Miss Josefina: Nobody's Princess

Luke was riddled with doubt as he mulled over the situation. "I've been snooping around for dirt on Lena, but I haven't seen her cozying up to any new beau. She's got a slew of admirers at school, all head ove heels for her, but I haven't heard of her saying 'yes' to any of them."

Now, that was a head-scratcher. Could Alma and Nola be spinning yarns?

Luke could almost picture Josefina's expression as he went on, "Those two ladies wouldn't dream of pulling one over on you. To lie to you is like lying to Oliver."

Josefina offhandedly remarked, "Seems like her folks have a healthy fear of Oliver, huh?"

Luke was on a roll, chattering away. "Of course they do. You may not know this, but Oliver's resume is something else. I seriously think the guy's got an ace up his sleeve." Josefina was silent. "What are you on about?" she asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Luke laid it out at a leisurely pace, "I dug up some info on him. Oliver was a straight-A student from the get-go. Blasted through elementary in half the time. He skipped right from seventh grade to senior year and aced the final exams. Oliver's old man never did take to him and was too caught up with his mistresses. Then, outta nowhere, his mother commits suicide right in front of him. Word was Oliver went off the deep end, and the Baldwin family washed their hands of him and shipped him abroad."

Josefina hadn't expected Oliver's life to be such an uphill battle. "And then?" she probed.

"Well, then, five years later, he comes storming back. Forces his dad to step down at gunpoint and takes over as the big shot of the Baldwin family."Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Josefina caught on to something. "You said Oliver got sick?"

"Yeah, sick in the head. Rumor has it he's prone to violent fits, even murder. Some say he offed his own mother."

Josefina wasn't buying any of these wild tales. Oliver might have had it in him to take out Rowan, but his mother? No way.

"Alright, drop it. Look into this stuff.

for now. want the dirt on Lena, every last detail. I've got a hunch she's in cahoots with someone on the outside who's eyeing the Harrison family fortune."

Luke was skeptical. "Come on, boss. Your brothers aren't pushovers. Plus, Calix is a big shot with the spotlight on him. What's Lena gonna do, bump him off?"

Josefina was clueless, "Big shot? What are you talking about?"

"You can't tell me you don't know what Calix does for a living?"

v.net

Josefina felt a bit awkward - she truly had no clue what her three brothers were up to. Sure, Calix was a looker, but it never crossed her mind that he'd be in showbiz.

"You might want to start paying attention to your brothers. If Lena's planning to rope in some outsider to snatch the family wealth, she'll go for someone useful. And looking all over Westwood, who's more useful than Oliver?"

Josefina couldn't help but retort, "Luke, I never figured you for the self-deprecating type."

Calling Oliver useful was like saying Luke was anything but.

Josefina chuckled, "You're not just roasting yourself. You're dragging Percy into it, too."

Luke was mortified. He really should've kept his mouth shut. "Boss, you can't rat me out to Percy, or he'll break my collarbone."

Josefina laughed, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Now, hop to it and get investigating."

"Roger that, thanks, boss." With that, Luke's anxiety settled comfortably back in its place.