Chapter 360
Kendal didn’t even bother replying to him. When Thorne made his comment, Charlene didn’t respond either.
No one seemed eager to engage with him, but Thorne didn’t mind. He noticed Charlene’s coffee was nearly gone, so he picked up the pot and refilled her cup, as well as Kendal’s.
Throughout the brunch, whether sipping on their Americanos or discussing over the club sandwiches, Charlene mostly chatted with Kendal and Jasmine, leaving Thorne out of the conversation.
It wasn’t clear if Charlene was intentionally ignoring him, or if Thorne himself wasn’t interested in talking to her.
Around 2 p.m., as they were preparing to leave the Underwood family home, Charlene suddenly realized they had spent nearly four hours in the same room without exchanging a single word.
Kendal had noticed this too.
Thorne wasn’t about to change that, and Charlene had already moved on emotionally. Thorne hadn’t invited them over for matchmaking purposes; he knew they had nothing to say to each other and he had nothing more to add.
As they were getting ready to head back home, Jasmine looked up at Charlene and asked, “Mom, are you coming home today?” Before Charlene could respond, Jasmine added, “You haven’t been home in a long time.”
Kendal paused, saying nothing, merely sighing softly under his breath.
Thorne remained silent too.
Charlene gently stroked Jasmine’s cheek and said, “I have some things to take care of, so I won’t be coming home tonight.”
“Oh…” Jasmine’s disappointment was evident. She then asked, “So are you going to Grandma’s or traveling for work again? Last time I couldn’t reach you, I went to Grandma Ross’s place, but you weren’t there either. Grandma said you were on a business trip.”
Charlene hadn’t realized Jasmine had gone to the Ross family over the weekend. Indeed, she was planning to go back to the Ross’s for dinner with Helena Ross and the others.
Imagining Jasmine trying to reach her, only to end up going to her great- grandma’s house out of longing, Charlene paused before saying, “I’ll be heading to your great-grandma’s later. Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes!”
Hearing Charlene’s words, Jasmine perked up. She had feared her mom would be busy with work again.
Charlene glanced at Thorne, who understood and asked Jasmine, “So, are you staying at your great-grandma’s tonight?”
Jasmine nodded enthusiastically, “Yep!”
“Alright,” Thorne agreed easily, “Then I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up from school tomorrow afternoon.”
“No, I want to go back to great-grandma’s after school tomorrow,” Jasmine insisted.
Thorne chuckled, exchanged a glance with Charlene, and said, “You’ll have to discuss that with your mom; I can’t make that decision.”
Jasmine hugged Charlene’s leg and looked up at her, “Mom, are you leaving great-grandma’s tomorrow too?”
Charlene nodded, “Yes, I am.”
“Okay…” Jasmine conceded reluctantly.
After the plan was settled, they exchanged a few words with Kendal before each got into their own cars and left.
The next day, Charlene drove Jasmine to school before heading to work at PrimeStar Technologies.
Upon entering the office, she once again found herself in the elevator with Thorne and his secretary, Coy.
The three of them stood in silence, like strangers, not uttering a word.
Later that morning, around eleven, Thorne left PrimeStar. After he was gone, Stewart Ferguson came by Charlene’s office, having heard she was back, to discuss some matters.
As their conversation wound down, Charlene, recalling her encounter with Thorne earlier, asked, “Is the deal with Henderson Group still not finalized?”
“It’s finalized, but there are some issues es
65 with the project division. I
was
e to discuss some add
terms,” Stewart explained,