Vernon was surprised that Thorne was aware of this, but it wasn''t a secret. Seeing that Thorne had offered an opening, he confirmed, "Yes, that''s right."


    From there, the two men engaged in a conversation about business. Meanwhile, Irma, Charlene, and Maisie chatted amongst themselves. Throughout the meal, Thorne also attended to Jasmine, peeling shrimp for her and wiping her hands.


    Jasmine, who was particrly clingy with Charlene that evening, pushed away Thorne''s hand as he tried to roll up her sleeves. "I want Mommy to do it."


    Thorne simply smiled and looked at Charlene. She sighed and reached over to roll up Jasmine''s other sleeve. The little girl beamed with happiness.


    To the others watching, the scene felt surprisingly harmonious. Despite this, Thorne and Charlene still didn''t exchange a single word directly.


    Overall, the dinner was quite pleasant. In the end, the bill was charged to Thorne''s ount.


    "Mr. Henderson," Vernon protested, "I insisted on treating you. How could you—"


    "It''s no matter," Thorne replied smoothly. "You can treat me next time, Mr. Ross."


    Next time...


    Although Thorne had been surprisingly amiable during their dinner conversation, Vernon doubted there would be a next time they would all sit down together like this. He figured Thorne was just being polite, especially with Irma present. Out of respect for his grandmother Thorne would naturally maintain a Veneer of courtesy, no matter how much he disliked the Ross family. Charlene thought the same.


    After the meal, the two families went their separate ways.


    With Helena''s health steadily improving, Charlene was able to return to work full-time. The partnership between The Henderson Group and PrimeStar was proving to be a great sess, and to foster bettermunication between the teams, a joint corporate retreat was organized for Friday evening at a hot spring resort owned by The


    Henderson Group.


    As a project lead, Charlene''s attendance was mandatory, along with Mr. Windsor and other key personnel. To liven things up, a small cocktail reception was nned for that evening.


    After arriving at the hotel and dropping her luggage in her room, Charlene went downstairs and ran into Leah and Georgina''s group. Though the resort belonged to The Henderson Group, they were frequent visitors due to their connection with Vesta. They were surprised to see Charlene there, and the two groups pointedly ignored each other.


    At the reception that evening, Charlene was enjoying a


    conversation with Mr. Windsor and a


    few others. She had a couple of sses of wine, and though she didn''t drink much her tolerance was low The alcohol must have been stronger than she anticipated because halfway through the party, her head began to feel fuzzy. When she stood up, the room tilted, and her vision blurred.


    Mr. Windsor noticed her stumble and was about to reach for her, but someone else was faster. A strong arm wrapped around Charlene''s waist, pulling her steady against a firm chest.


    Everyone turned, their eyes widening in surprise. "Mr. Henderson!"


    Thorne gave a slight nod, his gaze fixed on the woman in his arms. Then, under the astonished stares of the entire room, he scooped Charlene up. "I''m taking her upstairs to rest," he announced calmly. "You all carry on."