Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon

Shirley nodded. "I've gone over everything a hundred times. I've done all the mental prep I can. I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

Effie turned to the cameraman, who was in charge of the livestream. "Try to keep the camera on Shirley as much as you can."

"Of course, Miss Bagnold."

"Ready? We're live."

As the stream started, Shirley stiffened, her posture awkward and her words stumbling over themselves as she spoke into the camera.

Effie shot her an encouraging smile. "So, Ms. Etheridge, rumor has it that Etheridge & Co. Jewels has a design that looks suspiciously like something from another company. What's going on there?"

Shirley took a deep breath, managed a small smile, and replied, "Honestly, I have no idea. But our team at The Etheridge Group released our designs a while ago. Why another company's pieces look just like ours is anyone's guess."

At that moment, the livestream chat was nearly dead-other than a few staffers monitoring for comments, there was barely a soul watching.

Later, as the stream wore on, a handful of viewers wandered in, drawn by Effie and Shirley's good looks. Still, the channel had almost no traffic.

The producer's voice came through Effie's earpiece, quietly updating her on the situation.

They'd set everything up perfectly, but if the livestream numbers didn't climb, all their preparation would be for nothing.

Effie had no choice but to step away and leave Shirley to handle the stream solo while she called Annabel McCloud.

"Annabel."

A child's voice echoed in the background as Annabel answered, and Effie immediately recognized it as Andie.noveldrama

"Are you busy?"

"Not really, just babysitting. Grace McCloud's at work, Clay's in physical therapy, and there's no one else to watch him, so I'm helping out."

Annabel sounded casual, but only she knew how close Andie had brought her to the edge of her patience.

He might look sweet and adorable most of the time, but he was stilka child-and with a familiar face like Annabel around, he'd grown bolder, running wild and causing mischief wherever he could.

At first, Annabel had thought it wouldn't hurt to let him run around the office, But after her assistant pointed out the hazards, she realized that the seemingly harmless space was actually full of dangers for a little boy like Andie-serious dangers.

She didn't want to wreck her beautifully curated office on account of one visit, so

she kept her eyes glued to him, unable to focus on anything else.

Despite doing nothing all morning except chasing after Andie, she already felt exhausted.

"What's up?" Annabel asked.

Effie said, "I need a favor."

"Go on, I'm listening."

Effie quickly explained the trouble with the livestream.

Annabel replied, "That's easy. I'll send over one of my artists to help drum up some attention. Just make sure nobody says anything out of line in the chat."

After all, Effie and Shirley were both new to livestreaming, and if they broke any rules, the stream could get shut down. Annabel didn't want her own artist caught up in a mess.

"Don't worry," Effie promised. "We've already gone through all the rules—we won't slip up."

Hearing that, Annabel agreed to help.

But just then, the producer hurried over to Effie. "Miss Bagnold, the livestream numbers just shot up!"

Effie's eyes narrowed in surprise. "What happened?"

The producer explained, "A-list celebrity Maurice just promoted your stream on his

social media. His fans are pouring in by the thousands."

The moment she heard Maurice's name, Effie knew exactly what was going on.

With the call still open, Annabel overheard the conversation and couldn't help but smile to herself.