Kneeling for a Second Chance (Sebastian and Valeria) novel Chapter 121

Valeria's skin was so flawless that it almost looked translucent.

How had Rory never noticed before? She was stunning.

He cleared his throat. "Valeria, we don't have each other's WhatsApp, do we? Let's exchange numbers."

Valeria didn't have her phone with her.

She gave an apologetic smile and said, "My phone's out of battery, so I left it to charge at my desk."

Lindsey chimed in, "I'll send him your contact card."

After lunch, they returned to their workstations.

Valeria had just sat down when Queenie pressed a hand to her shoulder and clicked her tongue. "It seems like there's something going on between you and that guy from Wexler & Wexler LLP. Spill."

Valeria gave a helpless smile, looking at Queenie's gleefully nosy expression.

"We just happened to run into each other at the bus stop this morning. I haven't seen him in years. He was dropping his kid off at school too. His daughter's in the class next to Selena's."

Selena was in Class 5, and Rory's daughter was in Class 4.

Queenie said, "I asked around for you. I've got connections. That Rory guy is 32, divorced, and has a six-year-old daughter."

Valeria nodded.

She wasn't particularly interested.

Queenie could tell that romance clearly wasn't on Valeria's mind these days.

Valeria might already have a child, but beauty like hers was still rare.

If Valeria wanted to just depend on her looks, she wouldn't have to be toiling away as a designer at L&M Design Studio.

Queenie was a realist. Seeing that Valeria was busy, she didn't press further.

That evening, Valeria finally turned in her first draft.

It was the freelance project Sabrina had assigned her. She had to design a white swan feather ball gown that was heavily embroidered and beaded. It did come off as a bit extravagant at first glance, but with the right stage lighting and makeup, it would be perfect.

Sabrina glanced at the sketch and paused, then looked again at Valeria. "Did you really design this? In such a short time?"

Valeria was puzzled. "Didn't you ask for it to be submitted today, Ms. Lawson?"

Sabrina's expression shifted slightly. She said nothing more to Valeria, just waved her off. "That'll be all for now. You don't need to follow up with the client's assistant anymore."

"It's all thanks to you, Wendy. You've always been my greatest mentor."

That evening, just as she was about to leave work, Valeria received a message from Rory, inviting her out.

She declined.

She recalled what Queenie had said. Was it possible Rory really had feelings for her?

She opened WhatsApp, typed out two lines of a polite refusal, then deleted them.

It was just an invitation to dinner. If she responded with a formal rejection, wouldn't that be a little presumptuous?

And so, a few days passed.

By Friday, Valeria had promised Selena they'd go see a movie after school. A new animated film had just been released.

But at 5:00 pm that day, Valeria got stuck in the elevator. There were five or six other people with her.

Suddenly, the elevator jolted. Then, everything went pitch black.

Two women screamed.