No More Waiting, She Chooses Love novel Chapter 779

Haley pulled out an envelope and pushed it across the table towards Susie. "If you're not taking this, then don't take anything at all."

Talk about being pushy.

I swung open the door, pretending to be surprised. "Well, look who’s here! Manager Perez, you've got company."

Susie barely glanced at me, acting as if she didn't know me at all. No surprise there. She wasn’t exactly chatty these days.

Haley seemed a bit nervous when she saw me, but she quickly masked it. She turned to Susie and said, "You deserve this. Go ahead, take it."

Susie reached out and only took the envelope, leaving the box Haley had offered untouched.

She truly was a girl raised by Ernest Collins—prideful to the bone.

"Thanks," Susie said before making her exit.

Not a word to me. I couldn’t tell if she was still mad or just didn’t want Haley to know we were acquainted.

"Feel free to come back if you want more gigs," Haley called out to Susie in my presence, still trying to recruit her.

"Good thing you're a woman," I teased Haley once Susie was out the door, picking up the box Haley had tried to give her. "If you were a guy, I'd think you had a crush."

"Don’t you think it's rude to snoop?" Haley shot back, not at all treating me like her boss.

Inside the box was a bracelet with sparkling diamonds—not cheap, by any means. "Manager Perez, you're really pulling out all the stops to keep someone around."

"Sometimes you have to spend money to make money," Haley replied without missing a beat.

I snapped the box shut. "You should probably give up on this particular little bird."

Haley locked eyes with me, waiting for an explanation.

I didn’t dance around the truth. "She's Ernest's sister."

Haley blinked, surprised. "What are the odds?"

She could’ve made it on her skills alone, but she chose to rely on other things.

"Trying to provoke me, Ms. Hudson?" Haley knew herself well.

"It’s a pity, really."

Haley chuckled. "Everyone’s got their path. Like you could've been a lady of leisure, but instead, here you are, wandering the streets at all hours."

She had a retort for everything I said.

I yawned. "Manager Perez, not only has your business acumen improved, but your wit is sharp too."

With that, I stood to leave.

Haley stopped me with a question. "Have you seen Conrad lately?"