The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"I'm on a biz trip to Zion City," Sophia said, "Ran into a bit of a snag at the construction site for the Zenithan-style resort project, so

| cto check it out."

She had planned to wait until Susan got off work to give her a ring about this, hoping she could also find tto drop in on

Theresa. She didn't expect Susan to beat her to the punch and call first.

"Why are you free to call?" Sophia asked, grabbing the room key the front desk passed her and wheeling her suitcase toward the

elevator, "Aren't you swamped with work lately?"

"It's just someone bending my ear, worried sick about you and Brandon hitting a rough patch, looking for advice on how to smooth

things over. So, | had to rush to get a hold of you," Susan didn't sugarcoat it, "Spill it, are you and Brandon in hot water again?"

"Not really, it's on me," Sophia said, eyeing the elevator doors as they opened. She told Susan on the other end of the line, "I'm

about to hop on the elevator, probably gonna lose signal. Gotta drop my stuff off and dash to the site, so | won't have a sec to

spare. Let's catch up later when I'm free, okay?"

Susan replied, "Sure, just stay safe and givea buzz if anything comes up."

"Will do. And doa solid, swing by and hang with Theresa if you can. I'm worried she'll feel out of place withnot around."

"Don't sweat it, | got your back."

"Thanks a million. Let's keep in touch over the phone, gotta run now."

After exchanging goodbyes with Susan, Sophia hung up and stepped into the elevator.

Once she got back to her room, she immediately called Cindy to get the lowdown on the situation.

"We're still at the site, at a standoff with the construction crew," Cindy sounded close to tears on the phone, "Where are you?"

"Just got to the hotel, I'll be there in a jiffy."

Sophia ended the call without even unpacking her suitcase and immediately went downstairs to hail a cab to the site.

The construction was taking place in a suburban town, a scenic spot by the mountains and the water, kinda remote and desolate,

not many souls around.

For convenience, Sophia chose to stay at the closest hotel in the town.

It was just a short cab ride from the hotel to the site.

When Sophia arrived, Cindy and Augus were still in the thick of it, negotiating with the construction manager, trying to convince

them to keep things moving.

The whole construction project was pretty much at a standstill.

Seeing Sophia enter, Cindy made a beeline for her like a lifeline, "Director Yearwood."

The guy sitting across from Cindy also stood up, giving Sophia the once-over with a curious gaze.

Sophia scoped him out too.

The guy was a middle-aged man, not too tall, but looked sturdy and down-to-earth.

She remembered his name, Tomas, a nthat sticks with you.

Sophia knew his main gig was to handle any issues or disputes during construction.

"Hello there, Tomas," Sophia greeted him amiably, "I'm the head designer for the project, Sophia Yearwood."

"Hello, Designer Yearwood," Tomas replied with a shy nod.

"Just callSophia," she offered graciously, "You've all been working hard these days."

"Oh, it's nothing, it's what we do," he replied promptly, seeming like an easy guy to talk to.

Sophia cut to the chase, "I heard there's been a bit of a hitch with the construction, and the crew's ready to throw in the towel. Can

you fillin on the details?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Tomas looked uneasy, hesitating and exchanging looks with a few guys by his side, biting his

tongue.

"Is there skind of problem?" Sophia prodded gently.

Tomas was still hemming and hawing when the buzz-cut guy next to him got antsy and blurted out, "It's not about problems, it's

just bad juju, and we want out."

Sophia frowned, taking a closer look at the man.

He was also in his forties but unlike Tomas's straightforward demeanor, this guy seemed a bit more shrewd and slick.

Noticing Sophia's gaze, Tomas quickly introduced him, "This is the foreman, Jerry."

"Nice to meet you," Sophia greeted him cordially.

But Jerry just gave her a dismissive once-over and muttered in a tone neither here nor there, "Why send a woman to sort this? As if

a woman can handle it."

His whole vibe was dismissive toward women.

Sophia didn't take the bait, simply staying cool, "Jerry, if you've got any issues, lay them on me. We're here to find solutions

together."

Jerry gave her a look, "Talking to you's no use. It's even unluckier with a woman around."

Cindy couldn't stand it and blurted out, "What are you on about? Didn't a woman give birth to you?"

Trying to keep the peace, Tomas stepped in, "Let's all stay cool. Jerry here's just a straight talker, doesn't mean any harm."

Then, turning to Sophia, he finally got to the heart of the matter, albeit in a roundabout way.

Sophia pieced together the story from his beating around the bush.

Turns out, the temple they were building was supposed to stand over water, requiring foundation piles to be driven into the ground.

Everything was going fine except for one stubborn pile at the northwest corner that just wouldn't set, despite trying every trick in

the book.

Even after successfully pouring concrete into the mold, it would always collapse for one reason or another.

The construction crew was made up of locals, who were pretty superstitious. They believed they had disturbed sspirit, which

was causing all the trouble, and were scared it would bring bad luck to them and their families, so they were up in arms about

quitting and going home.

Experts were brought in to investigate, but no issues were found - it was just bizarrely unstable.

"People are spreading rumors that there might be something evil buried there, and maybe it's that pillar that's disturbed its peace,

causing all this weirdness," Tomas explained to Sophia over dinner, "The crew is dead set against continuing, so | thought we'd

better get you folks involved to see if we can tweak the blueprints. Maybe we can just nix this building entirely or at least scrap

that pillar."

"That pillar's a no-go." After hearing Tomas's suggestion, Sophia immediately shot it down. "The pillar isn't just there for looks, it's

crucial because it holds up the entire building. Removing or relocating it could make the whole thing ccrashing down. We can't

risk that kind of disaster."

"What if we just tear down the whole building?" Tomas asked.

Sophia replied, "That's even worse. This is the crown jewel of the project. Without it, the whole thing loses its purpose.”

Tomas was stumped right there and then.

Sophia glanced over at Jerry, who was nonchalantly sipping his drink, minding his own business.

Deep down, Sophia was curious why, if the construction team had such concerns, they didn't just bite the bullet and try a different

crew.

But with Jerry right there, she didn't feel it was the right moment to probe.

"I'll think of something else later," she said, ultimately keeping her doubts to herself without bringing them up in front of Jerry.

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