respond to his feelings when I barely understand my own?* she thought, her mind a whirlwind of emotions as she stood in silence.
“Whit, can you hear me?” Joanne’s voice broke through her reverie.
Whitney snapped back to reality and replied, “Oh, Joanne, yes. I just remembered something urgent I need to take care of, so I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Joanne stared at her phone, a frown forming on her face as she wondered if she had inadvertently complicated things again.
Whitney pressed a hand against her chest, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She stepped out onto the balcony, inhaling the crisp morning air before dialing Klein’s number.
The phone rang briefly before he answered, his voice low and gravelly, carrying a hint of sleep. “Hello?”
“Hey, Klein, I just woke up. I crashed early last night and just saw your messages,” Whitney admitted, a twinge of guilt creeping in.
“It’s fine. I figured you were probably asleep,” Klein replied, his voice calm.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.