The Unwavering Heart That Broke (Nathalie and Lance) novel Chapter 174

“Freddy? You mean the guy who gave the speech earlier?”

For a second, Nathalie just stared blankly, totally at a loss. All the chaos tonight had her so distracted, she couldn’t even remember what he looked like.

She snapped back to reality, forcing a smile as she reached out her hand. “Hi, I’m Nathalie.”

Freddy took her hand, gave it a brief, polite shake, and let go. He arched his brow at her, amused. “Am I not the star of this banquet? Hard to believe someone here doesn’t recognize me.”

Nathalie just wanted to disappear. She shuffled her feet, cheeks burning. “Sorry, I...”

But Freddy stood up, his tone suddenly sincere. “Ms. Blair, really, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might’ve gone completely unnoticed tonight. Maybe worse.”

Nathalie was a little startled by how serious he sounded. “Oh. It’s not that extreme. If you’d gone missing, someone would’ve noticed. People would definitely be worried.”

“Maybe,” Freddy said, pulling out a business card and offering it to her, “but still, if you ever need anything, just call me. Seriously.”

She took the card, fingers brushing over the embossed print. For a moment, she stared at it, turning it over as she thought. Then, almost before she realized, she blurted, “Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask right now.”

Freddy’s expression brightened just a touch. “Go ahead.”

Nathalie explained her idea about teaming up with The Charles Group.

Freddy didn’t even blink. He just turned to Garrison and said, “Follow up on this. Find a good project to partner with The Blair Group.”

Garrison nodded. “Understood, Freddy.”

Nathalie’s mouth fell open a little. She’d thought he’d at least ask for time to think it over.

She hesitated, glancing at Freddy. “Are you sure? You don’t want to consider it a little?”

Freddy just grinned. “No need. I trust my lifesaver.”

Nathalie found herself at a loss, not sure what to say.

Nathalie finally relaxed, and the conversation just started to flow, easy and natural.

***

In the private room, Olivia kept sneaking glances at Lance, who was sitting on the sofa. The guy had sharp features, a jawline you could cut glass with, and those deep, almost unreadable dark eyes. His entire vibe was icy and commanding, like he sucked all the air out of the room.

It was so quiet in there that Olivia could practically hear her own heartbeat thumping against her ribs.

They’d already been waiting for almost ninety minutes and Freddy was nowhere to be seen.

Felice’s patience was starting to wear thin. “Olivia, do you know where Freddy went off to? Did he leave early or something?”

Olivia shook her head slightly. “I sent someone to look for him already. He should be back any minute.”

Just as she finished talking, the door opened. The staff member she’d sent out slipped back in, bent down, and whispered in her ear, “Freddy is out on the balcony talking to a lady. I tried to get his attention, but his bodyguard wouldn’t let me through.”