Betrayed and Dumped She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 186

Jon looked just as stunned. Clearly, he recognized her.

Rebecca, still clueless, smiled and introduced them. “This is our new architect, Jon Garfield. And this is Cindy, our account manager.”

Jon offered his hand. “Hi.”

Cindy shook it without a word. Their hands barely touched before she let go and headed straight for her office. Jon watched her go, pressing his lips together.

At lunch, Rebecca decided to throw a welcome meal for Jon. She had the admin book a restaurant ahead of time.

After letting a few department heads know, Rebecca went to Cindy’s desk. “Come to the welcome lunch. We’re celebrating Jon joining the team.”

Cindy shook her head. “I’ve got something to take care of. You guys go ahead.”

Rebecca frowned. “What could you possibly have to do? Didn’t you already finish all your client renewals?”

Cindy hesitated and stayed quiet for a long moment. Then Rebecca finally caught on. She raised an eyebrow. “Did something happen between you and Jon?” It made sense that Cindy would know Jon, since he was Stephen’s friend. But why did she avoid him? The only explanation she could think of was some kind of falling out.

Cindy shook her head. “Nothing like that. Never mind, I’ll go.”

By the time they got to the private dining room, everyone else was already there. Only two seats were left. One was at the head of the table for Rebecca, and the other was right next to Jon.

Cindy took a quick breath and sat by Jon, her face unreadable. As she sat down, Jon’s arm brushed against hers.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, glancing at her.

“It’s fine,” Cindy replied, her voice cool.

The food came out fast. Everyone started eating and chatting. Most people seemed curious about Jon.

“Jon, it’s impressive you made architect so young. Where’d you go to school?”

After lunch, Rebecca said she and Cindy had a client visit in the afternoon and sent everyone else back to the office.

Once the door closed, Cindy looked confused. “We’re visiting a client?”

Rebecca gave her a knowing look. “Cut the act. What’s really going on with you and Jon?” She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been weird all morning. Something definitely happened between you two.”

Cindy pressed her lips together. After a long pause, she let out a dry laugh. “There’s nothing to tell. Whatever could’ve happened between us ended before it even started.”

“Remember when I told you I once confessed to someone and got totally rejected?”

“That was Jon.”

Rebecca stared at her, completely shocked. She never would’ve guessed there was a story like that between them.