Miss Josefina: Nobody's Princess

Josefina paced around the room, her voice laced with urgency, "Who did you go with?"

"Just me, boss. Solo mission," came the confident reply.

Josefina shot up from her chair, heart racing, "How could you go alone? Find someone to back you up, pronto. What if you run into trouble? Listen to me, I'm sending Tori to join you right away." "Boss, you doubting my skills? I may not be your top apprentice, but I can hold my own. Trust me, ten-to-one odds, I've got this."

Her thoughts briefly flitted to her missing apprentice, still unaccounted for despite a widespread search.

"Luke, text me the address. I'll have Tori come to assist you. And make it snappy, or you can forget about running errands for me in the future."

Already en route, Luke sent the coordinates to Josefina, who quickly forwarded them to Tori, instructing him to assist Luke.

"Stay safe. Don't you dare make a move till Tori gets there. You hear me, Luke?"

"Gotcha, boss. And hey, it's late. Go catch some Z's. I'll wait for Tori."

With that reassurance, Josefina could finally breathe easy, emphasizing safety above all else. After repeating her warnings more times than she could count, she eventually hung up.

Settling into her couch, Josefina clutched her phone, tied up a few loose business ends, then turned her attention to a design order for Anya. It wasn't until 1 AM that she finally allowed herself some shut-eye.

Garrett, clad in pajamas, emerged from the bathroom to find Hattie beckoning him over, with a mysterious package in her grasp.

Approaching with a puzzled look, Garrett was baffled to see Hattie pull two brick-like objects from the bag. "Honey, what's with the bricks? Some new-age home defense?"

Hattie just rolled her eyes, "Bricks? These are high-end smartphones. Our daughter sent them. She told me they cost a pretty penny. I've seen one in Lena's room. Josie heard about it and bought a couple more as gifts for us. Here's the manual. Get reading."

Garrett, unfamiliar with this tech, grabbed the manual and settled under the bright living room lights to study.

After half an hour, Garrett was astounded. "Is this a phone or a Swiss Army knife? It's got everything."

And it wasn't just that. A single touch of a button transformed the gadget into a defensive dagger.

Garrett followed the instructions and tested each function. "Our Josie knows best. You get what you pay for with tech like this. We should give her a little extra cash for this."

Nodding, Garrett gripped the phone tightly, his amazement evident. "Whoever designed this is a genius. I've never seen a phone like it."

Hattie chimed in with pride, "Josie said she was part of the development team. She's outdone her three brothers. How did I ever give birth to such a smart, kind-hearted, darling girl?"

Garrett responded with a smile, "Because the student surpasses the master. You're smart, and I'm also smart, so naturally, our girl's a genius."

Hattie nudged him playfully, "Don't flatter yourself too much."

They shared a hearty laugh as Garrett continued to admire the phone. "I'll have the lawyer work out the share thing tomorrow-give some company shares to Josie too. The boys have theirs. It's only right she does too."

As for Lena, Garrett had no such plans.