Heart of Stone

Delivery

A bit later in the day, Eloise was feeling much better and she went out to her garden to pick the flowers for Alexander's centerpiece. She chose them meticulously and spent a good deal of time arranging them and tying them together perfectly inside the crystal vase she had ordered. When she was done, she had a stunning bouquet of red and pink peonies, roses, and tulips with some baby's breath dispersed intermittently throughout.

Satisfied, she called Alexander to let him know his floral arrangement was ready.

"You didn't have to do that, you know. Aren't you still sick?" He chastised.

"I will have you know I've never missed a deadline, and I don't plan to start now. Besides, I'm feeling much better." She said.

"Are you certain?" He asked.

"Yes. I can prove it to you by delivering this floral arrangement directly to your office." She suggested.

"I would like to lay eyes on you myself. Sooner rather than later." He said.

"Alright, then I'll be right over. Can I bring Luna with me?" She asked.

"Of course. Don't bother with the security guard this time. Just come right up to my office." He instructed.

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

Ending the call, she decided to change into something a little more fitting for the environment. She donned a simple form flitting black dress that ended at her thighs with comfortable black flats. She paired it with a thick gold rope chain around her neck and a sparkling diamond bracelet at her wrist. She spruced up her face by adding a bit of concealer and pink lip stain. She left her hair down. No one would be throwing her weird looks this time. Not that she particularly cared, but she didn't want to stand out that much if she was going to regularly visit Alexander's office.

Carefully, she loaded the floral arrangement into the trunk of her vehicle and then put Luna in the back. She put the address in her GPS again, not entirely familiar with the way yet, and pulled out of her driveway. She listened to music on her way there, and after a while a song came on that she didn't want to hear. She scowled, searching for the skip button on her steering wheel. As her finger lifted to press it, her phone rang and when it came down on the button, she accidentally answered it on the first ring. Caroline Pearson was calling her, and she had realized too late.

Horror gripped her and she nearly slammed on her brakes. She had to force herself to focus on what was in front of her, but she found she had no idea what to say.

"...Hello?" Caroline's voice came through the car speakers.

"H-hello, Caroline?" She stuttered, her heart hammering in her chest.

She pulled over a few feet up the road when she saw an opening. There was no way she could have this conversation while driving with as nervous as she was.

"Ohh, I'm so glad to have caught you at a good time." Caroline said, the relief obvious in her tone.

"Uh, yeah, I'm driving to a job at the moment, so I had a few minutes." Eloise lied to make it seem as if she had answered the call on purpose.

"Well, good. I was beginning to wonder if you were avoiding me." Caroline said.

Blowing out a breath through her nose, Eloise tried to calm her nerves. It was now or never.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to come across that way. I've just been really booked and if it isn't work, it's something else." She explained.

"Don't worry about it. What's important is that we're talking now." Caroline said.