She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 372

Even though Melanie kept her voice down, Gabriel caught every single word.

Sure, his reputation as a playboy was well-documented, but his scandals exclusively involved women!

Gabriel screamed internally.

"Maybe he does," Preston replied casually, his face completely deadpan.

Melanie had only been joking.

Still, the way Gabriel treated Preston was definitely not how a corporate VP treated a low-level subordinate. If the two men didn't look completely different, she would have suspected they were related.

With Gabriel firmly holding the line, Sabrina didn't dare say another word, and it became far too awkward for Aria to keep throwing herself at Preston.

Dominic was left standing on the sidelines, glaring in bitter frustration.

The guests who didn't recognize Preston looked on in utter confusion, wondering why a man of Gabriel's stature was acting like a bodyguard for two nobodies.

Meanwhile, the few men who did know Preston's true identity shifted their collective gaze entirely onto Melanie.

Melanie's messy divorce from Dominic had been splashed all over the internet.

However, the business elite rarely cared about tabloid gossip.

They dealt in real industry and hard capital, not cheap social media clicks.

In their eyes, Melanie was just exceptionally beautiful and happened to be Nathaniel Royce's daughter. Beyond that, she held zero value.

But seeing how both Preston and Gabriel were acting tonight forced them to reevaluate her.

What exactly did Melanie have that made both of the powerful Whitmore brothers treat her with such deep reverence?

Was it really just a pretty face?

Melanie happily went back to her snacks.

She could feel the heavy, probing stares from all directions, but she couldn't fathom why these powerful executives were suddenly so interested in her.

Tonight was supposed to be Aria's welcome reception.

Aria had been the one networking all night.

Melanie had only been tricked into showing up by Nathaniel, and all she wanted was to quietly eat in the corner.

"Darling, didn't you mention... you had a surprise for Aria tonight?" Sabrina whispered, sidling up to Nathaniel.

She already knew exactly what the surprise was.

Originally, she had planned to save it for the grand finale of the evening.

But right now, Melanie was stealing all of her daughter's thunder.

"Of course I remember, Mom. How could I forget something that important?"

"Good. Make sure you put on a perfect performance."

Sabrina patted her daughter's hand affectionately, unable to suppress her triumphant smirk.

Following Nathaniel's orders, the event staff swiftly set up a small table in the center of the room, placing a tray of herbal specimens on top.

"Since we are all gathered here tonight to welcome my daughter home, I thought I'd put together a little impromptu activity to keep things lively..."

Hearing his booming voice, the guests paused their conversations and turned their attention to the center of the room.

Nathaniel stood proudly beside the display table, with Sabrina right at his side.

"Displayed here is a batch of goods that a client returned to the Royce Group just last week. If anyone in this room can accurately explain the reason for the return, I will personally hire them as our new Chief Operating Officer. What do you say?"

The bold declaration caused a ripple through the crowd, and many guests instinctively looked toward Aria.

Nathaniel made it sound like an open challenge, but the reality was that ninety percent of the attendees were established CEOs of their own companies. None of them had any interest in taking a COO position at the Royce Group.

It was painfully obvious that this was a staged test designed entirely to justify promoting Aria.

It served to validate her skills while giving her the perfect platform to show off in front of the industry's heaviest hitters.

"I thought the younger Royce girl hasn't even graduated yet?" one guest murmured.