Chapter 425
York reached out his hand and introduced himself, “York.”
Gaylord shook his hand.
As their eyes met, an unspoken understanding passed between them. When it came to winning over Charlene, it was every man for himself.
After releasing his grip, York turned his attention back to Charlene. “Am I making you uncomfortable by showing up like this?”
Yes, she thought. But she chose her words carefully. “A little.”
“I’m sorry. I knew this would probably make things awkward, but I still came.” His voice softened, as if recalling how bluntly she’d turned him down over the phone. “I just thought I had to try in person to know if you might change your mind. Well, now I know, and I’ll be more careful about boundaries from now on.”
Was he saying he’d keep pursuing her?
Before Charlene could reply, York turned to Stewart. “How about we save the tour of PrimeStar for next time? I don’t want to impose any further today.”
Stewart actually thought York was a decent guy. If Charlene ever wanted to start a new relationship after her divorce, York wouldn’t be a bad choice at all. But Charlene herself clearly wasn’t interested, and it wasn’t his place to interfere.
He nodded politely. “Mr. Watson, you’re welcome to visit PrimeStar anytime.”
York nodded in return, then glanced at Charlene one last time before leaving. She stood there in silence; he seemed to want to ask her something, but in the end, he just said, “See you next time.”
Charlene managed a polite, “Take care.”
And York was gone.
Gaylord had always assumed Charlene and York were already together. But now it was clear York was the only one pursuing, and Charlene had turned him down flat. The realization actually lifted Gaylord’s spirits.
Not long after York left, word spread through PrimeStar that a handsome guy had come to see Charlene.
“A handsome guy? Was that Ms. Ross’s husband?” someone asked.
Gaylord was sitting at his computer. At the mention, his hand froze on the mouse, wondering if he’d misheard.
Before he could respond, another coworker jumped in. “At first, Inger at the front desk thought so too, but after listening in, that guy was just hitting on her-he’s definitely not her husband!”
“No way, some young guy just came to the office to hit on her? Do you think Ms. Ross’s husband knows about this? What if-“
Gaylord couldn’t take it anymore and cut them off. “Hold on, did you say Charlene… is married?”
“Yeah,” said one colleague. “You didn’t know?”
“I had no idea,” Gaylord admitted.
At first, he’d thought Charlene and Stewart were a couple, but after a while at the company, he realized something didn’t add up. They were friendly, sure, but they never arrived or left together, never acted like a couple. Eventually, he’d asked Charlene directly, and she’d told him herself-they weren’t dating.
The colleague thought for a second. “Oh, right, you only joined this year. All the old-timers know, but since you got here, we haven’t really talked about Ms. Ross’s private life. Makes sense you wouldn’t have heard.”
Gaylord fell silent.
The news that Charlene was married was a complete shock.
After a moment, he asked, “So what’s her husband like? Have you ever met him? Are they… close?”
“We only ever saw a glimpse of him on video once, didn’t even see his face,” another coworker chimed in. “No idea who he is. As for how close they are, honestly, no one really knows. Ms. Ross has worked at PrimeStar for ages, but aside from that one time last year when he accidentally popped up in a video meeting, he’s never shown up here, and she’s never even mentioned him…”