Chapter 28
The man was Harley, and Lenora wasn’t the only one surprised; even Cassidy, who had been drinking quite a bit, was startled enough to hide in Dashnell’s arms.
Yet she couldn’t resist watching the spectacle, constantly giving Lenora suggestive looks from within Dashnell’s embrace. “Go for it!”
Lenora’s mind was completely blank at that moment. She had been married to Harley for three years, and their most intimate gesture had probably been on their wedding day when he took her hand.
Unexpectedly, just over three months after their divorce, she found herself colliding into Harley’s embrace, her hand clinging to his shoulder–a scene that could easily be mistaken for an intimate couple entwined in affection.
Cassidy, on the side, was practically giving Lenora a squint from excessive signaling. After a brief glance, Lenora made her decision in half a second.
Harley stood at a towering height of 6.2 feet, and despite her statuesque 5.5 feet, she still fell short by a bit. But with the high heels she wore today, she effortlessly reached up to plant a kiss on those cool, thin lips.
With just one touch, Lenora let go and stepped back. “Just playing around, don’t mind me.” She pursed her lips, speaking in a flat, unemotional tone.
Lenora stepped back and looked at him with a faint smile before glancing sideways at Cassidy and raising her eyebrows. “Aren’t we supposed to change venues?”
༠༩
Cassidy was completely dumbfounded, doubting whether she had seen correctly. If she hadn’t been mistaken, then what had happened was utterly crazy.
Seeing Cassidy in his arms hadn’t moved, Dashnell gave her a gentle pull. “Let’s go.”
Cassidy looked up to see Lenora already walking away in her high heels, the pale pink train of her dress swaying with each
step.
*Oh, okay,” responded Cassidy.
Lenora had drunk alcohol and couldn’t
rive
she had no choice but to take Dashnell’s
car.
Cassidy, shocked by what had just transpired, didn’t even sit in the passenger seat but ran to the back seat instead to stare at Lenora, reaching out to touch her forehead. “You’re feverish
Lenora, looking out the window, pulled her hand away irritably. “What are you doing?”
Cassidy, however, answered irrelevantly, “Do you know who you just kissed?”
Lenora glanced at her disdainfully. “Harley, what’s the problem?”
Cassidy nodded emphatically. “There is a problem! A big one! If remember correctly, Nora, you were married to Harley for three years, and he never even sat on the bedsheets of your bedroom. Yet now that you’re divorced, you went and kissed him. My God! That’s terrifying!”
Her words struck a nerve in Lenora. “Actually, I just treated him as a tool.”
Cassidy paused, then couldn’t help but give a thumbs–up. “Impressive! You’re really something else.”
Lenora rubbed her temples. “Stop shouting, let me rest for a bit
“Okay,” said Cassidy.
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Chapter 28
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Lenora tilted her head slightly and smiled softly. Beside her, Cassidy was acting like a complete fool, and Lenora wondered if her fans would cry if they ever saw her true face.
*****
Devon had already finished two glasses of red wine, yet Harley, who was supposed to have arrived, was still nowhere to be
seen.
Frustrated, he tugged at his tie and elbowed Orlando next to him. “Call Harley. He must be lost in some beauty’s company in one of the private rooms. It’s been over ten minutes, and he still hasn’t shown up.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open.
In walked Harley, who was supposed to have arrived fifteen minutes ago, though he didn’t look well.
Upon seeing him, Devon immediately handed over a glass of red wine. “Three glasses.”
“Screw off.“Harley sat down without even acknowledging Devon with his
After sitting down, he sank into the sofa, his gaze lowered, ignoring everyone around him.
an
When Lenora had kissed him earlier, he felt indescribable sensation, like excitement mixed with pleasure, but before he could fully comprehend it, she had already pulled away.
He initially thought it was just a physical reaction, so he went outside to the smoking area for a cigarette. However, amidst the swirling smoke, all he could think about was Lenora, with her charming eyes, asking if she could kiss him–her charm overwhelming.
Devon and Orlando had been friends with Harley for many years, but this was the first time they’d seen him like this.
The two exchanged glances, their eyes suggesting that each should ask Harley what was wrong, but in the end, neither dared
- to.
The private room was unusually quiet until, after a long pause, Harley suddenly looked up at Devon and asked, “Aren’t you usually talkative? Why are you so quiet today? Got glue on your lips?”
Devon felt a lump in his throat. “Wasn’t it you who told me to scram?”
“Oh, did I?” Harley leaned over to pour himself a glass of plain water, making Devon and Orlando doubt if he was really Harley.
“Harley, is everything alright? Coming here to drink plain water with us?” asked Devon.
Harley nonchalantly batted his eyelids. “What problem could there be?”
“Umm… No problem.” Frightened, Devon wisely chose not to press further and started complaining, “Do you know Dawn Rights‘ stupid CEO? A while ago, our film department went to discuss one of their novel IPs for their website. We had agreed on the price and were ready to sign the contract today, but they called me this morning saying they wouldn’t sign.
“It’s fine that you refuse to sign it. It’s not like I’m depending on that IP to make money. But then they turned around and negotiated the rights with Galaxy Studio. Damn…”
Orlando chuckled beside him. “Maybe it’s about the attitude of the person you sent to negotiate with them?”
“That can’t be right. Your sister recommended this novel to me. I had my secretary and a few senior executives read it and write summaries of its highlights. Then I reviewed it myself and thought it was indeed good, so I assigned someone to negotiate, said Devon.
He trusted his chosen negotiator not to be foolish or arrogant. This was exactly what baffled Devon, he couldn’t wrap his
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Chapter 28
head around why the other party had suddenly turned sour on him.
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Harley glanced at Devon. “If I remember correctly, Dawn Rights was established five years ago and financed three years ago. During the Series A funding, MorningMyst Group invested over 600 thousand dollars, and they added quite a bit during Series B funding. If your people didn’t offend anyone from Dawn Rights, you better think hard if you’ve offended anyone from MorningMyst Group.”
Harley hit the nail on the head, leaving Devon cursing internally, ‘Damn, who would have thought of that?‘
He still found it hard to believe. “MorningMyst Group doesn’t have that much power, does it?”
“It’s just a matter of veto power,” said Harley.
Devon frowned. “Who owns MorningMyst Group?”
This touched on Harley’s blind spot. “I don’t know. No one in the industry knows who’s behind MorningMyst Group.”
Devon sighed a little. “The big shot behind MorningMyst Group is really something else. I’ll have my secretary talk to Dawn Rights.”
Devon was never one to suffer such indignities,
Harley didn’t offer an opinion, but for some reason, he had a vague feeling that Devon would regret it.
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