But neither of them said a word about it.

Charlene and Stewart were busy chatting with others, completely oblivious to the silent exchange of glances happening between them.

Charlene, having skipped dinner, soon slipped away from the crowd and headed toward the buffet to grab a bite.

Gaylord followed her, striking up a conversation as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Moran happened to be at the buffet too. He noticed them and whatever he saw made him pause, letting out a low whistle before turning back to Thorne and Vesta. “Looks like Gaylord’s taken a shine to Charlene,” he said, smirking. “Did you see the way he was looking at her? Classic puppy eyes.”

Thorne, curious, looked where Moran was staring. Sure enough, there was Charlene, busy chatting away with Gaylord.

Gaylord’s eyes, as he looked down at Charlene, were full of that soft, intense gaze men sometimes have when they’re truly interested in a woman.

Not to mention, he was being quite the gentleman, taking her empty glass and setting it aside, then reaching up to get a slice of cake from the top tier and handing it to her.

Thorne raised an eyebrow, clearly entertained by Gaylord’s attentive demeanor.

As soon as Moran finished speaking, Vesta had already turned her attention to Charlene and Gaylord. Gaylord was indeed being very considerate with Charlene.

Seeing this scene unfold, if she didn’t already know the truth, even she might have believed that Gaylord was genuinely smitten with Charlene.

But-

“Gaylord’s plan is to pretend he’s into Charlene, and once she’s fallen for him, he’ll drop her like a hot potato-”

Recalling what Gaylord’s friends had said, Vesta glanced at Charlene again, noticing how animated she seemed while chatting with Gaylord.noveldrama

Was she really falling for Gaylord’s act? Or did Charlene truly believe Gaylord was interested in her?

All these thoughts running through

her head, Vesta cracked a little, knowing smile. She glanced at Thorne, watching his nonchalant reaction to another man seemingly courting Charlene. The smile on her lips widened.

Moran suddenly remembered something and nudged Thorne. “By the way, isn’t The Henderson Group looking to partner with PrimeStar Technologies? Shouldn’t you go have a word with Stewart?”

Thorne took a sip of his drink, replying, “There’s a crowd over there. I’ll catch up with him later.”

If The Henderson Group were to partner with PrimeStar, it would certainly increase the frequency of meetings between Charlene and Thorne.

Some might try to sabotage such a partnership to prevent any lingering connections between Thorne and Charlene, but as far as Vesta was concerned…

She simply chuckled, unconcerned.

Meanwhile, Granger had been

caught up in a conversation with someone else. When he finally managed to break away, he saw that Charlene was still deep in

conversation with Gaylord. Judging by Charlene’s expression, they seemed to be having a great time.

He’d known Charlene for quite a while now, and although their relationship had improved recently given their rocky past, he’d never seen her smile so genuinely during their conversations. And she was certainly more talkative…

Granger wasn’t entirely familiar with Gaylord yet. But based on appearances alone, Gaylord was undeniably impressive.

With that thought, Granger’s eyes darkened slightly. He turned to his business associate, “Sorry, something’s come up. Let’s catch up later.”

And with that, he made his way toward Charlene and Gaylord.