Granger''s main reason foring over was to see Charlene. After chatting for a few minutes with her, Stewart, and even their business associate, he excused himself and left.


    Stewart was growing more and more impressed with Granger. After he was gone, he leaned toward Charlene and murmured, "He always makes a point toe over and greet us when we run into each other. He''s very thoughtful." Stewart interpreted this as Granger showing respect for their business partnership.


    Charlene nodded in agreement. She felt the same way.


    By the time Granger returned to his private room, the food had been served. Moran, in high spirits, poured wine for both Thorne and Granger. "It''s been a while since we all got together. We should have a few drinks tonight."


    Thorne and Granger raised their sses, joining him for a drink. However, they all had othermitments, so while a small drink was fine, they couldn''t overdo it. The three of them had grown up together in the same social circle, so conversation flowed easily.


    After about half an hour, Moran got a call and had to leave. Though he wanted to chat longer, he grabbed his coat and prepared to head out.


    Granger swirled the wine in his ss, ncing discreetly at Thorne. He had something he wanted to discuss with him, but it wasn''t appropriate with Moran around. Just as he was thinking this, his own phone rang.


    He answered it, and after a moment, said, "Okay, I understand. I''m on my way back now."


    Thorne looked at him. "You''re leaving too?"


    Granger clutched his phone. "Yeah, we..."


    He had intended to have a quick word with Thorne before leaving, but just then, Moran opened the door to the hallway and came face-to-face with Charlene''s group.


    Moran stopped short, letting out a soft curse under his breath.


    Granger''s words died on his lips.


    Seeing Charlene and the others, Thorne took the initiative and walked over. "Mr. Ferguson, what a coincidence."


    Once they had learned that Moran


    and Granger were there, Stewart and Charlene had suspected Thorne likely present as well. The only difference was that Granger hae to greet them, while Thorne had not. It seemed their assumption was correct.


    Stewart replied with a forced smile. "A coincidence indeed."


    "Yes," Thorne said. He then looked at Charlene and gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement.


    After a brief, polite exchange, the


    group headed downstairs together and went their separate ways.


    Charlene drove back to the Ros


    residence. Just as she parked her car in the driveway, Thornescar pulled in right behind hers.


    Charlene froze for a second. Thorne got out of his car and said, "I''m here to pick up Minnie."


    Jasmine had been staying at the Ross house for the past few days, but Thorne would stille by to pick her up for meals with the Henderson family. Consequently, Charlene and Thorne had seen each other a few times since Christmas morning. On his first visit he had even brought Christmas gifts for her cousins, Nadine and Carl Ross. Despite this, the rtionship


    between him and Charlene, and


    between him and the Ross family, remained lukewarm at best.


    Realizing he was there for Jasmine again, Charlene gave a silent nod. Just then, Jasmine heard the cars and ran out of the house. She paused when she saw both Thorne and Charlene. "Huh? Mom, you''re back too?"


    "Mhm," Charlene replied. "Your dad''s here to pick you up. Go on, get in the car." "Okay! I''m off then. Bye, Mom!"