Right Person, Wrong Time

"Go ahead, I'm listening," Nicole said, her tone mirroring Roxanna's seriousness. It has been a while since I last talked to Roxanna.

"Today, that Isaac guy showed up. We didn't get a chance to talk about this last time, but Isaac and Colton are on good terms, and it seems like he's been asking about you…" Roxanna's voice trailed off for a moment before she carried on. "I suspect Colton sent him."

It finally dawned on Nicole that Roxanna was unaware of her recent encounter with Colton. "Roxanna, there's something you might not know," she admitted, her tone turning gentle as she realized it was her own fault for not telling Roxanna about it sooner.

"Nicole, why beat around the bush? Just say what you need to," Roxanna responded, sensing a change in Nicole's tone and growing nervous herself. Nicole rarely spoke to her this way.

"Colton already knows I'm in Florend, and we've met," Nicole finally admitted.

Roxanna was taken aback by Nicole's words, struggling to believe what she was hearing. She even wondered if there was something wrong with her ears. "What? Nicole, say that again?"

If Colton knew about Nicole, it meant that she might have inadvertently offended her potential collaborator. Roxanna's mind raced as she tried to recall if she had said anything wrong.

"Yes, a few days ago, I ran into Colton when I was out eating. Wendy was there too," Nicole confessed, sounding almost like a guilty child, lacking confidence as she carefully explained.

A few days ago? Roxanna suddenly realized she might have messed up today.

"Nicole, I've got something to attend to. I'll have to hang up," Roxanna said weakly, not giving Nicole a chance to explain further before ending the call.

Now, her focus was on how to appease Isaac. She suspected that her words might have angered him. What was initially a conversation about potential cooperation had likely been tainted by her own suspicious mindset.

I mistakenly took him for someone trying to gather information.

Sighing, Roxanna paced around, unsure of what to do.

"Roxanna, what's wrong?" One of her employees walked in, holding a report that seemed to be for the day. Seeing Roxanna in distress, they questioned her out of concern.

She looked at the employee, relief flooding her as if they were her savior. "Investigate what Mr. Quill likes and let me know; make sure to gather as much detail as possible."

Her priority now was to win over Isaac. She couldn't let this opportunity for cooperation slip away. With international affairs becoming increasingly complicated, Roxanna didn't want to burden Nicole and Chloe any further. She needed to resolve this predicament on her own.