She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 34

Caden Hayes?

What was he doing here?

"Mrs. Hayes." Mr. Winston hurried over to greet her. "Look at this, what a happy coincidence. I only just found out that the boutique is actually yours. Please forgive any offense I might have caused earlier."

Shera took a quiet breath, instantly understanding the man's angle.

He must have discovered her relationship with Caden, hosted this dinner, and had his secretary bring her up specifically to leverage her presence and secure their business deal.

Looking at his extended hand, Shera gave a polite smile. "Hello, Mr. Winston."

Judging by Caden's expression, he clearly hadn't known she was coming either.

Unfortunately for Mr. Winston, he had grossly miscalculated. Caden absolutely despised business partners who tried to pull personal strings to get close to him.

Without her here, the deal might have gone through. Now that she had shown up, it was probably dead in the water.

Shera had no desire to stay. "This is the piece based on the adjustments we discussed. Please take a look. If there's anything else that needs altering, I can stay up tonight to fix it."

Mr. Winston smiled, taking the box and handing it to his secretary. "Whatever Mrs. Hayes makes is guaranteed to be flawless. I completely trust your craftsmanship. You've been standing for a while—why don't you have a seat?"

His invitation was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and Shera wasn't sure how to gracefully decline. She shot a look at the man sitting in the corner.

But Caden merely leaned back in his chair, watching her with a casually detached expression, his fingers lightly tapping the table as if this had nothing to do with him.

She shifted her gaze to Aiken standing behind him, but the assistant immediately looked away.

His boss hadn't said a word; there was no way he was going to open his mouth.

"Mr. Winston," Shera said, keeping her smile in place. "This is a private business dinner. It's inappropriate for me to intrude. Please, continue your discussions. I'll be going now."

"Oh, please don't leave so soon, Mrs. Hayes! You must have rushed straight over from work. Since Mr. Hayes is here, you should stay and have dinner with us."

He had finally managed to get her in the room; Mr. Winston wasn't about to let her go easily. He was banking on her to put in a good word for him.

Given how profoundly she had apologized over the phone earlier, he assumed she had a soft, accommodating personality.

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