Slightly after ten, Indigo finally strutted through the doors of Adorn. The essence of lavender and chocolate caressed her chilled face bitten by the nippy breeze whirling outside. She ignored the wind chill knowing it'd heat up by noon.

Indigo's eyes quickly accessed the boutique as she slid her sunglasses off her face. The boots were neatly stacked along the wall. The heels were sitting upright on copper display tables. The glass jewelry case was fingerprint-free free and the remaining supply of leather jackets was neatly hanging on wooden hangers on the metal rack.

Indigo dropped her aviators in her purse as her eyes searched out her newest employees—her old employees went off into the world to do big things.

Jamika, a slack bob-having wispy of a girl with a mouth that spitfire had a hustle and conquer attitude she admired. Carmesi with her pounds of tangled red curls was a transplant fresh off the plane from Scotland begged her for a job after she dropped out of Rice University and needed one to keep her US Visa. Rounding out the morning crew was Antonia Sula Garcia—which was how she introduced herself at her interview, but now she went by 'Toni'. She was a nursing student who only worked mornings because she had classes in the evening. All the girls were busy with customers—fitting shoes on feet, coming from the back with arms full of boxes, or neatly placing shoes in boxes to be taken back to the vault.

"How's it going?" Indigo asked as she stopped by the checkout counter.

Alexis, the new supervisor that Hazel trained to replace her stood at the counter, with her black hair in a simple braid hanging over her shoulder stopped swiping through the stack of hundreds in her hand, "All good. Um..." She hit the paper bills on the counter getting them even, "But Jamika's pants had a white stripe. She thought I was going to send her home but I told her it was okay."

The young woman waited anxiously to see if she made the right call.

"Yeah." Indigo nodded glancing over at the young lady fitting the top back on the box of Stuart Weitzman thigh-high boots. "She's just been here three weeks, right."

"Almost a month," Alexis added, picking up a stack of twenties, "But I mean...let's be real...she doesn't have it easy being a single mom and all. It's tough." She spoke from experience. Her four-year-old just started pre-k last year. "She has more to do with her money than buy more black clothes."

"You made the right call, boss lady," Indigo smirked with a playful slap to Alexis' shoulder. She was aware that Alexis still doubted her talents and skills so she tried her best to stoke her confidence. She wanted to get her to stop seeing herself as the high school dropout who folded polo's at the Gap.

"What did Horatio say?" Indigo continued. "I know he was probably pissed because I wasn't here...but will he be done with construction by next month?"

Opening up another location was stressful but it was going to be worth it. It was close to home, she'd have to endure less traffic on her commute and she'd be there to pick the kids up from school.

"About that...the brass light fixtures will take a little longer to get here and shipment of that brick you decided on for the wall can't be delivered until the beginning of April because of the snowmelt flood."

"Damn." Indigo said under her breath so the customers couldn't hear, "Well, we can't do anything about the weather. We'll just have to push back the opening date."

Alexis nodded as she racked through the twenties making sure all the faces were up, "Oh...speaking of deliverers—something come for you." She clenched her hand around the money focusing on Indigo. "You really do have the best husband. So lucky."

"What?"Indigo didn't know what the woman was talking about.

She tsked twisting her head to the side as she started back flipping through the money, "You have a little surprise in your office—flowers and a present. Is it your anniversary?"

"No. Not for a while" Indigo affirmed, grabbing her purse off the counter with a smile growing on her glossed lips. "We did have a wonderful date night." She snapped her fingers as she strutted down the hallway to her office, "That's why he left the house early."

Indigo's footsteps halted at the desk as she took in the sight of the delicate, vibrant bouquet.

"A dozen red roses are expensive." Alexis started as she slid the stack of money into the big blue bag and zipped it. "The most I ever got was a handful of wildflowers."

"Wildflowers are beautiful. I'd rather those that roses, the most pretentious flower of the floral kingdom "

"Floral kingdom?" Alexis chirped. "Is that a thing?"

"Yeah," Indigo asserted not really sure if that was really a thing but it had to be. She didn't spare it much thought though, "These aren't from Tate. He'd never get me roses."

"A secret admirer." Alexis' mouth tipped up with excitement and intrigue. She loved a good mystery and drama made it all a little more interesting. "You're hot as hell on a summer day, Mrs. Larsen. I wouldn't be surprised."

******

Indigo wasn't going to strain her brain. It was probably a gift from one of the many customers that came to Adorn; maybe a bride who glided down the aisle in a pair of white satin crystal-toe Blahnik's or a CEO who gave the presentation of her life in a pair of sleek black red-bottoms.

The gratitude of her clients amazed her. Never would she expect to receive courtside tickets to a Rockets game because she helped the owner's wife style her outfit for the cover shoot of Dazzle magazine.

"They're probably a thank-you for that girl...with the pixie cut that came in last week..." Indigo snapped her fingers trying to jog Alexis' memory as they stood in her office.

The office was a creation that graduated with the circumstances of Indigo's life. Before it was just a place for her to pay bills, sign contracts, refill orders, track style trends, and conduct meetings but now it held other duties.

The statement piece desk that sat in the middle of the office was removed and replaced with a glossy built-in. A tufted Queen Anne chair was where she sat logging in hours of work, planning, and research. Emerald pillows sat in the clear chairs in front of her desk and to the side was a gold-painted metal bookshelf that held pictures of family trips over the years, clay oddly shaped bowls crafted by her daughters, and a dish of Now & Laters—she protested that they were for the girls but she was the one devouring most of them.

Alexis' eyes ticked up to the side as a deep crease crossed her forehead, "You mean the principal dancer from the Houston Ballet."

"Yeah." Indigo wagged her finger, "Her. She probably sent these." She leaned over pulling in a whiff of the splendidly scented red roses blooming in the sun's rays that flooded in the window providing Indigo with a bland view of a parking lot.

"I would have to negate that." Alexis stuffed the bank-deposit zipped purse under her arm, "But look, there's a card. Let's see which one of us is right."

Indigo sat her purse in her office chair with bewilderment clouding her features. Her sight fell to the cream card placed in the middle of the bouquet. To Indigo, she quickly read over her name written in black pen.

"Can I open it?" Alexis asked holding up the big, brown paper-wrapped present leaning against her wall.

"Sure," Indigo mumbled turning the card over, then flipping it open with her pointing finger.

She didn't care if Alexis opened the gift. It was probably a client she took co-captain on. That's how sales usually went, Indigo would start off helping the big-name clients then hand them off to Alexis once the client nailed down the idea of what they wanted and not just 'shoes' as they would so eloquently put it. The gift was probably some extravagant present that she'd never have a use for and just give it away to one of her employees like the calico crocheted scarf and matching socks someone gave her last month.

The handwriting inside the card was starkly different than the one on the front. The neat, medium-sized, all-capitalized lettering of her name on the front was simple and elegant while the slanted, tall letters inside reeked of someone who paid attention during their cursive lessons in elementary or was born in the eighteenth century. The latter couldn't be right because she didn't know any vampires, she was sure of it.

Indigo's mouth grew dry as she read the words aloud but just low enough for her to hear, "Never did I think I'd met someone that could steal my sleep and captivate my thoughts. I'm staying in town for many reasons. One of them you are privy to. Let's talk about it. Have lunch with me, today at noon. Suite 723 @ The Foster." Indigo's eyes widened as her heartbeat's pace kicked up. "Felix."

"A painting." Alexis harked ripping more of the paper off like an over-eager two-year-old at their birthday party. "Someone bought you a painting. I wonder how much they paid for this. A couple hundred." She held the canvas out by her side, which was almost the same height as her.

"Nothing." Indigo swallowed even though her throat was going through a drought. "I mean...it's worth thousands...but he..." Her eyes went back over the fancy script of his name, "He painted it...himself."

"Hmm." Alexis glanced back at the painting of a child playing a string instrument in the grass. "Damn! Homeboy got talent." She planted her sight back on Indigo. "And he gave this to you for free." Disbelieved shaded her face as she gave Indigo a knowing look.

"Nah, Lexis. I don't think it's free." Indigo positioned the card back in the bouquet. She grabbed the fragile vase and cradled it at her side. "He wants to have lunch with me..." She glanced down at her wristwatch. "In an hour." Indigo reached for the canvas.

Alexis' jaw slightly dropped before she continued, "Are you going?

"No. And I can't have this..." She gestured to the flowers and the canvas in Alexis' grasp, "Hanging around my office when the girls get here because they're going to think Daddy sent this and they're going to tell him about it and the last thing I need is for Tate to get curious."

Indigo rounded her desk and swiped a note card from the drawer, "Can you run an errand for me?"

"Sure." Alexis affirmed balling up the paper scraps she ripped up off the floor, "I can't have my dream couple breakup because of random dick but can I stay on the clock."

"Absolutely." She quickly scribed words on the card in purple ink and then handed it to Alexis. "Return all this to Felix Park."

"You got it." Alexis said admiring the bouquet. "But can I keep these?"

"Yeah. Sure." She smirked. "And thank you."

Once she was alone in her office she tried to calm the nerves that were riddled. Shallow breaths became erratic and the walls around her felt like they were closing in on her. She gripped the edges of her desk as tears percolated in her eyes. Closing them she tried to focus on something that brought her calm. A moment she was a peace and her mind to her to the moment from earlier that morning. In Zane's room. In Tate's firm, consoling embrace. The memory tampered with the franticness that swelled inside her and she started to contemplate his suggestion. Maybe he was right. She needed to talk to Dr. Baldwin.

Then there was a knock at her door and her phone dinged reminding her that it was time for Gambit to get his rabies shot and heartworm pill. Emery was coming back from Japan in a couple of weeks and she promised her they'd have some girl time—she still needed to decide what they were going to do, her little girls wanted to make a garden in the backyard after their trip to McMiller's Farm for strawberry picking and Zane needed a new bed since he was outgrowing the crib. Then there was Saxon, deciding on which treatment she going to endure. Now, Felix wanted to talk. It was too much. All too much.

And she didn't have time to sit on someone's couch and talk. So, she took a deep breath and got back to work. 

Should Indigo tell Tate about the gift from Felix or withhold it because she resolved the issue?