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“That man just lost a lot… he lost the cooperation from the Be Family and a lot of family just cancelled their contracts with them,” Nina smiled as she enjoyed her braised pork. “And yet, she still has the time to have someone follow me around. And that secretary of his- what was his name? Roni. Right. Roni! I will p that man one day.”
“Alright… alright… you really should stop talking about this,” Emery said. She added more braised pork to Nina’s te. “It’s ruining everyone’s mood.”
“Samuel will not stop until he sees you,” James butted in. “I already did my best to muddle the information that he can get, but we don’t know what he is willing to do.”
“Don’t worry about it. Even if he wanted to do something… he wouldn’t be able to. I am married now. <b>It’s </b>not like- “Emery stopped talking when she spotted someone familiar. She frowned. “Why <b>is </b>she here?”
It was Vanessa Dwight, next to him was Roni. “Oh hell no…” Nina said when she spotted them too. “What the hell are they doing here?”
No matter how wide the world seemed, enemies always found a way to cross paths. Emery shook her head. The restaurant inside the club buzzed with quiet chatter, most of the tables upied by men in suits and women with tablets, their voices low over business deals and negotiations. This ce was meant for lunches, not personal drama.
power
“Just ignore them. They probably won’t even notice us,” she muttered, turning her gaze away.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Vanessa seated a few tables over, posture straight, her phone face down beside an untouched drink. She looked like she was here strictly for business, and Emery told herself she wouldn’t bother.
She was wrong.
Her stomach sank the moment Vanessa’s voice cut across the hum of the room, calling James by name.
“Mr. Be… What a surprise. I—“” Vanessa cut herself short when her eyesnded on the woman sitting directly across from James. Emery Vaughn. Her expression hardened instantly. She leaned toward Roni, her voice low and sharp. “Why <b>is </b>that bitch here?”
“I–I didn’t know,” Roni stammered. He had only been told that Mr. Be would be at the club today. He thought it was useful information and passed it along to Mrs. Dwight, expecting it to benefit the family. He hadn’t expected Emery to show up at the same table.
His gaze shifted, and he noticed Nina beside Emery, chatting easily like they belonged there. Roni frowned. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen Emery in James Be’spany. And now, with Nina added into the picture<b>, </b>he couldn’t help but wonder just how close Emery was to James, and why it seemed to keep happening.
“Ignore her,” Vanessa said as she approached James. “Mr. Be, what a surprise<b>.</b><b>” </b>
She smiled <b>as </b>she reached for James’s hand. “Mr. Be,” Vanessa said smoothly. “I didn’t know you frequent this ce too.”
<b>9:24 </b><b>Mon</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>15 </b>
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James stood just enough to return the handshake, his expression polite but t. “I’m currently having lunch.
Please excuse me.”
Vanessa’s smile didn’t falter. “Of course. I won’t take much of your time. I’m not here to talk business.<b>” </b>
James arched a brow. “Then what are you here for?”
“The lost invitation,” she said.
James’s brow furrowed. “Invitation?”
“Yes,” Vanessa leaned forward slightly, her tone dipped with false concern. “For the Dwight family. I was told your grandmother’s birthday is tomorrow, but… it seems our invitation was misced. Surely it was just an ident.”
Emery nearly choked on her water. She ced her ss down harder than she intended and looked at Vanessa like she’d grown a second head.
James’s lips curved into something close to a smirk. “Oh, you mean that invitation? My grandmother’s birthday celebration? Right.” He leaned back in his chair, his voice calm but sharp enough to cut. “There was no ident.”
Vanessa’s smile wavered, but she forced out a smallugh. “James, really. You can’t expect people to believe the Dwight family wasn’t invited-”
“The Dwight family was invited,” Emery said suddenly, her voice cutting through the air.
James blinked, startled, and turned to her. “What?”
“I saw the invitation,” Emery continued smoothly, her smile sharp. “It was in your
office.”
James frowned. That didn’t make sense. He was sure as hell that Emery hadn’t been anywhere near his office recently.
“In his office?” Vanessa repeated, her teeth gritted. How the hell had Emery seen anything in James’s office? The thought twisted her stomach. Of course. Emery Vaughn, the shameless gold digger, always sniffing around men with money. After Samuel, she had totch onto someone else to fund her life.
“Yes,” Emery confirmed, keeping her smile in ce. “James doesn’t really handle these details himself, so he didn’t know about it. But I’m sure. I saw it. It was one of the invitations sent that day… don’t you remember?”
She met James’s eyes, silently daring him to keep up. For a man running a corporation, he was awfully slow on the uptake.
After a long pause, James finally caught on. He leaned back in his chair and nodded. “You’re right. Let me call my secretary. I’ll have the invitation delivered to your estate this afternoon, with your name and Mr. Dwight’s name included.”
“Good,” Vanessa said quickly, her smile snapping back into ce. Relief spread across her face, though her mind was still circling Emery’s words. Why had she spoken up? To hint that she’d been close to James? To unt ess she shouldn’t have? Vanessa didn’t know, and at this point she didn’t care. The important thing
<b>9:24 </b>Mon, Sep 15 <b>d </b>
was she had what she wanted.
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“Well, thank you so much<b>, </b>Mr. Be. I suppose I’ll see you at the party,” Vanessa said with a bright smile. She started to turn, then stopped, her gaze sliding back to Emery.
“Although… just a word of advice.” Her tone shifted, polite on the surface but edged with malice. She turned to James again. “You should be more careful when choosing thepany you keep.”
She let that warning hang in the air before refocusing on Emery. Vanessa’s eyes narrowed slightly as she added, “Oh, and do send my regards to the man who was with you at the airport, Miss Vaughn. What was his name again?” She let the pause linger before her smirk spread wider. “Logan Hayes. That’s right.”
With that parting shot, she pivoted gracefully and walked out of the restaurant.
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