Chapter 667
But when Jude looked back at Seth, the expression was gone. He was once again shrouded in a faint, detached coldness, as if the previous moment had been a drunken hallucination.
After a moment’s thought, Jude walked over to speak with Seth. He asked him what he planned to do about Bianca’s situation. It was a question on almost everyone’s mind. Anyone else would have cut ties immediately, given the massive scandal. But with Seth, Bianca still had a chance. So, no one, including Jude, was ready to make a final judgment.
He assumed Seth would handle it as he had before: lie low, wait for the media frenzy to die down, and then pull some strings to get Bianca and her mother out.
Seth didn’t answer Jude’s question directly. Instead, he slowly finished the drink in his glass and then asked, “If it were you, what would you do?”
Jude hesitated for a few seconds before replying, “I’d have to cut ties.”
Men were often more rational when considering such things. Besides, Jude had Dylan’s example to follow. When Omniva Group faced a major crisis, Dylan had been forced to weigh his options and sacrifice his own happiness in a strategic marriage to secure the company’s future. Even after loving Noreen for so many years, he had had to let go.
After hearing his answer, Seth just smiled faintly. “Good. You’ve grown up.”
With that, he set down his glass, patted Jude’s shoulder, and turned to leave.
Jude stood there, stunned. So, Seth had come to this gala just to have one drink? And he still hadn’t answered his question. Was he going to bail Bianca out or not?
While Noreen was touching up her makeup, Sophia brought her a yogurt, reminding her to drink it before going back out to protect her stomach from the alcohol. Noreen was on a video call with Claire Chase at the time and didn’t hesitate to praise Sophia for her thoughtfulness.
Claire, who tended to say whatever came to mind, suddenly asked Noreen, “Did that jerk Seth show up today?”
Noreen confirmed that he had.
“What’s he doing there?” Claire grumbled. “So disgusting.”
“I don’t really feel that way,” Noreen said, her tone light and breezy. She hadn’t been paying any attention to Seth, so she hadn’t felt bothered at all.
Before Claire could say anything else, Sophia chimed in, “I think Mr. Harcourt has already left.”
Noreen paused. “Left?” So soon?
“Good riddance,” Claire said.
The two chatted for a few more minutes before Noreen went back out to give her speech and officially start the dinner.
With so many guests, Sophia stayed by Noreen’s side the entire time, occasionally helping her deflect a few drinks.
Jennifer Shaw was also one of the invited guests, and this time, she had a new male companion. He wasn’t a cute boy toy or a fierce, young wolf, but a rather scholarly-looking man. He was still younger than Jennifer and wore a professional suit.
Jennifer introduced him as her secretary, but Noreen suspected there was more to it than that.
The secretary drank on Jennifer’s behalf. His tolerance for alcohol wasn’t very high;
he had clearly been drinking before, as his face and ears were flushed, and his speech was slightly slurred.
Noreen was about to let him off the hook.
But Jennifer insisted, “He has to drink this. It’s good to soak up some of the good fortune. He just has a low tolerance; he needs to build it up he then turned to the young man. “You’ll have to represent me at events like this in the future. If you can’t hold your liquor, you’ll miss out on a lot of opportunities.”
The man nodded repeatedly, saying he understood.
Seeing his nervousness, so characteristic of someone new to the professional world, brought a wave of nostalgia over Noreen. When she first started her career she had been just like him: a lightweight drinker, nervous in social situations, stammering when she spoke…