Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 277

Unsure of how late she would be working, Stephanie had sent the driver Jonathan had arranged for her home earlier.

But when she finally left the office building in the middle of the night, a sudden downpour had begun.

She’d heard the driver’s child had a fever, and she didn’t have the heart to call him back at this hour.

Stephanie stood under the awning of the building, checking the ride-sharing app on her phone.

Getting a ride in the rain was always difficult. The wait time for both ride-shares and taxis was over an hour.

Vivian stood nearby, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Tsk, you love showing off your relationship with Jonathan, don’t you? So where is he? Why isn’t he here to pick you up?”

Jonathan was also working late tonight. At a massive company like Ironhold Investment Group, long hours were the norm.

Just as she spoke, a Porsche Cayenne pulled up to the curb.

Vivian’s face lit up with a triumphant smile. “My boyfriend is here to pick me up.”

Sure enough, a black umbrella emerged from the Cayenne first.

Quennel stepped out and walked toward them.

Stephanie had no interest in engaging with Vivian’s childish attempts to show off.

So that’s why Vivian had been hanging around instead of going home. She was waiting for an opportunity to flaunt her relationship in Stephanie’s face.

The black umbrella obscured the upper half of Quennel’s face. The moment he appeared, Vivian smiled and waved at him. As he reached her, she looped her arm through his.

“It’s raining so hard. You’re so good to me, Quennel, coming all this way to pick me up!”

Quennel hadn’t come specifically for her.

He had finished work early and was out drinking with friends.

But halfway through their drinks, Vivian had started bombarding him with messages.

Normally, he would have ignored her, but he’d had a few too many drinks and accidentally opened their chat. The first thing he saw was a location pin she had sent from OALA Group.

That’s when he called her, demanding to know why she was there and if she was causing trouble for Stephanie.

What he did care about… was standing right in front of him, yet she wouldn’t even spare him a single glance.

Stephanie stood under the awning, reaching a hand out to touch the drizzling rain. The droplets wet her palm before trickling down through her fingers.

The rain was coming down harder now, and the wet ground reflected the white glare of the streetlights.

Feeling Stephanie’s deliberate indifference, Quennel felt a pang of pain.

Meanwhile, a woman’s intuition told Vivian exactly where Quennel’s attention was focused.

Her heart soured with jealousy, but she put on a magnanimous front. “Quennel, it’s raining so hard. Why don’t we give her a ride?”

Vivian was trying to score points with Quennel by appearing generous.

Quennel knew that being a desperate puppy dog would get him nowhere.

He gave Stephanie a cool nod and tilted the umbrella slightly in her direction, as if it were a casual offer. “Get in. I’ll give you a ride home.”