Chapter 450
Dalton Ramirez had arrived, slipping into the second row, just behind and off to
the side of Charlene and Thorne.
He was running a little late.
As he was about to take his seat, he caught sight of Thorne turning toward Charlene, striking up a conversation.
When Charlene ignored him, the smile on Thorne’s face faltered ever so slightly.
Dalton’s expression darkened.
He couldn’t say exactly why, but he’d always felt that Thorne treated Charlene a bit differently.
He’d noticed before that Thorne seemed rather interested in her. But in recent months, since there’d been no rumors or inappropriate behavior between them, Dalton had started to think maybe Thorne’s interest had faded.
Clearly, he’d been mistaken.
Dalton’s scrutiny was so open that Thorne couldn’t help but notice. Thorne glanced over. “Mr. Ramirez, you made it.”
Dalton masked his annoyance, his tone cool as he replied, “Yes.”
The business summit was in full swing. Among the key officials in attendance was Hickey Watson.
After delivering his speech, Hickey and the other officials began announcing the list of outstanding companies.
Naturally, PrimeStar was among them.
Charlene joined Thorne, Granger, and several other company representatives onstage to receive their awards.
The three of them-Thorne, Charlene, and Granger-stood together as the certificates were handed out.
After the awards, Hickey invited the recipients to say a few words.
Thorne spoke first. When he finished, Charlene took the microphone from him. “PrimeStar’s growth has always been about innovation, about building a team with a pioneering spirit. Of course, innovation is never easy. Bringing together highly talented people and making real breakthroughs is even harder…”
Charlene’s earnestness on stage made Vesta, watching from below, want to laugh.
PrimeStar really had done well for itself. But, honestly, how much of that had to do with Charlene?
Sure, she’d published a paper that got quite a bit of attention, but that was after PrimeStar was already well-established and recognized internationally.
Listening to Charlene’s speech,
someone who didn’t know bettemet
might think she’d poured her heart into building PrimeStar
and’s
from the ground up.
The truth was, though Charlene could stand up there on behalf of the company
and give a speech, she was really just picking up the award for Stewart.
The honor had little to do with her.
After the speeches, Charlene and the others stepped down from the stage.
The summit dragged on for nearly three hours.
Once it wrapped up, Charlene was ready to leave. As she edged toward the exit, Granger stepped around Thorne and approached her. “Heading out?” “Yeah,” she nodded.
But Charlene’s name had become well-known in the industry by now, and plenty
of executives wanted a word with her.
Getting away wasn’t going to be easy.
Both she and Granger were quickly surrounded.
Thorne, too, was caught up in a crowd of eager networkers.
Dalton knew Vesta was at the summit as well. Noticing that Thorne hadn’t made a
beeline for her, Dalton headed over himself.
Vesta greeted him with a smile. “I didn’t see you earlier, Mr. Ramirez. I was
starting to think you weren’t coming tonight.”noveldrama
“I got held up by something at work. Sorry for being late.”
As he spoke, Dalton glanced over to see Thorne-somehow, yet again-standing beside Charlene. Dalton’s brow creased.
Vesta, always attuned to what was happening between Thorne and Charlene, noticed it too.
Seeing her gaze linger, Dalton spoke up before she could. “Why don’t we head over there as well?”
Vesta chuckled. “I’ve still got a few people to talk to, so I’ll have to stay here a bit longer. If you need to go over please don’t wait on my account.”