Chapter 367
Chapter 367:
He didn’t even slow his step as he swept them off the table.
I exhaled sharply and pressed my palm to my forehead. “There were unreleased sketches on that phone. What am I supposed to do now p>
The girl behind the table looked like she was seconds from collapsing.
Her name tag read Madison.
“I’m so sorry, Miss Vance. We’ve reported it. The police are involved. We’ll do everything we can to recover it. We’ll compensate you, of course. A new phone, but there’s a delay in procurement. We don’t have a spare device at the moment… but we promise you’ll get the newest model before the end of the expo. Three days, tops p>
She looked about twenty, already halfway through a breakdown.
Tearing into her wouldn’t get me my sketches back.
I turned to leave, but Daniel stepped in front of me and held out his phone.
“Just got a message from the organizers. They want us at the dinner tonight. Same guest list as the panel. Speakers, sponsors, etc. Your mentor’s going to be there too p>
“Prof. Veldman p>
He nodded. “It’s next door, upstairs. Private room.” We’d agreed to the dinner when signing up.
I couldn’t back out now.
I told Madison to send updates if they tracked the phone, promising not to press charges as long as they handled it.
Walking into that banquet without a phone was worse than I’d expected.
Everyone else had theirs out, scanning QR codes, swapping contacts. I had nothing in my hands.
My pockets were empty.
Every story unfolds at gαℓησν𝒆𝓁s．𝓬𝗈𝗺
The weight of it hit me like I’d forgotten a vital limb.
No device meant no messages, no calls, no camera, no access to my cloud folders.
I couldn’t reach anyone; I couldn’t be reached. But the room buzzed with talk, and I kept pace.
Professor Veldman spotted me halfway through the appetizers and pulled me over.
Within minutes, he’d introduced me to three gallery owners, two tech founders, and a hedge fund heiress with sapphire nails and a limited edition Birkin.
I borrowed Daniel’s phone to log their numbers.
The private room on the second floor smelled of truffle oil and aged liquor. Cassian stepped forward with both arms spread, grinning. “Took you long enough. You’ve been dodging dinners like I’m trying to sell you insurance. You said you wanted to explore media, so I brought along the heads of three production houses. Big names. All sharp p>
Ashton nodded once. “Fine p>