bChapter /bb292 /b

Seth had arrived with Bianca.

Tonight, Bianca had truly outdone herself. She wore a high–fashion, custom–tailored evening gown, and–most importantly–a set of jewelry worth over five million dors.

Of course, it still didn’t quite measure up to the Kashmir sapphire set Noreen had worn thest time. But Bianca was sure Noreen wouldn’t dare show up wearing that sapphire ne again.

And, as it turned out, she was right.

Tonight, Noreen hadn’t even bothered with an evening dress. She looked in, almost forgettable.

That outrageously expensive sapphire ne? Who knows where she’d rented it from to make a ssh. The moment was over, and now her true colors were on disy.

Sure, maybe Noreen had some skills. After all, she’d been working with Seth for years–she must have picked up a few tricks, which was how she’d managed tond the InnoCore and Harborfront redevelopment deals.

But so what?

In investment banking, it’s all about connections and resources.

Resources? Bianca had Seth’s full support–a well that never ran dry.

Connections? She could always count on her father, Forrest, whosework was endless.

That was one of the key reasons she’d been able to secure her position at Grand Trust Bank.

International banks and financial institutions love hiring the children of officials. They bring with them their parents‘works and their own privileged backgrounds.

So, really, Noreen was never qualified to be her rival.

Bianca looked away, dismissing Noreen from her thoughts as if she no longer mattered.

Draped in luxury, she soon became the center of attention, though most of the people who came to greet her were women.

Seth greeted Bianca quickly, then excused himself, saying he needed to mingle.

But he had no intention ofworking. Instead, he drifted over to a spot where he could keep an eye on Noreen.

The room was crowded, and his gaze moved often, so no one would notice whom he was really watching.

He saw Carman sticking close behind Noreen, subtly shielding her from people who nearly bumped into her, swapping out her empty wine ss for a fresh one, and making sure she had something to eat from time to time.

She was still the same as ever–throwing herself into work like nothing else mattered. One ss of wine after another…

b12/bb:/b271

No wonder her stomach was in such bad shape.

Seth gestured to a waiter and quietly asked him to bring a warm ss of hawthorn juice to Noreen,

“Seth, Seth–what are you doing? I called your name, like, three times and you didn’t even hear bme/bb!/bb” /b

Jude and Healy finally arrived, fashionablyte.

As they drew closer, Jude looked at Seth with curiosity, following the direction of his gazeb. /b“What are you staring at? You lookpletely entranced.”

Jude’s eyesnded on Bianca, who was being surrounded by admirers. He made a face and groaned, “Seriously? Aren’t you tired of fawning over her? You see her every day!”

“Never gets old,” Seth replied, still staring in Bianca’s direction, nodding.

“She’s that gorgeous?b” /b

“She is.”

Healy gave Jude a yful nudge. “Why torture yourself? You just had to ask.”

“Torture myself how?”

Just then, Dn walked up.

Jude did a double take. “Dn! When did you get back?”

“Last Wednesday,” Dn replied.

Jude looked even more confused. “Why didn’t you tell us? Bianca treated us to drinks that night, remember?”

“Didn’t end up happening. Seth got into a car ident.”

Dn nced at the bandage on Seth’s forehead and exined, “Something came up. Inded in Rivercrest City on short notice and had to fly out to Harborcrest that same night. Didn’t have time to call you guys.”

Across the room, a waiter brought the warm hawthorn juice to Noreen.

She looked at it, puzzled. “Who sent this?”

The waiter pointed across the room.

Noreen followed his gesture–and across the sea of faces, her eyes met Dn’s. fnd8d1 Original content can be found at findnovel/fnd8d1