Chapter 252

Sebastian stormed back into his office, his face a mask of barely contained anger. He slammed the door shut with a loud bang, startling Lucas, who had never witnessed him this upset before.

"Mr. Windsor, is everything okay?" Lucas asked, his concern evident.

Sebastian sat behind his desk, his eyes dark and brooding. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a low, measured tone. "Did the company send someone else to Vesperia after I got back?"

Lucas frowned. "I'm not sure about that."

Lucas had always followed Sebastian's orders to the letter. He was more like Sebastian's loyal right-hand man than just an employee of the Windsor Group. 

If Sebastian didn't mention something, Lucas wouldn't interfere in the company's affairs.

"I did notice that Nathan Windsor seemed to be keeping the Vesperia deal under wraps. Even a lot of the top execs are in the dark about it."

Sebastian's expression grew even darker, and the tension in the room thickened. He picked up his phone, intending to message Samuel. 

As soon as he unlocked the screen, he saw a message from an unknown number claiming to be from Gloria. 

He squinted at the message, read it twice, and then deleted it.

Given Gloria's personality, there was no way she would reach out after what had happened between them. Even if she did, he wasn't in the mood to deal with it now.

Sebastian sent a message to Samuel. Almost immediately, he received a voice message in return. Samuel's voice was slurred and disjointed, clearly drunk.

"I'll help you investigate, but you gotta come out and drink with me tonight. All night. No excuses! You won't believe it, but I just got dumped."

Sebastian grimaced and held the phone away from his ear until the message finished. Then he replied: [Okay.]

It had been a while since the three of them had hung out. Sebastian had been feeling stressed lately and could use a night of heavy drinking.

Later that evening, Gloria was about to head home to change clothes. After all, this was her first time meeting a client as a designer for the Miller Group, and she wanted to make a good impression.

But Gavin stopped her. "No need to change. You look perfect as you are," he said, pulling her into the car and driving to the hotel where they were meeting the client.

On the way, Gloria tried to get more information about the client, but Gavin's answers were vague. "Just be yourself. If there's any issue, I'll handle it."

"I think I should do some preparation. You mentioned the client liked my previous designs. It would be disrespectful if I knew nothing about them," Gloria insisted.

Gavin's eyes flashed with a hint of mischief, but it was gone before Gloria could be sure. "If you knew more about her, you might back out," he expressed cryptically.

Gloria felt a twinge of unease but pushed it aside. Gavin parked in front of an izakaya. Gloria was curious about what kind of client would choose such a place for a meeting.

The izakaya's interior was unique, with layered corridors and individually styled private rooms. It had a certain charm.

"Looks like she's not here yet. Let's sit down," Gavin said, leading Gloria to a table and ordering some food.

"You should eat something while we wait. I'll check how long she'll be," Gavin said, stepping out to make a call.

Left alone, Gloria could hear the muffled sounds of footsteps outside. She couldn't help but think of Sebastian, wondering if he had replied to her message. One set of footsteps sounded oddly familiar.

Just as she was about to investigate, Gavin returned. "Were you going somewhere?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was just going to check on you. You were gone a while," Gloria replied, sitting back down.

Gavin smiled, seeing through her excuse but not calling her out. "Worried about me? Next time, I'll take my calls right here so you don't have to worry."

He sat down next to her, acting as if they were closer than they were. Gloria was used to his smooth talk and didn't take it seriously.

"Is the client here yet?" she asked, noticing they had been waiting for a while.

"She'll be here soon. She got held up," Gavin replied, looking a bit exasperated.

Gloria's legs were getting stiff, so she stood up to stretch just as the sound of high heels approached the door.

"Right this way. You should see the private room just around the corner," a staff member's voice said.

Gloria was surprised to hear it was a woman. Given Gavin's attitude, she had assumed the client was a man. But it made sense; men rarely expressed a preference for her designs.

The footsteps stopped at the door. Gloria glanced at Gavin, who remained seated. As she reached for the doorknob, she was met with the unexpected sight of a well-dressed middle-aged woman standing right in front of her.

At first glance, the woman's features bore a striking resemblance to Gavin's.

Just as Gloria was about to greet her, the woman scanned her from head to toe, a pleased smile spreading across her face.

The woman looked Gloria up and down, then smiled warmly. "Don't just stand there. Let's go inside."

She guided Gloria in, her manner friendly and familiar. When she saw Gavin still sitting, she scolded him. "Completely inconsiderate. How can you let your girlfriend meet someone alone? It's beyond me why a girl as nice as her would be interested in you."

Grace showed clear disdain for her son, Gavin.

Hearing this, a look of confusion crossed Gloria's face.

"Excuse me, what did you say?"