Chapter 379

Sarah nearly lost her temper. She couldn’t believe Gareth could be so rude as to condescend to her like this. How could anyone with zero emotional intelligence and

decorum like him be a successful businessman?

He must have inherited the company from his father or grandfather. That had to be it.

At the thought of this, Sarah did not bother concealing the scorn in her eyes as she

asked softly, “Do you think I’m too young to be a worthy connection, Mr. Spencer?”

“At least you figured that out for yourself,” Gareth said, crossing his legs as he shot

her an indifferent glance.

When Max looked into Carlisle’s background, he had taken notes on a couple of

worthwhile instances from the latter’s high school life.

One of them had been his failed romantic pursuit of Sarah, who had played Carlisle

for a fool.

Sarah tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and said, “I don’t think a person’s worth is dictated by their age, Mr. Spencer. You’re a good example of that.

“It’s impressive how you’ve curated the most popular wine in the nation at such a young age, and I believe you’re a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs like us.

“I approached you in hopes of learning about your experience and your take on the

business world.”

“Guess you’re in for a disappointment, then. I inherited the company, so I have no worthy experience to speak of,” Gareth drawled, not sounding very apologetic at all.

He had seen the scorn in her eyes earlier. She obviously thought of him as an unrefined, philandering sción. He might as well act the part.

“In that case, I’m sorry for bothering you. Have a good evening, Mr. Spencer,” Sarah said in a clipped tone as she turned on her heels and left.

She saw no point in continuing a conversation with someone who clearly had no interest in being civil.

Max remarked, “That young lady has the potential to become a great businesswoman. With proper instruction, she could be a force of nature.”

Gareth shook his head. “She may have business acuity, but she doesn’t have the makings of a fine businesswoman. Also, she’s too greedy for her own good. I doubt she could make it as an entrepreneur.”

Max countered in amusement, “Last I checked, greed and business went hand in

hand.”

“Why must you always pick a fight with me?” Gareth asked, rolling his eyes in

exasperation.

An hour into the performance, it was Sarah’s turn to go up on stage and perform a jazz dance number. She had paid 5000 dollars for one–on–one lessons with a professional dance instructor.

With her fair looks and skimpy dance outfit, Sarah won the audience over. One might even say she had what it took to compete against a third–rate celebrity.

Some students had already listed her as one of the top ten belles on campus.

When the dance was over, Sarah bowed to the audience.

Derek took to the microphone once more and said, “What a spectacular

performance! Who would’ve thought our freshmen had such unbridled talent?

“Let us give the beautiful dancer, Ms. Sarah Gates, a huge round of applause!”

The audience obliged and burst into thunderous applause.

Luna then said, “Next up, we have Carlisle Zahn, a freshman from Class 2 of the e-

commerce department who will be performing a song for us tonight!”

With that, she turned and began walking backstage.

A few students in the audience began to question Luna’s announcement. “What the

heck?”

“Did Luna forget her script?”

“Yeah! Why didn’t she mention the song title?”

Even Derek was stumped. He had never expected Luna, of all people, to forget her lines.

He decided to save the day. Derek smiled as he took over the microphone. “The song Carlisle will be performing this evening is…”

The smile slipped from his face when he glanced at the card in his hand and realized it was blank. There was no song title written under Carlisle’s name.

He mentally cursed the person who had made the card. There must have been a

mistake.

“So what song is it?” someone asked in the audience.

“Yeah, tell us already! Is it Copperhead?”

“I can’t believe this clown is a host.”

The audience grew restless and began hurling insults at Derek, who wanted nothing more than to burrow into a hole in the ground.

He should have looked at the card before going out on the stage. He was only trying to help Luna, but it seemed his good intentions were misplaced and had put him in

trouble.

“This song is called ‘Rest of My Life“,” Carlisle said, his deep and husky voice coming out of the gigantic speakers on either side of the stage.

Derek finally heaved a sigh of relief as he quickly did damage control. “Next up, we have Carlisle Zahn, a freshman from Class 2 of the e–commerce department who will be performing ‘Rest of My Life‘ for us!”

Toward the end of his announcement, Derek’s voice dropped by a fraction.

He had never heard of the song before, and he considered himself an aficionado of popular music. He had listened to many songs in many languages, and yet he had

never come across a song with such a title.

Derek wasn’t the only one who was baffled. The music lovers in the audience were just as confused.

Gareth mused, “How interesting. You don’t suppose he wrote this song, do you?”

A light strum rang through the air as Carlisle perched on the stool in the center of the stage. He had propped his guitar up on one leg as he ran his thumb over the strings..

There were two microphones set up before him: the taller one was meant for his vocals, and the shorter one was meant for his guitar.

The moment he strummed his guitar, the audience fell silent.

The spotlight fixed upon Carlisle’s silhouette as he took a deep breath. He looked up and stared straight at Wanda.

Wanda was holding Shania’s arm as she cast her pretty eyes on Carlisle.

A smile played on Shania’s lips as she said, “Did you hear the song title? ‘Rest of My Life‘. I bet this song is dedicated to you!”

Carlisle began playing the opening chords of the song.

This was a love song, and it was meant to be sung with the rawest of emotions. He opened his mouth and sang, “I was looking for sunshine in windless places.