Celestine studied Chester with a sly, amused look.
He’s still not leaving?
“If she passes out, take her to the hospital. I’m not a doctor,” Chester said coldly, making it clear that he was done.
Stein looked anxious. “But before Miss Sinclair fainted, she kept calling your name. There was quite a crowd watching.”
“I tried to take her away, but she just kept crying. She refused to leave.”
Chester’s icy gaze swept over him.
Stein felt a chill run down his spine under that look.
What’s gotten into the boss?
Before, whenever Miss Sinclair was in trouble, Chester treated it like a crisis–he
he knew she was all right…
was frantic, couldn’t rest
But today, Chester seemed eager to keep his distance. Something had changed, and Stein couldn’t put his finger on it.
Chester silently cursed his secretary’s lack of tact.
By the time he turned to explain to Celestine, she was already walking away.
“Mr. Fordham, about Miss Sinclair-
“In the future, you don’t need to report everything to me regarding her. I have a wife,” Chester replied, his tone as cold as ice.
Stein’s heart skipped a beat.
The boss never talked about Miss Sinclair this way before. What on earth happened?
Is he just sulking, or is it something more?
Stein hesitated, then tried again, “Mr. Fordham, should I take Miss Sinclair to the hospital now?”
Chester’s patience snapped. “Doesn’t she have an assistant or a manager? Whoever brought her, let them handle it. Are you my secretary or hers?”
With Chester’s sharp stare boring into him, Stein didn’t dare say another word.
1/3
17:22
“I’m sorry, Mr. Fordham. I overstepped.”
Chester ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “Where is she? Take me to her.”
After all these years, he couldn’t just turn his back completely.
Meanwhile, Celestine had returned to the reception hall. Lance had arranged for someone to guide her to a private booth.
As soon as she walked in, the dark tension on Lance’s face eased considerably.
“You were gone a while. Was the restroom crowded?” he asked.
Celestine shook her head. “Just ran into a stray dog blocking my way. Took a little longer.”
Lance frowned in confusion. “Someone brought a pet here?”
Celestine gave him a look, half–smirk, half–mystery. “Not exactly.”
Clearly, she had no intention of explaining further.
Lance hid his curiosity behind a polite nod.
Moments later, his phone rang.
As he listened, his face darkened, inch by inch, the color draining away.
Celestine noticed the change. She calmly took a sip of ice water, her expression
unbothered.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Lance’s voice was strained. “Miss Selwyn, the person you just ran into–was it Joanna?”
“Is Mr. Blake planning to interrogate me now?” Celestine replied with an indifferent smile.
ཧ ཅན རྗ
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his hand gripping the wine glass had started to tremble.
He was clearly furious.
Lance drew a shaky breath, forcing himself to swallow the questions burning on his tongue.
“I need to use the restroom.”
He grabbed the remote for his electric wheelchair and steered himself out of the
2/3
17:22
—
booth.
Celestine propped her chin in her hand and watched him leave.
See? He can move just fine. What a convincing act.
She wasn’t impressed.
As the auction was about to begin, there was still no sign of Lance.
Instead, a handful of unfamiliar faces took seats in the booth next door.
Whenever Celestine so much as glanced at an item or raised her paddle, the group next door would instantly jump in and outbid her, almost as if possessed.
Once she caught on to their game, Celestine arched an eyebrow, amused.
Childish.
No doubt, this was another ploy for Joanna’s benefit–a pointless show of one–upmanship.
Having figured out their pattern, Celestine started bidding sky–high on several pieces of porcelain she had zero interest in.
Predictably, the group followed every time, running the prices up to absurd heights.
It wasn’t until after the intermission that they finally gave up their little charade.
A flicker of delight danced in Celestine’s eyes.
At last, the fountain pen she was after was about to come up.
In another private suite, Lance realized the team he’d sent to mess with Celestine was being led around by the nose.
