Deception

Chapter Twelve

"Do you know who dropped this off, by any chance?" I asked.

"No, sorry, Miss. It got delivered in the morning. I wasn't working at the time, but I can ask the reception team from this morning and let you know," he said with a polite smile.

"Thank you. Have a good night."

I said, and Julie and I walked off.

"I wonder who got you a gift. Maybe Dr. Ernest was right. Maybe you do have a secret admirer," Julie said with a grin.

I hummed.

There was only one person I could think of and he definitely wasn't an admirer. If anything, he was my literal worst nightmare.

We headed up to my apartment, and Julie walked right in, taking a seat on my couch.

"Okay, give me a little fashion show. Let me see what you're wearing. I can't wait."

I laughed, placing the box down on the bench as I walked to my room.

I changed out of my uniform, grabbed my dress, and slipped it on. I let my hair down and walked into the lounge. Sophie had arrived in the meantime.

"OMG, so stunning," I heard Sophie say.

"Wow, Scarlett, you look amazing. That dress suits you so well," Julie added.

I smiled, thanking them. I decided to go back, change again, and retrieve the necklace for Julie.

I was going to give it to her tomorrow, but I couldn't wait.

"Jules. I've got a surprise for you, miss girl," I said, grinning at her.

"No way. What is it? Let me see!"

I pulled out the box and placed it in her hands.

"Open it."

Her face was pure surprise. She nervously unwrapped it.

Once she finally got the bow off and opened the box, she saw the diamond necklace.

"No fucking way. There's just no way this is real right now."

Me and Sophie laughed. She was the cutest and hearing her swear was so out of character.

"Yes way. We decided to get it for you a couple of days ago but wanted to surprise you with it. I reckon it'll go perfect with whatever dress you've picked out."

She set the box down and wrapped her arms around me, then did the same to Sophie.

"I love it. This looks like it cost half our salary. But I'm so grateful thank you both so much for inviting me and gifting this."

She spoke with a soft voice.

"You're more than welcome, sweet girl," Sophie said, clearly amused by Julie's reaction.

We ended up ordering food, talking more about our week, and then about my upcoming Washington trip.

As we were cleaning up the kitchen, Sophie picked up the package.

"What's this, Scarlett? You haven't opened it yet. Let me open it, you know I love receiving packages."

Julie was staring at us, and I didn't want to seem weird, so I just nodded.

"Yay, perfect. Let's see what type of weird shit you like to order," she said in a mocking tone.

I rolled my eyes as I continued wiping down the table. Julie sat down on the couch.

As Sophie opened the box, I saw her demeanor change instantly. She looked visibly stunned.

"So... what is it?" Julie piped up.