Chapter 581 The Conference Room
Liana noticed that Drakeâs attitude was arrogant, so she immediately brought up Zain.
âThis is the Claytonsâ event. Doesnât Zain have the right to do that?â
Drake looked at her disdainfully. He despised women who relied on their connections.
He thought, âDoes she think she is special just because sheâs involved with my cousin?â
Drake glanced at Zain and asked, âZain, should we ask this person to leave?â
Zain could sense Drakeâs anger and felt a bit uneasy.
Everyone in the Claytons knew that Drake had a bad temper. No one dared to offend him.
Catherine, who found the banquet boring, was not expecting this to happen.
Liana was always silly and completely clueless. She even couldnât see how the man next to her feared Drake.
For Zain, he was caught between his love interest and the most beloved cousin of the family. After some hesitation, Zain chose to yield to his cousin.
âLiana, maybe we should just let it go.â
Hearing this, Liana widened her eyes in disbelief. She couldnât believe those words came from Zain.
She knew Zain was interested in her, and he had never refused her requests.
But now, he wouldnât agree to her request to ask Catherine to leave.
âWhat do you mean, Zain?â
âLiana, Drake is my uncleâs son. As you know, this event is hosted by my uncle. How can I ask him to leave?â Zain explained helplessly.
âUncleâs son?â Liana was shocked. â Isnât his last name Spencer?â
Zain nodded. âMy cousin took his motherâs surname.â
Liana finally realized the Claytonsâ first heir in line had taken his motherâs surname.
Liana never expected this. No wonder Zain wouldnât offend him.
The Claytonsâ family lineage was vast, and their alliance was with the only daughter of the Spencers.
To secure the alliance, the Claytons agreed that the firstborn, regardless of gender, would have Spencers as the last name.
Drake, favored by both families, grew up spoiled and rebellious.
Zain, as a distant relative, could never match Drakeâs status in the famiy.
Liana was dumbfounded!
She finally realized how wrong she had been and why Catherine had looked at her strangely earlier.
Lianaâs anger surged. She stared at Catherine and accused her, âYou did this on purpose, didnât you? You watched me embarrass myself on intention. Catherine, how can you be so wicked?â
Catherine coldly sneered with disdain.
She replied, âLiana, you should look in the mirror when you have the time. What makes you think I would do this to you intentionally? Why would I waste my time on you? Stop flattering yourself!â
Her blunt words were like a series of slaps on Lianaâs face.
Liana felt so ashamed that she wished the ground would swallow her up there and then.
âCatherine, youâve gone too far!â
With that, Liana turned and stormed out.
Zain immediately chased after her.
In the corner, only Catherine and Drake were left. With the annoying Liana finally gone, Drakeâs mood improved, especially after he saw Catherine.
He didnât want to attend this banquet, but his father forced him to.
Now he didnât regret coming. When he saw Catherine at the banquet, everything seemed to become beautiful.
âCatherine, donât pay any attention to that girl.â
Catherine took a sip of her drink without responding to Drake.
Seeing that Catherine remained silent, Drake thought she didnât want to continue the previous topic.
Drake tried to find a common ground to chat with Catherine.
Remembering that Catherine came to the banquet, he had an idea.
âCatherine, are you here for Mr. Anderson too?â
âYes,â Catherine replied casually out of politeness.
Knowing her purpose, Drake felt things would be easy now.
âCatherine, my dad is talking to Mr. Anderson, and they should be out soon.
Let me take you there so you can be the first to meet Mr. Anderson and have a private conversation with him.â
Without waiting for Catherineâs response, Drake stood up. âCome on. Follow me!â
Realizing Branden was occupied and would not be returning for a while, Catherine agreed to Drakeâs invitation and followed him to the entrance of the conference room.
As they approached, Catherine noticed Liana was also there.
After leaving in anger earlier, Zain managed to convince Liana to stay.
With a bit of persuasion and the promise of introducing her to Edward Anderson, Lianaâs mood improved a little, and gave him a smile as a reward.
Seeing Catherine approaching, Liana sneered. âCatherine, I see that youâre here to find Mr. Anderson too. With your non-finance background, he might not even bother looking at you.â
Facing Lianaâs arrogance, Catherine calmly responded, âIf he wonât look at me, does that mean heâll look at you?â
âJust wait and see!â Liana confidently replied.
Liana believed that as long as Edward saw her, she could use her professional knowledge to make Edward continue interacting with her.
Their standoff ended as the conference room door opened.
The head of the Claytons, accompanied by Edward and several prominent figures in the financial industry, walked out of the meeting room.
The moment they emerged, Liana rushed forward.
She knew it was a risky move, but this was her only chance to defeat Catherine.
Liana smiled and stopped in front of Edward. âHello, Mr. Anderson. Iâm Liana Swann. I once sent you an email about financial analysis. Do you remember?â
The head of the Claytons frowned slightly when he saw Liana rush forward.
However, upon noticing the hint from his nephew, he decided to overlook Lianaâs impolite behavior.
More importantly, he saw that his son was here too and brought a beautiful lady along.
He noticed his son was staring at the girl throughout, not even stopping to blink once. He thought this was interesting.
After careful consideration, Edward recognized Liana and warmly responded, âYes. I remember your analysis report. Well done. You are very talented. I didnât expect you to be so young and attractive.â
Liana felt proud of herself for being praised. She believed she had outshone Catherine.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Edward prepared to continue with his next agenda.
As he looked up, he was stunned. He looked ahead in astonishment and exclaimed loudly, âOh, my God. Look who I just saw!â