Tessa was conflicted all day at work about whether to tell Xavier Warren about Nora and the kid, feeling distracted throughout.
Originally, she planned to meet Cindy, but postponed it.
That evening, she arranged to have dinner with Faye at Winnie Barnett's place. Faye was going to pick her up, but hadn't arrived yet when she went downstairs, so she stood outside the building waiting.
A few friendly female colleagues passed by after work and casually asked if she wanted to take the bus with them. Tessa smiled faintly and shook her head, saying she had something to do, and told them to go ahead.
At that moment, Autumn Sterling parked her Volkswagen beside them, asking, "I drove today, want me to give you a lift?"
This was clearly not directed at Tessa, and even seemed intentionally staged for Tessa to see.
The female colleagues thanked her excitedly and got into Autumn's car.
