In the Lap of Luxury

Grace knew that the two of them had struck a deal, but she still frowned. "I don't know him."

"You will."

After dropping Noelle off at home, Grace headed straight to Amirate and called Luke over. "Help me look up someone named Bobby Baxter."

Shawn was right. She couldn't provoke Jake right now. If he were to send the photos to Xander, it would cause a huge problem.

She needed to navigate this carefully and find an opportunity to crush Jake.

Before long, Luke found out about Bobby. "Bobby Baxter is the president of Aether Group. In terms of infrastructure, Aether Group has secured most of the national corporate projects. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they're like a state-owned enterprise. He holds considerable sway."

Grace's heart sank at those words. Jake's current project also had ties to Aether Group. Why was he looking for dirt on Bobby, and why was he so confident that she could find it?

"Oh, and Bobby is on the list of attendees for our annual party."

"Why was he invited?"

Luke smiled. "Ms. Lewis, have you forgotten? It was your idea to invite all the top executives on par with Amirate."

Grace had almost forgotten. No wonder Jake was so confident. He had already investigated thoroughly.

Seeing her troubled expression, Luke asked, "Should we still send the invitation?"

"Yes."

She had actually hoped that Bobby would come up with an excuse to decline, but unexpectedly, Aether Group quickly agreed to attend.

Grace's heart sank even further.

Luke asked again, "There's another Mr. Iverson in Pamore now. Do we invite him?"

"Leave him out."

Grace didn't have a good impression of him and didn't want to stir up trouble for herself.

Anthony had been pressuring Noelle as of late. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she would come to Grace.

That day, the two of them were having afternoon tea on the top floor of a mall when Noelle suddenly mentioned, "Celia attended the Hawkins Group's annual party." Grace raised an eyebrow.

"She went as a member of the Hawkins family. She criticized Benjamin for abusing his power and sending her to Astana.

"She also

said that he lacked

humanity and familial affection and

didn't care for her and their mother, all for the sake of a woman. She only said harsh words. You should've seen Benjamin's expression."

Grace chuckled as she imagined it. "You saw it?"

"Timothy told me."

It seemed that there was another topic for gossip at Hawkins Group. Grace was happy to see the Hawkins family in chaos. After all, they had nothing to do with her anymore.

At that moment, a voice came from behind them. "You seem to love telling jokes, Ms. Noelle."

It was a mature and gentle male voice. Noelle and Grace both turned around and were surprised to see Joshua.

Dressed in a suit, he looked at them with gentle eyes. They didn't know why he was there or how much of their conversation he had heard.

Noelle subconsciously leaned toward Grace. "Joshua, are you on a date with your girlfriend?"

Joshua didn't look at her, but at Grace instead. "Gracie, I didn't get a chance to say hello last time."

Grace stood up calmly. "I should be the one greeting you first. You're older than me, after all."

"Oh, please. But I have one question. Where's my first love?"

"What?"

Grace didn't understand.

"You said I have a first love whom I've loved for ten years but can't get over. Where is she now? I'd like to meet her."

Grace suddenly realized that her lie had been exposed.

Joshua had his collar up today, but the scratch marks on his neck were faintly visible. Grace smiled discreetly. "Your girlfriend was quite aggressive. I had to find a shield. If I've offended you, I apologize."

"There's no need for that."

Grace breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you really want to apologize, invite me to Amirate's annual party. I've heard about it. As a newcomer in Pamore, I'd like to experience new things."