Gaylord was supposed to join them that night, but something urgent came up at thest minute, so he ended up staying behind.


    Thorne was the host for the evening, but after a quick round of greetings at the bar, he announced he had another engagement and slipped away.


    Stewart had a couple of close friends in Emerald City. After sitting with the group for a bit, his friends arrived to have drinks with him.


    Charlene wasn''t familiar with Stewart''s buddies. She tagged along briefly to say hello but didn''t linger in their booth.


    Later, after Charlene and the rest of the PrimeStar crew had spent half an hour dancing, she returned to join everyone for a chat.


    She really did stand out in a crowd.


    No sooner had she sat down than people starteding over to invite her for drinks, but she politely turned them all down.


    Most people took the hint and moved on after her refusal.


    But there were always a couple who didn''t get the message.


    One of them—a shy guy with a slicked-back haircut and an air of trouble- looked put out. "You''re not from around here, are you? Don''t know who I am? Not even gonna give me the time of day?"


    His friend chimed in, "Yeah, you should really ask around about Mr. Woods. He came over to invite you himself, and you just blew him off. You''re really not making friends here, you know..."


    Charlene frowned.


    Though Thorne hadn''t spent much time with the PrimeStar or Henderson Group crowd since arriving, he was actually upstairs in a private lounge.


    From his vantage point, he could see almost everything happening downstairs.


    Charlene''s looks had caught more than one eye.


    The two CEOs Thorne was meeting with had both noticed her, too. Naturally, they also saw the situation unfolding below.


    One of them couldn''t help butment, "Nice view down there."


    The other chuckled. "Plenty to ruin the view, though..."<fnf1ff> ?????? ???? FιndＮovel</fnf1ff>


    He didn''t finish, but his meaning was clear: trouble was brewing.


    After all, they all knew this Mr. Woods. His family was quite well-known in Emerald City.


    Charlene''s group might have numbers, but still...


    Thorne watched the scene, then nced meaningfully at Coy.


    Coy understood immediately.


    Back when Charlene worked for the Henderson Group, Thorne rarely paid her any mind. But over the past couple years, he''d grown much. more affectionate toward their daughter Coy knew that even if


    set on divorcing,


    Thorne was


    Charlene, he actually encouraged Jasmine and Charlene to spend time together.  s


    In other words, no matter how cold Thorne was toward Charlene, no matter how much he ignored her or turned a blind eye to her flirtation with Stewart, he would never allow some sleazy guy to harass the mother of his child.  s


    With that in mind, Coy nodded almost unnoticeably and headed downstairs.


    e


    Before things could escte, Coy appeared, addressing the troublemaker, "Mr. Woods, is it? I''m Coy Mr. Henderson''s secretary from the Henderson Group  s


    The Henderson Group was one of the top firms in the country. Even if Thorne


    wasn''t a local, Mr. Woods would know exactly who he was.


    Mr. Woods nced up toward the private lounges, immediately spotting Thorne and hispanions.


    At that, he finally backed down, albeit reluctantly, and turned away.


    With the situation defused, Coy gave Charlene a quick look before heading back upstairs.


    The PrimeStar crew all breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Good thing Mr. Henderson''s man stepped in. Otherwise..."


    Charlene listened, her expression cool and unreadable.