Tangled Temptations

"Ms. Vanessa?"

Eloise figured it was Ms. Vanessa from Crescendo Sound Workshop. Ms.

Vanessa had always been super friendly to her in the past, so if she got an invite from her, she would totally take it.

Eloise called her back.

On the phone, Ms. Vanessa didn't make a big deal out of anything. Just giggled and said, "I've got some juicy news for you. We'll chat over lunch, alright?"

Eloise was intrigued. She had a couple of hours before lunch, so Eloise thought she'd measure the living room's floor-to-ceiling curtains and took a few snaps of her apartment, planning to hit some furniture shops later.

At lunch, she met Ms. Vanessa at a Mexican joint. Ms. Vanessa was a fan of spicy food, so Eloise joined her in the fiery feast. Soon enough, her face was all flushed.

When they were almost done munching, Ms. Vanessa finally spilled the beans.

"Did you hear? Ravenna got blackballed by the parents!"

Eloise was taken aback. She couldn't help but blurt out, "What? Just a few days ago, I saw her getting along with the parents. Seemed like everyone loved her."

Ms. Vanessa let out a sarcastic laugh. She asked, "Eloise, are you seriously clueless, or are you just playing dumb?"

Eloise's smile faded. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Does this have anything to do with me?"

Without further ado, Ms. Vanessa said, "Actually, it's more about your friend, that famous Attorney. You two attended a reunion together, and then all hell broke loose among those parents! Eloise, those parents are no fools. They're trying to get to Harvey through you."

She shrugged, "They're making a racket about replacing Ravenna, and they want you to teach their kids."

Sometimes, relationships were all about interests. Eloise just smiled.

Ms. Vanessa saw right through her, but she didn't seem to mind, "It's cool if you don't want to come back. If I were you, I wouldn't want to put up with all this drama either! Anyway, Ravenna's days at Crescendo Sound Workshop are numbered. Heard someone's really pissed at her, she's probably weeping in the big boss's office right now!"

Eloise had a hunch who that might be.

-Max!

She and Max have called it quits, but the guy just kept popping up in her life. But Eloise didn't care anymore.

Ms. Vanessa wisely dropped the subject and didn't ask about Eloise's relationship with Harvey.

After all, it's a man-woman thing!

After lunch, Ms. Vanessa had to head back to deal with the mess left by Ravenna, so she went pretty quickly.

Eloise gathered her thoughts.noveldrama

She didn't want to dwell on the past. No matter what Max was thinking, she couldn't let him affect her anymore. She needed to forget about him completely.

Eloise took a cab to the furniture store.

She picked out some rich Baroque-style fabric, ordered a set of floor-to-ceiling curtains, and selected two lake-blue vases to match.

All this stuff cost a pretty penny.

But Eloise didn't flinch, and she felt the Astral piano deserved the best decor. After her card was swiped, the manager respectfully handed over a small gift. "Ms. Laurent, we will deliver and install the items before 4 pm. Please don't worry."

Eloise smiled. She strolled around the store and bought some nice lace tablecloths and ornaments. After finding what she wanted, she was in a great mood and texted Harvey that she wouldn't be home until after 6 p.m.

Harvey replied quickly. [Alright, Ms. Laurent.]

Looking at the text, Eloise felt a slight stir in her heart. She thought she might be falling for Harvey.

She didn't feel ashamed.

For a man like Harvey, it's only natural for women to fall for him.

When she got back to her apartment, the installers quickly set up the curtains, and they looked even better than Eloise had imagined.

With the new decor, the place looked stunning.

Eloise arranged the flowers in the vases, laid out the beautiful lace, and placed them just right. The whole apartment had a major makeover. It felt a lot cozier.

The doorbell rang.

Eloise thought it was the installers coming back, so she hurried to the door, only to find Harvey standing there.

Eloise blushed, "You have the keys. Why did you ring the doorbell?"

Harvey wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against the entrance cabinet.