Chapter 1044 - Girl's lunch in Los Angeles

~ Los Angeles ~

Thursday

12:56 PM

JoAnna, Sarah and Emma are having lunch in one restaurant close to LA Medical Center.

Today, Emma is working in the hospital, Sarah went to handle several tasks in White Corp. HQ, so the girls decided to meet for lunch.

Penny also considered joining, but an order arrived in the gallery just before noon and she had to cancel on the girls at the last moment.

Sophia is home with Cecilia and Felix and Bridgette is at the Golden Ocean Resort.

Emma was telling JoAnna and Sarah about the events on Tuesday evening when Dylan stopped by.

The two sisters are impressed that Emma had the presence of mind to smack Dylan with a bottle when he attacked Charlie and they understood that some of Dylan's words hit Emma right into her insecurities.

"So, you are concerned about the relationship Charlie had with that Chelsea?", Sarah asked Emma.

Emma sighed. "I would be lying if I say that I'm not. I want to trust that there is nothing, but there IS something that is bothering me. Dylan was offended by my presence, like I stole position that belongs to his sister. I just brushed it off by saying that it was just them hoping that Charlie will reignite some old flame of a relationship that happened who knows when, but then I remembered that Chelsea was Charlie's Sunday morning girl and the unpleasant feeling creeped back into my heart."

"Sunday morning girl?", Sarah had to clarify this.

Emma confirmed and explained: "While I was staying at his villa initially, number of girls would come to visit him at predetermined times. They would take turns to give him company. Every Sunday, at 10:30 AM, Chelsea Davis would come and spend at least one hour with him. How much I observed, they were in common rooms or in the garden so other than talking, nothing else happened. However, now I know that she was not there only because her father is doing business with Smiths and Charlie was being polite, and she was not there only because she was interested in him one-sidedly… she is his ex. That changes things, and it bothers me… Why did he continue seeing his ex? And it was a regular Sunday morning occurrence. It's not that she appeared unannounced and caught him by surprise. If he wanted to cut ties with his ex, he had plenty of time to come up with an excuse not to see her."

"Why don't you ask him?", JoAnna asked Emma.

Emma shook her head. "I don't know how to. And I am afraid that I will not like the answer. It is crazy, I know… When the two of us are together, I am so happy, and he makes me feel like nothing else matters. But when we are apart, all kind of doubts creep in… Probably because somewhere inside I believe that I am not his match and that he will leave me one day when he realizes that."

"Is he still seeing her or anyone else after you two became official?", Sarah asked Emma.

"Not that I know of.", Emma responded. Charlie is spending his free time with her, but she does not know what he does during work hours. What if some of those women visits him in his office? Emma cringed at that thought.

JoAnna sighed. "You should not blame him for what he did before you two became a couple. But it can't hurt to know what kind of relationship the two of them had. Do you want to know?"

Emma's face flashed in panic. "Don't ask him!"

"We will not ask, but we have our ways of digging out the information.", JoAnna said mysteriously while glancing at Sarah.

Sarah's mouth was full, so she responded with a nod.

"Talk about the information related to women, did you handle that woman from your lab?", Sarah asked JoAnna after she swallowed food from her mouth.

"I'm so busy with this White business that I'm happy Bridgette is handling the resort matters.", JoAnna admitted guiltily that she still didn't do anything about Beatriz.

Sarah frowned. "Why are you delaying? Just fire her."

JoAnna grimaced at Sarah.

"What woman in the lab?", Emma asked JoAnna.

"A woman in the medical research lab at White corp. HQ does not like Anna, and Anna does not want to fire her without a good reason, and she has no time to figure out the reason.", Sarah explained.

"Does not like you? What does that mean?", Emma asked JoAnna.

JoAnna gave few examples when Beatriz was rude to her for no apparent reason.

Emma was surprised to hear that a grown woman can act so childishly. "And what do you know about her motive?"

JoAnna shrugged. "At this point, nothing. She is doing her work well, does not gossip with other employees during work hours. She sticks close to her senior Frederick. She is clean."

Emma thought about what JoAnna said. "A woman will act irrationally if someone is threatening her or her loved one. You said that she sticks close to her senior? What is their relationship?"

"In the lab they are professional. Friendly, but professional. Outside of the lab… I don't know.", JoAnna admitted.

"Maybe you should find out.", Emma said knowingly.

"Or we can make it quick. Provoke him and see how she reacts.", Sarah suggested.

She knows that it was ages since that woman started getting on JoAnna's case, yet JoAnna is delaying acting against that woman.

They placed cameras inside the lab with a goal to capture Beatriz doing something she is not supposed to do at work, but the only thing they got are endless hours of people dripping things into petri dishes and staring into the microscopes while taking notes. If there is 'the least eventful job' award, it would be awarded to the medical research lab workers. Sarah thought that she will melt from boredom while going through just a fraction of the recordings. Luckily, she got Eve to process the rest.

Emma approved the idea to provoke the woman through her senior she is attached to, and Emma offered additional tips: "If they have any special relationship that causes her to act hostile just by you showing up, pour some oil on fire by being extra friendly toward the guy. Invite him for a lunch, bring him a coffee without him asking for it, suggest that he stays with you after hours…"

Sarah gave a thumbs up. "If you provoke her enough, she might blow up and deliver you on a platter a perfect reason to fire her: non-professional behavior. How about this? Me and Emma will join you in the lab and act enamored by him to add more pressure."

Emma gave Sarah 'why-are-you-dragging-me-into-this' look, but then reluctantly nodded. If with an hour or two of acting she can help her friend, she will do it. As long as Charlie does not find out and get some crazy ideas, it will be alright. Right?

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