After Noreen ended the call, she strode straight toward the two women.


    There was something about her presence that immediately deted Lillian’s earlier bravado.


    “So when I asked you to apologize before, why didn’t you shout so loud then?” There was a steely edge to Noreen’s tone that could be downright intimidating.


    Lillian, who had only dared to act tough with Bianca backing her up, shrank under Noreen’s re, biting her lip and not daring to utter a word.


    After all, Noreen still had the video of her apology. If Noreen decided to make it public, how could Lillian ever show her face again?


    With no other option, she nced desperately at Bianca for help.


    Bianca squeezed her arm and said quietly, “Come on, don’t make a scene.”


    She was here on Seth’s behalf for the summit, and thest thing she needed was a scandal that would cause trouble for him.


    Staying under the radar was the smarter move.


    Bianca led Lillian away, avoiding a direct confrontation with Noreen.


    Across the room, Henry seemed to notice themotion, though from his distance he couldn’t make out exactly what was happening.


    Assuming Bianca was in some kind of trouble, he quickly approached her. “Bianca, do you need any help?”


    She shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. Just someone who’s a bit of a headache. Best to just ignore her.”


    Henry shot a nce in Noreen’s direction.


    There was a hint of warning in his eyes.


    “Come on, the meeting’s about to start.” He gave Noreen a pointed look, then turned back to Bianca with a gentle invitation.


    “Alright.”


    The seating for the conference had been arranged by the staff in advance. Naturally, the top localpanies were ced in the front row.


    Bianca, representing Aurelion Group, had a seat reserved in the very first row.


    Noreen and Carman were assigned to the second row.


    As luck would have it, Henry’s seat was right next to Noreen’s.


    When Noreen took her seat and saw Henry’s namete beside her, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, wondering if this was the same Henry Matthew Cole had mentioned. <fnb825> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? Find?Novel</fnb825>


    Not long after, Henry entered the room. Spotting his namete, he noticed Noreen sitting beside it


    12:25


    and instinctively frowned.


    He deliberated for only a second before picking up his card and swapping seats with someone else on the other end of the row.


    Clearly, he wanted nothing to do with Noreen.


    She was too distracted to notice the switch.


    It wasn’t until the meeting began that Noreen realized someone else was sitting next to her.


    She nced across the aisle and spotted Henry–the same arrogant man she’d run into at the airport. Matthew Cole’s description of him, she decided, had been far too generous.


    Difficult to deal with? That was putting it mildly.


    He was downright arrogant and rude.


    Not that she cared. They barely knew each other and had no reason to interact–there was no need to give him a second thought.


    The meeting was chaired by Padgett Novak, who was representing the government. He began bymending several outstandingpanies, including the Aurelion Group.


    Bianca glowed with pride, as if all ofst year’s achievements had been hers alone.


    The others were unfailingly polite to her, though everyone knew it was really out of respect for Seth. Padgett Novak went on to give special recognition to InnoCore for its outstanding development and contributions in the past season.


    At that, Bianca’s smile faltered ever so slightly.


    During the coffee break, Noreen was surrounded by people eager to discuss potential partnerships. Bianca, too, found herself at the center of a crowd.


    Among them was Hugh Summers, who grinned and asked, “So, when are you and Mr. Harcourt finally going to tie the knot and treat us all to a celebration?”


    Bianca smiled back. “Very soon. And when the timees, you’ll all be on the guest list.”