The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Yep. President Poe just called me, saying he got his hands on a design proposal that's right on the money. He's already touched

base with the designer, and they're both over the moon about it, plus it's not gonna break the bank. So, they're hoping to roll with

this one," Kent said. "As for the nitty-gritty tweaks, they're hoping you could get in touch with the designer to hash it out."

"Did | ever tell you that the science museum's design is Starlight Group's call?" Brandon's voice had mellowed a bit, clearly not

thrilled about President Poe going rogue on the design decision.

"I did bring it up with President Poe," Kent quickly added, picking up on Brandon's discontent, "But he suggested that you take a

gander at the proposal first, saying it's a good match with the school's architectural vibe."

Brandon fell silent for a moment. "Just have him shoot it to my inbox, and send a copy to Don while he's at it."

"Will do."

Kent agreed promptly, a bit taken aback by Brandon's swift acquiescence but also sensing that Brandon had softened up a lot since

the debacle with the designer Sophia, who was turned down. He was no longer shooting things down on the spot, especially after

Sophia's incident, insisting on personally reviewing any design work touched by Star-Dempsey Architects.

After hanging up, Kent quickly called President Poe back to let him know that Brandon needed to see the design first and asked him

to send it over.

To President Poe, Brandon not outright rejecting the proposal was already a hopeful sign, so he eagerly sent Sophia's design to

Kent and then reassured Sophia with a smile, "The alum donating the science museum wants to review your design first."

Then, fearing Sophia might have concerns, he quickly added, "But don't sweat it. At the end of the day, it's the school's science

museum, for the students’ use, so the school's got the final say on which design we go with."

Sophia nodded. "I understand, thank you, President Poe."

The advance deposit from President Poe was already a nod of approval to her work, and Sophia was deeply grateful.

"I'll hit you up once we've got everything sorted out," President Poe said.

Sophia nodded, thanked him again, and seeing she was at the curb, said goodbye to President Poe and hailed a taxi to take off.

Brandon ended the call and then dialed Don to check on the progress of the science museum's design.

Since it was a donation in Sophia's name, he had high expectations for the aesthetics and didn't trust anyone else with it, so he

had specifically instructed Don to handle the design himself.

"Bro, you just sentthe requirements yesterday. How fast do you think am?"

Don was still yawning on the other end, obviously groggy from being woken up by Brandon's call.

Sophia could whip out a design overnight.

Brandon immediately thought of the tSophia designed a Republican-era mansion for the Frost family, his breath catching at the

memory of her.

Don, sensing Brandon's unusual silence, woke up a bit more and, concerned, called out, "Brandon?"

"Yeah," Brandon replied tersely, "President Poe says they've got a solid design proposal they want to use directly. I've asked Kent to

forward it to you too. You've got a more professional eye, so give it a once-over and if it looks good to you, we'll go with it."

"Sure thing," Don agreed on the spot, "Tell Kent to send it my way."

"It's already arranged. Keep an eye on your inbox."

Brandon said, giving a few more instructions before hanging up and noticing Theresa looking listless, leaning against him, not

looking too hot.

"Theresa, what's wrong?" he asked, scooping her up in his arms with concern.

Before Theresa could reply, she sneezed.

Brandon felt her forehead, which was warm to the touch.

His expression hardened, and he turned to the driver, Jason, "Jason, to the hospital."

"Got it," Jason quickly U-turned the car.

Don had barely hung up on Brandon when his inbox pinged with a new email.

He clicked it open; it was the design proposal for West District High School from Kent.

Just one glance at the proposal, and he bolted upright in bed, his sleepiness vanishing.

Don couldn't wait to think it through; he grabbed his jacket, snatched up his phone, and hurried to his study to fire up hisputer

and open the email.

The screen filled with the design of the quaint, academic-looking science museum.

Don scrolled down to the bottom of the proposal looking for a signature, but there was none.

Frowning, Don picked up his phone, intending to call Brandon to ask about the design, but paused, thought for a long moment, and

instead called Kent.

"Did President Poe mention who's behind the West District High School science museum design?" Don inquired, a cautious tone in

his voice.

Kent furrowed his brow, confused. "No, why?"

Don pressed, "Ask him who the designer is, see if there's any detailed background info on them, maybe a picture and contact info."

"What's up?" Kent asked, puzzled.

"I'm getting a sense of déja vu from this design style," Don explained. "It's kinda... Sophia's vibe."

Kent was silent for a beat.

"I'll get right on it," Kent said, snapping back to action.

Don gave a nod, "If Brandon hasn't hit you up about it, don't rush to spill the beans. Better to double-check everything first so he

doesn't end up bummed out later."

Kent replied, "Got it."

Right after hanging up, Kent reached out to President Poe to check on the designer's details.

"She's Arlene, a Zenithan from overseas. Just rocked up in the West District in the last couple of days and stumbled upon the call

for designs for the school's science museum," President Poe explained, sounding a bit puzzled. "What's up?"

"Got a pic and a way to contact her?" Kent inquired.

President Poe responded, "Only Whatand email. We've been chatting through emails."

Kent said, "Hitup with that info."

"Sure thing," President Poe agreed.

After the call, President Poe slid Arlene's Whatdeets over to Kent.

The Whataccount seemed spanking new, or maybe a work number, with the default system nleft unchanged.

The profile pic was just a snap of the sea at dusk. Couldn't make out the age or anything, but the Whataccount was listed as

female.

Kent frowned slightly, tapping 'add contact.’

It wasn't until late into the night that Brandon finally caught a break.

He had taken Theresa to the hospital for a good half of the day, but thankfully, the blood test didn't show anything serious. They

figured it was just a fever brought on by catching a chill and a viral infection.

After they got back from the hospital, he was all tied up taking her temperature and keeping an eye on her condition.

It wasn't until Theresa finally dozed off and her fever subsided that her condition began to stabilize.

Only then did Brandon breathe a sigh of relief, finally grabbing his phone to check his work emails.