The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 148

"I see," Jocelyn replied evenly. "I was wondering why I'd never heard of Charley having a cousin with the surname Joplin."

She paused. "Actually, our family and the Sheffields merged our family trees generations ago. Technically speaking, I'm his distant cousin."

Lavinia felt so awkward she wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. She vowed never to casually claim people as relatives again.

"You're meeting up with him for dinner tonight?" Jocelyn asked.

Lavinia read between the lines and quickly offered, "Yes. I booked a private kitchen. Are you free, Ms. Chandler? Would you like to join us?"

"Sure. Send me the address." Jocelyn checked the schedule on her phone. "I have an off-site meeting this afternoon. I'll head straight there afterward."

"You got it," Lavinia agreed happily, forwarding the restaurant's address.

***

After work, Charley came to pick Lavinia up. He had recently resumed working, and his office wasn't far from hers.

He was back to driving the Toyota SUV because Lavinia had complained that the Bentley was too flashy.

As soon as Lavinia got in the car, she grumbled, "Charley, why didn't you tell me you and Director Chandler were relatives? You almost caused a huge misunderstanding."

"What misunderstanding?" Charley frowned, the movement barely noticeable.

"Our director said your families merged their family trees, and she's actually your distant cousin." Lavinia stuck her tongue out. "It was so embarrassing. It sounded like I was desperately trying to fake a connection to you."

"That's ancient history from a century ago. Why is she even bringing it up?"

Watching his reaction, Lavinia felt like Charley was genuinely annoyed by it, though she couldn't figure out why.

She changed the subject, speaking softly, "Actually, tonight's dinner is about Saul's financing situation. Charley, you have to help put in a good word for his company later so Celestial Capital invests in him."

"Joplin Adhesives Corp is a solid company with a very clear path to profitability. Anyone who isn't blind would invest," Charley replied.

Sure enough, as they rounded the corner, she saw the two of them at each other's throats. Jocelyn had her hands on her hips, her voice sharp; Saul was gesturing wildly, trying his best to explain.

Charley gave Lavinia a look. "You go over and see what's going on. I'll park the car."

Lavinia scrambled out and hurried over, calling out to Saul and then to Jocelyn.

The two of them stopped arguing and watched her run up, then exchanged a glance. It suddenly dawned on them that they were both attending the same dinner.

Saul's Aura sedan and Jocelyn's Polaris P7 had bumped into each other, but it was just a light scrape; neither bumper was dented.

"Oh, so you're Lavinia's boss," Saul quickly shifted to damage control, pasting on an apologetic smile. "This was entirely my fault, I was driving too hastily. I'll have someone get your car fixed up, on me."

Jocelyn's expression softened as well. It was hard to stay mad at someone being that polite, and besides, she really had been driving the wrong way.

"I genuinely didn't see the road sign. I have insurance, and it's just a scratch anyway. Let's just have the insurance companies handle it."