While the Caruthers had found their footing and were carving a place for themselves in the world, at Laura's home, there wss a lot of activity going on. Rhoda and James had gotten engaged without an engagement party, and they had blamed the absence of an engagement party on the fact that Melody and Austin had been taking care of Laura and Christopher. Now that the couple had moved out, James had pushed long and hard for an engagement party, and had now gotten it. One morning while the couple grabbed lunch together, Laura mentioned that she had received an invite to the engagement party from James. The hubbub of the restaurant blocked out the sound of the cars on the road. “So I got a message from James today," Laura began.“James? What did he want? I thought he and your mother had stopped reaching out a while back.” “Exactly!" Laughed Laura, “but I don't know. I'm not mad about it. It's good news. He wants to host an engagement party for him and his girlfriend.” “Rhoda and James
The next week, the Caruthers seemed to have bonded even more, and they were no longer fazed by the drama that had ensued at the engagement party. Gone were their cares for what Laura's family thought of them; in its stead was a focus on their future that they hadn't had before. At the work building where Laura's office was, she had been facing quite a lot of drama from her coworkers, especially the older workers. She paid them no mind, but there were sneers and questions about her competency from all around, and they were starting to annoy her. Every day, she made sure she worked harder than anyone else she knew, just so she could prove that she was more then competent for the job, even veering towards being overqualified. She intentionally implemented new policies in the company without waiting for direct input from Mr. Davies, and the results had come in and the resuktd had been great. Yet, instead of receiving praise for her accomplishments, she had been getting loads and loads
As Laura prepared for the impending meeting with the heads of department, her mind was divided between her strategies to defend her department and her growing awe about Christopher's quickly growing business. Little did she know that outside of their relationship, a few people were plotting to put an end to their relationship and give them new problems in their respective areas.While all of this was going on, in his office, Christopher reviewed the expansion plan Agnes had sent him. Excitement and happiness filled him as he pictured the growth of their business empire. Unknown to him, River was making plans to put a stop to the relationship while he laughed and laughed and enjoyed making plans. River had decided on getting vengeance for what he had been through because of Laura and Christopher Caruthers. First, they had embarrassed him in front of all of the junior sales associates,which had been enough humiliation in itself–he had wanted to sink into the ground–but he had also bee
While Christopher thought that kept her in the dark, Laura felt the weight of her family's problems bearing down on her shoulders. The knowledge of River's wicked intentions weighed heavily on her heart, creating a confusing dilemma for her. On one hand, she knew River, and could probably manage to put an end to all the chaos he was orchestrating, on the other hand, she was unsure about whay exactly that would mean. Each of the members of the couple kept their own secrets, assuming that they were protecting each other. As Laura delved deeper into the plans that River had made, and looked into all of the threats that he had made, she struggled to match her loyalty to her husband with her lingering ties to her former workplace.Days turned into nights as Laura found herself caught up deeply in a host of emotions. She could see the damage that River's vendetta was causing to both her marriage and Christopher's business. Gone were the nights they spent in each other's arms, and in th
As the days passed, the tension between Laura's husband, Christopher, and her ex-coworker, River, continued to escalate. River's vendetta against Christopher had taken a dark turn, driven by his thirsty craving for revenge on the couple. Because he was determined to bring Christopher down, River had added in the help of a private investigator to the one he currently had, so he could unearth any secrets from Christopher's past that could be used against him. The first one had almost entirely focused on what had happened with the business that had failed, and now he wsnted even more dirt. The pleas from Laura had ended up making him want to do even more, and he was now angry at the fact that she had insinuated that she had attached herself to some old, petty beef. Laura was caught in the crossfire of her husband and her ex coworker felt her heart heavy with the weight of her panic about everything. The plan they had both made the night before to get River to confess seemed perfect to h
The next few days were a large number of subtle meetings and careful planning for Laura and Christopher. Now that they were armed with the recordings from Laura's dinner conversation with River, they carefully began to put together the evidence they needed to turn things around in case River decided to follow through with his threats of sabotage. Neither of them had the time for extracurriculars, so instead of the usual socializing, they refused to stay back to chat with their workers, to the point where they noticed, and began to notice. Late nights were spent huddled together in their home office, headphones on, transcribing every word, every nuance of emotion in River's voice. They made copies of the recordings, ensuring there were backups stored in safe locations that only they knew, so in case the private eye found out that they were making these plans and decided to make a trip into their house, he would not find anything. One evening, after piecing together the last bit of e
A week later, the sales world buzzed with anticipation as the business summit at Mr. Davies' company kicked off. Representatives from various companies in the property sales industry gathered in the luxurious conference hall, ready to take notes from each other. All around, people jumped into discussions about growth strategies, market trends, and innovations that needed better marketing. Christopher, Laura, and River were among the attendees, their paths destined to cross once more in the corporate world. It made Laura uncomfortable, seeing as she had to work while navigating the double agenting that she was working between Christopher and River. Laura's worries aside, the summit was a large elegant affair, with polished marble floors and crystal chandeliers that threw a warm glow over the attendees. The air was thick with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and everywhere you turned, you could hear the murmur of conversation. As participants finally settled into their seats, Mr. Da
The grand dinner commenced a few hours later, and the elegantly decorated banquet hall had transformed, now adorned with sparkling lights and exquisite floral arrangements that had transformed the open space. Laura, dressed to the nines and graceful, stood near the entrance, welcoming attendees with warm smiles and pleasant greetings. As the guests filed in, she noticed River among them. A nod of acknowledgment passed between them, and River offered her a polite smile in return.Christopher, who had just emerged from a side room, caught the small exchange between his wife and River, and he froze in place. An unsettling feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, and he had to take a moment to process what exactly was going on. The past few events, the double-agenting she was running on his behalf, and now this seemingly cordial interaction between Laura and River raised suspicion in his head. He couldn't shake off the nagging thought that there might be something more to their connec