His voice was warm and doting. “No way.”
When they returned to the court<b>, </b>the two of them looked every bit the sweet, <b>affectionate </b><b>couple</b>.
Jude rushed over, unable to contain his excitement. “You’re finally back! I just found <b>out </b><b>something </b>wild!”
Biancaughed. “What is it?<b>” </b>
“It’s Dn–he’s got something going on!”
Bianca shot Dn a look, her gaze full of meaning.
Only Healy seemed genuinely curious. “Who is it? Is she good–looking? When are you going to introduce her to <b>us</b><b>?</b><b>” </b>
Dn leaned back on the bench, his tonezy and rxed. “She’s beautiful.”
“I knew it!” Jude nearly bounced with excitement.
Healy jumped in. “How beautiful are we talking? As pretty as Bianca?”
Dn didn’t hesitate. “She is.”
Bianca froze, her smile fading a little.
Healy grew even more intrigued. “Now I really want to meet her.”
Dn just shrugged. “It’s not the right time yet.”
No matter how much Jude and Healy pestered him after that, Dn wouldn’t give up another word.
“Seth, aren’t you the least bit curious?” Jude finally noticed that Seth hadn’t shown any interest the whole time. He couldn’t help but ask.
Seth’s voice was cool, the words low and quiet. “What’s there to be curious about? We’ll see when he actually brings her around.”
Dn let out a soft, knowingugh. “I will.”
…
Early Monday morning, Noreen brought Carman to meet with Chase.
Chase had brought Healy along.
Maybe because Chase was there, Healy’s attitude toward Noreen wasn’t as arrogant as before. In fact, he was almost polite.
But Noreen’s attitude toward him remained indifferent, unchanged.
Healy couldn’t help feeling like he was reaping what he’d sown. If he’d known it woulde to this, he never would’ve treated Noreen so harshly in the past.
Even Carman, usually slow to pick up on these things, noticed something off. He sent Noreen a
<b>19:31 </b>
discreet text.
“You and Mr. Naylor–something happened?”
Noreen replied, “Yeah.”
Carman messaged again. “If you’re ufortable, we can skip this. It’s fine not to work together.”
He always thought of her first.
But Noreen wasn’t the type to let personal feelings get in the way. Working with the right partners could lead to great results and help the project seed. Her little grudge was nothingpared to
that.
That’s what it meant to keep personal matters separate from business. She’d learned that from Seth.
Unfortunately, Seth now seemed to have forgotten all about professional boundaries.
Noreen had originally scheduled a meeting with Mr. Summers from NaviTech that afternoon to discuss a partnership, but he’d calledst minute to cancel.
Chase seized the opportunity and had Healy invite Noreen and Carman out for lunch. Since they’d be talking businesster, it was only polite to make the gesture.
The three of them had just arrived at Luna Eclipse Dining when they ran into Seth and Bianca, who
were also there for lunch.
Healy greeted the two of them.
Bianca, meanwhile, had her eyes on Carman. The headhunter she’d hired had tried to reach out to him, but he’d turned down the offer. Still, she wasn’t ready to give up.
“Since we’ve run into each other, why don’t <i>we </i>eat together?” Bianca directed the question at Healy, confident that their rtionship guaranteed he wouldn’t refuse.
But to her surprise, Healy nced at Noreen, obviously wanting her opinion.
He already didn’t have the best reputation with Noreen. If he went against her wishes and agreed to have lunch together, it could jeopardize their business deal.
Noreen looked at him, her expression cool, leaving him to figure it out for himself.
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