Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1688

The executives exchanged loaded glances, struggling immensely to suppress their laughter. Everyone had clearly seen Mr. Michell stroll over with his wine glass, insisting on swapping seats and smoothly tricking the sales director into believing that the other table was packed with gorgeous, newly hired female employees. The poor director had bought the lie completely, happily surrendering his chair. Rumors had actually been swirling wildly within the company for days. Everyone whispered that the great Mr. Michell had abandoned massive paychecks to take a job at Agri-Tech Ventures purely to chase after his wife. Looking at the situation now, the rumors were completely true.

The executives were all highly tactful individuals who had no desire to play third wheel. In unspoken unison, they averted their eyes and struck up conversations with the people next to them.

Scanning the table and seeing everyone happily engaged in chatter, Sylvia couldn't bring herself to ruin the mood by throwing a fit on the spot. She had no choice but to pull out her chair and take her rightful seat. Yet from the very second she sat down, she kept her head lowered, her fingers swiping across her phone screen without uttering a single syllable to him.

Snubbed so thoroughly, a wave of irritation surged in Steve's chest. With a darkened expression, he filled his glass to the brim with red wine and began drinking in sullen silence. Glass after glass, the sharp alcohol burned down his throat, yet it did absolutely nothing to extinguish the fire blazing in his heart. Tilting his head slightly, he caught a glimpse of Sylvia's glowing screen from the corner of his eye. The banquet hall lighting was relatively dim, but he could clearly see she was messaging someone. As the conversation flowed, she switched to a different chat, and the contact name resting at the top was Quincy, a name that pierced his eyes no matter how he looked at it. The fingers gripping his wine glass tightened violently, his knuckles turning a stark, bone chilling white.

...

Quincy replied to her messages rapidly: [Still working on the weekend?]

Sylvia's fingers tapped lightly against the screen: [We are having the annual company gala. Once this wraps up, we are officially on holiday leave.]

Quincy: [Do you have any plans for the holidays?]

Thinking for a moment, Sylvia replied: [Nothing special for now, but I have to make a trip back to Seaview.] After hitting send, she casually added another question: [Does your squad get time off?]

Quincy: [Even if I took time off, I would just be by myself. It is pretty boring, so I figured I might as well stay and work overtime.]

Staring at the screen, a thread of genuine admiration bloomed in Sylvia's heart: [You are incredibly dedicated.]

Steve glared daggers at her retreating back, the fury in his eyes practically incinerating the air between them.

Grabbing a wine bottle, Sophia hurriedly chased after her boss. "Ms. Moore, you should drink less. Let me take the drinks for you." Following closely behind, Sophia shadowed Sylvia as she made her way from table to table.

Sylvia was burdened by her own heavy thoughts tonight, and when people offered toasts, she rarely refused. After several rounds, even the low alcohol wine was enough to make her head spin.

The annual gala soon drew to a close, and the employees began filtering out in small groups. Sylvia was genuinely intoxicated, her footsteps drifting unevenly across the floor. Sophia supported her carefully, grabbing her coat and draping it over her shoulders. "Ms. Moore, the car is waiting outside. I will take you home."

Just as they stepped out of the hotel lobby, a blast of freezing wind hit Sylvia, causing her to shiver violently. Before she could even regain her balance, a large hand shot out from beside her, gripping her arm like an iron vice and yanking her forcefully to the side.