Chapter 283
Dalton casually asked, “What are you guys chatting about?”
Thorne chuckled, “We haven’t even started yet.”
Dalton listened but didn’t say anything. Charlene didn’t bother to greet him and simply turned away, leaving the conversation hanging.
Noticing Thorne holding two glasses, Dalton asked, “What’s this?”
Thorne replied, “Some cocktails I had specially made. Care to try one, Mr. Ramirez?”
Dalton paused, “And the other one’s for Ms. Hawkins?”
“Exactly.”
Just as Dalton was about to speak, Thorne suddenly said, “Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Ramirez. Feel free to mingle.”
Dalton frowned and glanced in the direction Thorne headed, spotting Vesta standing with Stewart. Charlene was making her way towards them. Dalton was taken aback for a moment.
It seemed Thorne was rushing over to make sure Vesta wasn’t being hassled by Charlene and Stewart.
With that thought, Dalton furrowed his brow and decided to follow suit.
Vesta had just arrived herself and hadn’t even started a conversation with Stewart before Charlene returned. Unperturbed, Vesta ignored Charlene’s presence, addressing Stewart, “Mr. Ferguson-”
“You’re back?” Stewart interrupted, ignoring Vesta and turning to Charlene, “Everything alright?”
He had seen Thorne heading towards Charlene earlier and planned to follow, but Vesta sidetracked him.
Charlene shook her head, “All good.”
As Thorne had mentioned earlier, there wasn’t much time for things to escalate as Dalton had joined them shortly after.
So naturally, nothing significant had transpired.
Thorne and Dalton approached just then.
Handing the other drink to Vesta, Thorne asked, “What are we discussing?”
When Vesta saw Thorne, her expression softened. She accepted the drink he offered and smiled, saying, “I was hoping to ask Mr. Ferguson some questions, but I haven’t had the chance yet.” Thorne nodded and looked at Stewart, “Would Mr. Ferguson be available for dinner sometime?”
It was a subtle invitation for Stewart to chat with Vesta alone.
Charlene’s gaze turned icy at this.
Stewart let out a humorless laugh, replying coldly, “Sorry, I don’t have time.”
With that, he turned to Charlene, “Shall we go, Charlene?”
Charlene nodded and, without another glance at the group, turned to leave.
Dalton had been slightly worried about any possible entanglements between Thorne and Charlene. But seeing Thorne’s concern for Vesta and his attempt to arrange a meeting with Stewart put his mind at ease. There wasn’t any real animosity between Stewart and Vesta.
Stewart was Charlene’s main support.
If Thorne could bridge the gap between Vesta and Stewart, Charlene would lose her leverage.
This would indeed be beneficial for Vesta.
As they walked away, Stewart clicked his tongue and asked Charlene, “You sure you’re okay?” Charlene nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Compared to things in the past, what Thorne did was hardly significant.
Stewart asked, “Heading home?”
They had planned to leave anyway.
They just hadn’t expected such an incident to occur before their departure.
Charlene agreed, “Sure.””
Before leaving, they made sure to say goodbye to Granger.
Granger was surprised they were leaving so soon. But he could tell Charlene wasn’t one for socializing.
Knowing her preference, he didn’t press her, “Let me see you out.”