Chapter 654

Chapter 654:

“Oops!” Briley suddenly cried out, stumbling over a nonexistent object.

“Careful!” Alex reacted quickly, reaching out to steady her before she fell to the floor.

Briley took advantage of the opportunity and practically threw herself into his arms. “Thank you, sir,” she said in a soft voice.

Alex frowned slightly as he helped her stand up straight and took a few steps back, putting some distance between them. “Are you okay?”

Briley looked up at him, her eyes widening as if she had only just recognized him. “Oh! Mr. Howe.” Although she acted surprised, she couldn’t seem to help the way her eyes glinted with delight. “What brings you here?”

Alex narrowed his gaze, and his tone was more aloof when he asked, “Who might you be, Miss?”

The question made Briley bristle. “I can’t believe you’ve forgotten about me, Mr. Howe. We met at a charity gala. I offered a toast to you, and you even complimented me on my looks.”

At this point, Alex was scowling, and he made no attempt to hide his impatience.

“I apologize. I have other things to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.” With that, he turned to leave, but Briley called out to him yet again.

“Mr. Howe, thank you so much for earlier.”

She bit her lip and decided to take a chance. “To express my gratitude, I’d like to ask you out for dinner tonight.”

Alex stopped in his tracks and glanced back at Briley. “There’s no need. It was a small thing.” His rejection was short but firm, and his tone was chilly. It left her no room for negotiation.

Briley’s expression soured. She wasn’t expecting him to reject her advances so succinctly. But she wasn’t about to give up just yet.

Before Briley could say anything else, however, the door to the restroom opened. Sadie walked out, only to stop short at the scene before her.

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Briley had been missing for a week. What was she doing here?

Briley also noticed Sadie’s presence. She acted quickly, rushing to Alex’s side with a helpless look on her face.

“Oh, Sadie. You’re here, too?” Briley asked with feigned surprise. “I was just thanking Mr. Howe. He saved me from a fall just now.” Her tone was sickly sweet, and undeniably flirtatious. “I’ve heard you and Mr. Howe are acquainted, but I didn’t realize you were this close.” Her implication was that there was more to Sadie and Alex’s relationship than met the eye.

Sadie cocked her head to the side and shot Briley a look of disdain. “Yes, we are close. Unlike you, I’ve known Mr. Howe for a long time,” she replied. “Mr. Howe and I are just friends. You, on the other hand…”

Sadie’s gaze was sharp as she sized Briley up.

“You’ve been missing for days. I thought you found a new boyfriend and forgot your way home. So what happened? Did you get tired of him? Is that why you suddenly showed up again?”

She was ruthless, exposing Briley’s true nature without giving the latter any room to make excuses.

Briley was visibly taken aback. Her cheeks and ears flushed red. She wanted to retort, but she wasn’t sure how to counter Sadie’s accusation.

Alex stood and watched the exchange, feeling a warm joy at seeing Sadie protect him. Then he quietly moved to Sadie’s side until they were shoulder to shoulder.

“Let’s go,” he said in a gentle tone.

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