Padgett Novak had barely hung up when Henry''s name shed across his phone.
He answered the call while steering down the busy street.
"Where are you?" Henry asked.
"Something came upst minute. I won''t make it. You all go ahead and have fun," Padgett replied.
"Seriously? You finallye back to Northcrest, and everyone''s been waiting to see you."
Padgett just said, "Next time," and ended the call.
Henry had stuck around all evening just for Padgett. Now, with Padgett bailing, the whole gathering felt pointless. He said a quick goodbye to the others and headed out early.
The driver told him their car would be there any minute, so Henry decided to wait outside. As he stepped out of the building, a familiar car zipped past.
He froze, confusion prickling in his chest.
Wasn''t that Padgett''s car?
He said he wasn''ting-but he was obviously here.
What threw Henry even more was the glimpse of a woman in the passenger seat.
For Padgett to ditch the guys'' get-together for a woman... she must be someone special.
The car was going too fast for Henry to see her face clearly, but she looked oddly familiar. Almost like Noreen.
But that couldn''t be right. Henry shook his head. There was no way Padgett would be interested in Noreen.
The Novak family wasn''t ordinary-they had high standards for Padgett''s partner. Either someone distinguished and aplished, or someone from a prominent family, someone who could match them socially and intellectually.
Noreen didn''t fit either category. She was nice enough, but hardly impressive- definitely not the kind of person the Harcourt family would approve of.
It was impossible. Padgett''s standards couldn''t be that low.
Still, curiosity nagged at him. Henry dialed Padgett''s number again, hoping for some inside scoop.
Padgett declined the call outright.
Inside the moving car, Noreen thanked Padgett for the ride.
Meanwhile, ire kept blowing up Noreen''s phone, her texts making the device buzz non-stop.
Noreen didn''t even need to look to guess what the messages said. ire, sitting next to her, pinched her thigh, insisting she read them.
This one''s a catch! Seriously, he''s perfect!
He''s handsome, polite, and drives a nice car-obviouslyes from a good family!
What does he do for a living?<fn792d> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n find{n}ovel</fn792d>
Noreen sighed and replied, Government job.
ire texted back instantly.
That''s amazing! Guys in government jobs are stable, responsible, and mature. Totally your type!
Noreen could only reply with a resigned ellipsis.
She ignored ire''s excitement and turned to Padgett for some polite small talk.
"Mr. Novak, how did you know I was in Northcrest?"
Padgett smiled. "I heard from Mr. Holt while we were talking about work."
Not exactly true. The real story: he''d seen a friend''s post on social media-a friend from Henry''s circle-bragging at a bar about spotting Noreen and ire, both stunning, and boasting abouthis Good luck that night. That''s when Padgett called Noreen.
But Noreen didn''t suspect a thing. After all, Padgett and Carman Holt often coordinated on the hotline project, and she herself had called Carman earlier that day to tell King she''d fly out from Northcrestto Rivercrest City tomorrow morning, then head straight to meet him at Ascendancy Group.
So Padgett''s story made perfect sense.
"When are you heading back to Rivercrest City?" he asked in passing.
"First thing tomorrow morning."
"So soon?" Padgett looked genuinely surprised. "I was hoping to take you out for dinner, show you some hospitality. Guess we''ll have to save it for next time."
"You''re from Northcrest?" Noreen realized she''d never asked.
"Born and raised," he replied.
ire couldn''t help but butt in. "Northcrest is great. Everyone wants to live here
these days. The property values are through the roof."
Noreen groaned inwardly-if only she could mute her friend.
ire, oblivious as ever, started peppering Padgett with questions, practically
conducting a background check right then and there.
Padgett, ever the gentleman, didn''t seem to mind at all.