Stephen said, “We just haven’t had the chance to tell you yet.”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late. I need to grab the documents and go.”

Rowena’s expression darkened, and her tone was reproachful. “You’re not leaving until after dinner. If anything comes up, I’ll handle it.”

Stephen replied casually, “That’s not how it works. You don’t have the authority to speak for the company, do you? Just wait. You’ll be getting a call soon about a board meeting.”

Without another word, he ignored everyone in the hall and headed upstairs.

The Webbs exchanged glances.

Thomas spoke up first. “Mrs. Jacobson Senior, does Stephen not realize this dinner is meant to formally introduce him to Jocelyn? Doesn’t he know that both our families agreed to set this up?”

Even though Thomas was two years older than Rowena, her status and influence meant he had to address her respectfully as “Mrs. Jacobson Senior”.

His words were polite enough not to put Rowena on the spot.

But Aria didn’t bother hiding her frustration. “Mrs. Jacobson Senior, what is Stephen’s deal? Jocelyn is standing right in front of him, and he just ignored her. Is he playing dumb, or does he seriously not know what this dinner is about?”

Jacqueline lowered her head to hide the sneer in her eyes.

Did Aria seriously believe Jocelyn was worthy of Stephen’s attention? Was Jocelyn really that desperate to marry into the family that she had chased him all the way here?

Stephen had just outright denied Rowena in front of everyone. As much as it stung, she had no choice but to force a smile while handling the Webbs’ questions.

She said, “Aria, you’ve got it wrong. Stephen was probably just in a rush to grab something from the study, so he didn’t have time to say hi to Jocelyn. Once he comes back down, I’ll introduce them properly.”

Aria wanted to say more, but Thomas shot her a look that silenced her.

Jacqueline quietly sat beside Rowena. When she met Jocelyn’s gaze, Jocelyn offered her a polite smile.

But Jacqueline was still jealous. She had no interest in being friendly, so she coldly looked away.

Jocelyn’s smile faltered. She had no idea why Jacqueline seemed so hostile toward her.

In the study, Stephen made a call.

Ten minutes later, Rowena and

Caleb both received a work call.

They were told that Jacobsonet

Corporation had an urgent project that required a board meeting.

Caleb knew right away that this was Stephen’s doing.

Ralph had already entrusted Stephen with control of the family. Besides, he had also instructed Caleb to let Stephen manage the company.

As such, Stephen was the one calling the shots at Jacobson Corporation now.

Rowena ended the call with a dark

expression on her face. As

Stephen’s grandmother, it seemed

like she had no control over

bim

anymore.

Noticing her change in mood, Aria asked, “Mrs. Jacobson Senior, is everything okay?”

Rowena took a few deep breaths, but her face remained cold.

She didn’t care about business projects or board meetings, but she was deeply concerned about Stephen’s marriage.

With that call, Stephen now had a perfect excuse to ditch his date with Jocelyn today.

Rowena replied, “It’s nothing. Just as Stephen said, there’s an urgent project at the company. I just got the call.

Aria glanced at Thomas and hesitated. “So…”