"Yeah," Charlene Ross replied softly.


    "Wow, so many people are celebrating the holiday with you, Mom?" Jasmine Henderson marveled.


    Before Charlene could exin, Jasmine bounded over to the bouquets, her curiosity piqued. "This one is... from Gaylord Hearst. And this one doesn''t have a name."


    As she reached for the third arrangement, a thought struck her. She spun around. "Mom, who''s Gaylord? Is he your friend? It sounds like a boy''s name."


    Charlene''s expression remained perfectlyposed. "Yes," she said smoothly. "He''s a friend of mine."


    She quickly shifted the subject. "Did you want to go out and y today, Minnie?"


    Easily distracted, Jasmine ran back and grabbed her mother''s hand. "Dad and I came over specifically to spend the holiday with you. We''ll go wherever you want to go today. You''re the boss!"


    She turned to Thorne Henderson. "Right, Dad?"


    Thorne smiled, his dark eyes locking onto Charlene. "Where to?"


    Charlene fell silent for a long moment before answering, "Let''s go to the movies."


    It had been a while since shest sat in a theater.


    "Alright," Thorne agreed.


    The three of them immediately fell into a lighthearted discussion about what to watch.


    Standing quietly to the side, Nadine Ross watched the exchange, her gaze eventually drifting to the three bouquets. Gaylord Hearst, York Watson, and the anonymous gentleman-every single one of them had sent red roses. She knew exactly what those flowers meant, and she refused to believe Thorne was oblivious to it.


    Yet, despite knowing his ex-wife had a line of men actively pursuing her, Thorne stood there with an entirely unreadable expression, not a single muscle in his jaw twitching.


    Once they settled on a film, Charlene, Thorne, and Jasmine headed out for lunch before catching their showing.


    After the movie, Thorne and Jasmine dropped Charlene back at the Ross residence. True to his stoic nature, Thorne hadn''t brought up the three bouquets even once.


    Meanwhile, the coborative project between Charlene, Thorne, and Andie Sanderson entered a crucial new phase.


    Partners from Golnd flew in


    specifically to hash out the next steps. The negotiations went smoothly, and the mood was triumphant The Gold and executives had even brought along a few bottles of premium wine from their home country, opening two of them during the celebratory dinner.


    Caught up in the atmosphere, Charlene poured herself a ss.


    Thorne nced over and casually remarked, "That wine is sweet on the pte, but


    it packs a heavy punchter."


    It was a subtle warning for her to pace herself.


    Charlene paused. Gaylord looked equally taken aback, clearly not expecting Thorne to openly show concern for her.


    "Thanks for the heads-up," Charlene replied evenly.


    One of the partners, a fellow Al specialist, had taken a massive liking to Charlene. He kept pulling her into eager conversations about recent breakthroughs in their field, continuously offering toasts Charlene had no intention of overindulging, but the man''s enthusiasm was overwhelming.


    Gaylord tried to step in and intercept her drinks, but someone among the Golnd delegation recognized him. Being close family friends with Gaylord''s parents, they immediately cornered him into a heavy drinking session of his own.


    Eventually, someone diverted the Al specialist''s attention, sparing e from


    Charlene fro further toasts. But Thorne had been right—the wine was dangerously deceptive. She


    hadn''t consumed much, butcher


    tolerance was notoriously low. By the time the dinner wrapped up, she was thoroughly inebriated.


    She wasn''t the only one. Gaylord and several of the Golnd partners werepletely wasted.


    Andie and Thorne were among the few who remainedpletely sober.


    Noticing Charlene''s state, Andie turned to Thorne. "Are you taking her home, or should I have someone pick her up?"