Chapter 1618
[ 622 words ]
“I’ll be right there. Give me twenty minutes.”
Dane was already on the road.
He had been scheduled for a business dinner, but things had taken an ugly turn when the CEO he was meeting brought along his daughter, who had just returned from studying abroad.
The man’s intentions were painfully obvious.
Dane had immediately stood up and walked out.
The CEO’s daughter, whose face was clearly pumped full of fillers, had absolutely zero self-awareness. Did she really think just any woman could bag the most eligible bachelor in the corporate world?
Especially when Dane had already publicly announced his engagement.
What did the client mean by pulling this stunt?
Dane had bluntly asked the man if he was just pimping out his own daughter.
Dane made it clear he wasn’t buying, and suggested the man find a client willing to pay the price.
The CEO hadn’t expected Dane to be so deeply offended by his daughter’s presence.
He genuinely thought his daughter was quite a catch. Aside from his slight disapproval of her plastic surgery, she was a highly impressive woman.
But Dane acted like a completely heartless machine.
Not only did he reject the gesture, he burned the bridge instantly.
Did the man graduate from a monastery?
Just because he was engaged didn’t mean he couldn’t share a meal with another woman!
The CEO had originally planned to use his daughter to secure a deeper partnership with Vertex International, but the scheme completely backfired.
Now, the entire deal was dead in the water.
Regardless of the client’s outrage, Dane left without a second thought.
Instead of suffering through a miserable dinner, he’d rather take Claire out for an incredible meal.
But now, Dane was thrilled he had made the call.
Otherwise, he would have been the only one missing from tonight’s gathering. Claire hung up the phone and shared the ‘good news’ with the room.
Zara giggled, thrilled she wasn’t the only one who had dragged her fiancé along.
It was a shame Skylar and Yanis didn’t have a spark, otherwise they’d have three perfect couples.
Lex didn’t mind the extra guests at all. She happily headed into the kitchen to start cooking the spicy BBQ rub and marinade.
Even though the exhaust fan was running on max, the rich, spicy aroma of the broth quickly drifted into the living room.
“Honestly, even if Lex doesn’t want to run a cleaning business, she could definitely open a BBQ and grill joint.”
Zara sneezed from the spice but didn’t stop praising Lex’s cooking.
Lex had always been a decent cook back in her hometown, but living in a rural
village meant she rarely had access to a wide variety of spices.
Things were different now. Whether it was practicing in her basement apartment over winter break or cooking in Claire’s fully stocked kitchen, her skills had skyrocketed.
Claire sneezed as well and strongly agreed with Zara. “If she opened a restaurant right outside campus, werheat there every day The
business would explode.”
“This smells incredibly authentic,” Skylar chimed in as she helped wash the vegetables.
Most of the organic greens Skylar bought needed to be prepped by hand, so she
was stuck washing and chopping, leaving the heavy lifting to Lex.
As the host, Claire poured everyone a cup of tea before heading into the kitchen to help.
Yanis was casually chatting with Zara on the couch.
Every time Claire glanced out, she could see Reid glaring at Yanis like he wanted to murder him.
“Yanis, can you do me a favor?”
Claire poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Sure, what do you need?”
Yanis stood up, surprisingly eager to help.
“Go buy a bottle of vinegar. We’re going to run out for the dipping sauce,” Claire ordered, sounding completely authoritative.
Yanis immediately headed out the door. It wasn’t until he was in the elevator that it hit him: Why didn’t Claire just ask her fiance to grab it, on his way up
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