Emmeline tugged at her little hand, but Abel had a death grip on it and wouldn’t let go. It was starting to hurt, and she winced, “Abel, ease up! You’re going to bruise me!”
Abel finally loosened his grip a bit, but Emmeline still couldn’t free her hand. She huffed in frustration and gave up, resigning herself to being held captive.
Without missing a beat, Abel wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, enclosing her in a tight embrace.
“It’s so good to have Emma back,” Ethan chimed in, trying to diffuse the tension. “Let’s celebrate with lunch today. My treat, everyone’s invited.”
“I’m in,” Abel spoke up first. “Ethan’s right, it makes sense. Count me in.”
Benjamin and Janie exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves,
What’s Ethan meddling in now? Everything was going fine.
But could they really argue with his proposal now?
“Mr. Benjamin, Janie,” Ethan turned to them. “Do you think it’s a bad idea?”
Benjamin reluctantly nodded, “It’s fine, I agree.”
Janie raised her hand, “I’m in too.”
“I knew it,” Ethan grinned. “Emma’s back and it’s definitely worth celebrating!”
The question remained, could this show go on smoothly?
“Which hotel should we choose?” Abel eagerly offered, “I’ll take care of booking the private room.”
“I’ll cover all the expenses,” Benjamin chimed in. “Let’s go with the Struyria Banquet, after all, it’s Adelmar’s place.”
“That settles it then, Struyria Banquet it is,” Ethan agreed. “Why let someone else reap the benefits?”
Abel nodded in agreement, thinking to himself that the Struyria Banquet was the perfect choice. The last thing he wanted was to run into Adrien at a Ryker Group hotel. Having Benjamin on one side and Adrien on the other would only lead to trouble, and he didn’t want to be caught in the middle.
Just the thought of it made him feel jealous and insecure. He didn’t want to be a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
It was already past 10 am, and it would take an hour to drive to the Struyria Banquet. They all left the CEO’s office and made their way to the underground parking garage.
Ethan drove his Lexus, while Janie joined Benjamin in his Bentley. Emmeline didn’t drive, so she had to sit in Abel’s Rolls-Royce.
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