In Chicago...

Today was Eliza's last day of working as president at Leagan Corporation before she took her maternity leave. She's nine months pregnant and had chosen to be a full time mother just like her mother, Sarah, when she and Neal were young. Eliza had lunch with her staffs and had farewell gatherings with them. Before she left, she met Neal in his office to give him last tips on how to handle the project she hadn't finished.

"This is impossible! I can't do this. Stay one more week, Eliza," Neal whimpered.

Unlike Eliza who had worked for years in Leagan Corp, Neal just joined for about a year. His mother made him go to graduate school in London to forget Candy then his father made him work in another company first to toughen him up.

"One more week won't do much, Neal." Eliza chuckled. "Acquiring Tarbell Standard Oil will be our company's biggest acquisition to date! It's all yours now." She grinned.

"Even a year won't do much to him!" Neal and Eliza looked up. It was Henri, their father.

"Daddy!" Eliza got up to greet her father. "I've finished transferring all my projects to Neal."

"That's my girl." Henri hugged his precious princess who's so pregnant. "Your mother has arranged a bigger mansion for your growing family."

"Mom told me about the surprise this morning. Thanks dad!"

"Too bad it's you who has to leave," Henri grunted, glanced at Neal.

Neal pretended not hearing.

"I have my assistant Dayna replace Mrs. Cooper, Neal's assistant who's retiring. Dayna is a bright girl, she knows all about my projects."

"What I'm worried about is for Dayna to take over his work and get their position reversed!" mocked Henri.

"Neal is smart, dad. He learned so quickly," Eliza supported her brother. "I've told him everything about your plan to acquire Tarbell Standard Oil."

"You are thinking of everything, Eliza." Henri praised his beloved daughter. "Your baby is a step ahead of others thank to the smart mom."

Eliza beamed not for the praise for her work, but for the excitement that she would be a mother soon! They did some more chatting then Henri and Neal walked Eliza outside. She was beaming looking so happy, Neal was happy for his sister, too.

"I'll visit you, Eliza," said Neal.

"Good luck Neal!" Eliza hugged her brother. "Don't' work too hard, dad." Eliza kissed her father's cheek. "Come with mom to visit me this weekend!"

Eliza got into her Rolls Royce and waved until they disappeared from her view.

Eliza has left, Neal thought anxiously as he walked back to his desk.

He sighed looking at piles of paper on his desk. From now on, he had to do his job BY HIMSELF! There's no more Eliza to instruct him, to ask, and to rely on. What should he do without her? Let's hope Dayna was as good as Eliza said. His sister didn't usually talk so highly about anyone.

Worse came to worse, he could ask his father... Neal heaved a deep sigh refusing to think more about his father's sharp comments and glare he had to bear. He changed his attention to a stack of letters in front of him. Absently he browsed through them. One envelope struck his attention. It's from one of his detectives.

Jack! Wow! Must be something interesting!

Neal picked his gold-plated letter opener and slid open the envelope. Another envelope lay inside with the name "Neo" written on the envelope. A small piece of paper clipped against it.

"Hi Neal,

Remember you asked me to pay attention to a letter for "Neo" years ago from Scotland? You got one today! Don't worry, it's completely anonymous.

Jack"

Neal unclipped Jack's note and stared at the envelope. The message he wrote in the bottle! Someone replied. He remembered he was waiting for a reply every day. But nothing ever came, so slowly he stopped thinking about it.

Carefully Neal opened the envelope. He pulled the paper out and unfolded it.

"

Dear Neo,

I was with my friends in the beach when I found the message you put inside a bottle.

From your handwriting, we guess that you're a man and the person you refer to in your note is your lady. Are we right? Your letter touched me. She is one lucky woman to have someone write to her like that!

Before I continue, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a woman. Next year, hopefully, I will graduate and get my professional degree. I was raised with a belief that we all are neighbors. That is why I'm reaching out to you.

You sounded so sad in the letter which compelled me to write this note to see how you are doing. You seem like a wonderful person. All I can tell you is be strong! The truth will prevail and one day, I'm sure, your lady will see the sincerity of your heart and appreciate you back.

As of now, I hope all is well with you. If anything, just remember that you're not alone. If you found talking to someone helps, feel free to reply to me. I offer you my ears to listen.

Note! If you chose to reply, let's keep our correspondence anonymous. My name I write below is not a real name. Please don't use your real name either and never attempt to look for me. I prefer it that way.

If you chose not to reply, go ahead - don't' feel bad. What important is wherever you are, I hope you're well and happy.

Lastly, I want to congratulate your engineering effort in sealing the bottle! For most part the wax seal was still strongly intact and the paper inside was completely dry! You're amazing!

I sincerely wish you all the very best.

Yours utterly,

Alden (Not a real name!)

"

.

.

"Someone... a woman... found my bottle!" Neal muttered in disbelief.

He re-read the letter again to make sure this was real

She's offering a free consultation? Neal frowned. Is there such a thing in the world? He flipped the paper and checked the envelope and the handwriting to find a clue if this was a prank or a joke.

Neal lounged to his chair reflecting why he wrote the letter he put in the bottle in the first place.

It's because of her... Candy!

Neal clenched his fist at that horrible memory. Candy damaged his emotion so inhumanely. No one should ever experience such a trauma! If they ever met again, he would crush her to make her pay for what she had done to him!

Neal turned his attention to the address written on envelope. A box number in Chicago... Something fishy. How could that bottle go from the ocean to Chicago?

I ask Jack to investigate this! Should be easy. Neal reached out to his phone...

Then, he smelt something. For the first time, Neal noticed there were dried flowers sticked on the letter top right corner. "I made this myself. I love flowers." Alden wrote underneath the dried flowers.

Neal brought the paper closer to his nose. Something soft, delicate, and feminine soon clouded his senses. His heart softened.

Alden... such a beautiful name. From her choice of name and perfume, he could be sure that she's one beautiful woman.

Neal looked at the phone, debating... Alden offered friendship without being asked. Knowing he's troubled, she voluntarily came to offer help.

Neal put the phone back down, thinking.

No matter how he hated Candy actually he was still intrigued by her. He had successfully dated several girls with no problem ever since. They were easy so unlike problematic Candy who's ever tough, strong headed, repellent, belligerent... He often wondered where things went wrong but he didn't trust anyone enough to ask their opinions about Candy.

Now, he could ask Alden! Anonymous friendship is good! Better yet, Alden was a woman! She might understand.

Neal looked at the dry flowers again, touched on how well arranged they were. Alden must have spent quite an effort on them… for him! Someone who she never met and didn't know. She's so sweet and caring - his type of woman!

Fine! He would honor Alden's request to stay anonymous!

There's a knock at his half-opened door cutting his muse. "Mr. Neal Leagan, I'm Dayna."

"Come in," Neal said.

Dayna entered.

"Mr. Leagan," Dayna announced. "Mr. Leagan, your father Mr. Henri Leagan that is, wants you to look at this file and meet him in the conference room for Tarbell Standard Oil acquisition in one hour."

"Okay," Neal said.

Dayna moved forward to put the files on Neal's desk.

"Oh Dayna."

"Yes, Mr. Leagan."

Dayna looked up and saw her boss' face closely for the first time. She had to bite her lower lip in order not to gasp. Never would she know there was such a man as impossibly handsome! From everything that they had prepared her for this new position, this fact wasn't one of them.

"Call me Neal," Neal said. "Mrs. Cooper did that to avoid confusion with how we address my father."

"Neal," Dayna said, struggling not to get lost in her boss' hypnotic brown eyes. She nodded and left.

Neal looked at Alden's letter and smiled. Carefully, he slid the letter back to the envelope and put it inside his inner suit pocket. He would reply tonight and maintain their correspondence anonymously.

.

-To Be Continued-

Thanks for reading

..

So:

Neo = Neal

Alden = Candy

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