Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 52

Quennel's tone was sharp. "Let her up."

The receptionist, learning her lesson, immediately replied, "Of course, Mr. Gonzalez. I'll personally escort the young Mrs. Gonzalez upstairs."

Hearing this, Quennel paused on the other end of the line. "Young Mrs. Gonzalez?"

The receptionist smiled. "Yes, Ms. Powell said she was the young Mrs. Gonzalez."

Victoria stared nervously at the phone, terrified her lie would be exposed. If Quennel denied it now, she would be the one left mortified.

But Quennel only remained silent for a moment before replying without refuting her claim, "Mm, take her to Kent's office."

With that, he hung up.

A jolt of joy went through Victoria. Was this Quennel's way of indirectly acknowledging her status?

From a short distance away, Stephanie had heard the entire conversation clearly.

She had expected to feel at least a pang of sadness at Quennel's behavior, but her heart remained surprisingly calm.

It made sense. No matter how deep the wound, time eventually smoothed it over.

She had grieved for this relationship for so long that perhaps she had just gone numb.

Or perhaps... she had already let go deep down inside.

The receptionist immediately began to lead Victoria toward Mr. Lee's office.

But just as they reached the elevator, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit stepped out.

The receptionist quickly put two and two together, and her gaze toward Victoria turned contemptuous.

It seemed she was just some gold-digger who'd gotten close to Mr. Gonzalez, using his name to throw her weight around, and now she'd been exposed.

The executive assistant walked right past Victoria, completely ignoring her, and approached Stephanie, who was seated in the waiting area.

He addressed Stephanie with the utmost respect. "Mrs. Gonzalez, my apologies for the wait. The chairman was in a meeting, but as soon as he received your message, he sent me down to bring you up."

Few people warranted a personal escort from the chairman's executive assistant. Everyone in the lobby instantly understood the starkly different treatment the Gonzalez family afforded these two women.

One had to resort to tattling on the phone, while the other did nothing and was treated like royalty by the chairman's right-hand man.

A wave of whispers and sighs went through the onlookers.