Breathless

Chapter 13: Hidden Treasure - April 1

Except that he hadn't given her just one rose. He'd furnished her with six hundred and eight roses.

"I came to work today expecting to have someone play a prank on me. Instead, I was greeted by a lovely smile, a red rose, and the words, 'You are priceless.' Do you have any idea how wonderful that was?" Brenda asked with emotion in her voice.

Ruby considered the woman. She must be in her early fifties. As Ruby glanced at her hand, she realized Brenda wasn't married. She most likely spent much of her time alone. Was she lonely like Ruby had been before a man had begun to send her roses? And another man had offered to share her dinner?

"I do," she whispered in response to Brenda's question. "I know exactly how wonderful it feels. That's why I did it."

"Thank you, my dear," the older woman beamed at her. Then she glanced at the roses in Ruby's arms. "I'd better let you get back to work. Mrs. Taylor is probably wondering when her husband is going to remember their wedding anniversary."

Brought back to the task at hand, Ruby dashed off towards the elevator as she tossed some words back over her shoulder. "It was nice to meet you, Brenda! I'll talk to you later."

Then she slipped into the elevator and disappeared as the doors closed behind her.

—

Half an hour later, she dragged forty roses into a floral shop. She felt extremely awkward doing so. But Mr. Taylor had requested that she come here, so she was obeying his instructions. Still, one usually walked out of a florist's shop with flowers. Not into it with some.

Thankfully, though, there was no one inside to draw the attention of. Except for the florist. Another pretty woman in her early fifties, perhaps.

"Can I help you? Oh! Those are some lovely roses."

That looked awfully familiar. Anne eyed the beautiful girl standing in front of her.

Copper hair. Aquamarine eyes. Creamy skin. A multitude of roses.

Anne was pretty sure she knew who this special girl was.

"What a rare treat! I must admit, it's seldom that someone brings me flowers," she teased the young woman.

Ruby blushed. "I know! I'm so sorry! My boss insisted that I come get a vase and some baby's breath."

"Ah. He had you raid Walmart for the roses, did he?" But she could tell by their color and quality that they had come from a real florist's shop. Her own if she wasn't mistaken.

Ruby's eyes grew wide. "No!" She glanced down at the blooms. "Though, to be honest, I have no idea where they came from."

The woman frowned at her as she wrinkled her brow.

"They were given to me this morning. Left on my porch. My boss wants me to give them to his wife for their anniversary."

That brow grew an even deeper furrow. "He's making you give your flowers to his wife?"

"No. I offered them to him. You see," a beautiful flush crept across her lovely pale skin, "someone left me six hundred roses this morning. On my porch swing. I didn't have enough vases to keep them all! So I took five hundred fifty of them to work. These were the last of them. I gave the rest away to people as they entered the building today."

"Wow. That's quite a story. Here! Let me find you a vase and fill it with water. Those roses won't be too happy soon if we wait much longer to give them a drink!"

Anne turned towards her supply cabinet. A moment later, she had unearthed a vase that would hold them all. She poured in enough water to fill it a third of the way to the top before turning back towards Ruby. Then she gathered the roses and stuck them into the water.