Granger Harden snapped back to reality, offering a small smile and a shake of his head. “Oh, it’s nothing,” he assured her.

After wrapping up his conversation with Granger, Charlene Ross received a call from Stewart Ferguson later that afternoon.

“Just got word from our lawyer,” Stewart began. “Turns out Vesta Hawkins still won’t budge on breaking the contract. She’s willing to pay a hefty sum for reputational damages, but I didn’t accept it. Since we can’t come to terms, I’ve instructed the lawyer to proceed with legal action.”

Charlene nodded through the phone. “Alright, got it.”

With that settled, Stewart added, “Thorne Henderson is dropping by the office tomorrow for a meeting. Livingston can handle the first part of the negotiations, but there’s a document you’ll need to personally review.”

In other words, she would have to meet with Thorne in person the following day. Charlene understood. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

The next day, Thorne and Coy arrived at the company in the afternoon.

As Stewart had mentioned, Livingston was the one to initially welcome Thorne. Midway through, Charlene got a message and headed to the conference room.

Livingston must have already briefed Thorne about her standing in for Stewart to verify contract details and sign off.

So, when she entered, neither Thorne nor Coy seemed surprised.

She approached the meeting with a professional air, greeting, “Hello, Mr. Henderson.”

Thorne shook her hand and sat down, not bothering with small talk.

Charlene went through the document, confirming a few clauses with Thorne. Once everything checked out, she signed her name with a decisive “Looking forward to working together.”

Thorne echoed her sentiment. “Looking forward to it.”

With her part of the meeting complete, Charlene prepared to leave. She turned to Livingston, “I have other matters to attend to, Laird. Could you take care of Mr. Henderson?”

As she stood to exit, Thorne glanced at his watch, then looked up. “How about dinner tonight?”

Before she could respond, Thorne added, “I’ll have someone bring Minnie along.”

Livingston initially assumed

Thorne’s invitation was a courtesy, a gesture to celebrate their new

partnership. But Thorne’s second et

remark caught him off guard. The familiarity in Thorne’s tone with Charlene suggested they knew each other well-too well, perhaps.

And Minnie? Who was that?

Was Thorne trying to discuss something related to Vesta?

In the past, Charlene might have felt a pang of jealousy, but now her expression

remained neutral. She replied coolly, “Sorry, I don’t have the time.”

With that, she turned and left without a backward glance.

Charlene’s demeanor was decidedly aloof.

Livingston watched her leave, sensing something was amiss. He turned to Thorne, about to speak, but Thorne only chuckled lightly at Charlene’s brusque refusal, seemingly unbothered by her borderline rude behavior.

Coy, aware of the situation with Neural Nexus Tech, also knew about Charlene’s rumored obsession with Thorne and her supposed vendetta against Vesta. Her apparent inability to separate personal feelings from business left him unimpressed.

From previous interactions, Livingston noticed that both Charlene and Stewart

treated Thorne with an odd mix of familiarity and indifference.

It was almost too casual.

Yet Thorne appeared unfazed.

Unable to unravel the complexities of it all, Livingston escorted Thorne down the elevator.