Chapter 178

The Determining Meal I figured someone like Melanie wouldn’t understand the situation’s deeper layers. It would be pointless, even if I asked her.

“All right, who told me doesn’t matter, Mrs. Melanie. That’s not something you would know anyway.

If you rant to keep s something a secret, you shouldn’t tell anyone else about it. Leave and tell your brother!

appreciate his efforts. He should focus on securing his alliances better.”

I didn’t want to waste any more time and turned to leave. After some much–needed sleep, my mind felt sharper.

“Stop right there, Chloe! If you dare seduce Matthew again, you’ll get it from me!” she shouted at my back, unwilling to let it go.

“Don’t worry! I have no interest in your crap!” I replied loudly, waving without looking back while walking into the elevator.

Melanie was still cursing at me from a distance as the elevator doors closed.

Meanwhile, I felt foolish and ashamed for even liking someone like Matthew. He was just a rat in the gutter who had some good days but now thought he was the king of the jungle. It seemed I couldn’t ignore that cunning scumbag.

I thought Lauren was right in saying Matthew was disgusting.

I understood Melanie entirely. She wasn’t just angry about me getting the contract but was more upset that Matthew had “helped” me. I was a thorn in her side.

I held the pen Atlas had gifted me as I sat in my office. I casually wrote his name on a piece of paper as I wondered how he was doing. Stella had told me he would return today, but I didn’t know whether or not he had arrived yet.

I felt tempted to call him as I held my phone. However, I resisted the urge and was about to put down my phone when it rang. To my surprise, it was Damian on the other end. After some thought, I answered,”

Hello, Mr. Damian.”

“Ms. Chloe!” Damian sounded genuinely delighted. “We’re finally starting the project! I hope this is the beginning of a successful partnership.”

omiled faintly, knowing that was indeed the case. So, I replied, “Yes! It’s all thanks to your hard work, Mr Damian! I must treat you to a celebratory meal soon!”

my mind! What about tonight? Let’s celebrate at The Cerulean, I’ll see you at &

I hesitated for a moment, somewhat caught off guard. He seemed well–prepared and had taken the initiative to invite me to dinner. He added, “Ms. Chloe, please do us the honor! We’ll be waiting for you!

Although I wasn’t too keen on it, I couldn’t refuse. Initially, I was supposed to treat Damian to dinner, but he had taken the lead. I reluctantly agreed, “All right.”

After hanging up, I thought of a way to balance the situation. I decided to have Carol accompany me to dinner instead of Ryan. Before leaving the office, I informed Ryan about the dinner, and he told me to call him if I needed anything later.

I glanced at him and said, “Do you think I’m a child? It’s just a dinner. Is it that big of a deal?”

Carol and I left the office together. She had offered to drive, so I sat in the backseat to relax. I was surprised she was pretty good at driving Is When we arrived at the restaurant’s private room, I saw three other men besides Damian. He introduced us to each other. One was Jett Emerson, the head of Echelon Group’s development department.

The second was Beckett Grand, the head of Echelon’s project department, and finally, someone from the city’s Building Department.

Fortunately, I had brought Carol along. Otherwise, it would have been quite awkward with me, a woman, among a group of men. After exchanging pleasantries with them, we took our seats. However, Damian hadn’t started the dinner yet, seemingly waiting for someone.