The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 151

"Lavinia, come here a second," Jocelyn Chandler's voice drifted through the intercom.

Lavinia put down the phone and headed to the director's office.

Jocelyn pushed the draft of the investment valuation report for Joplin Adhesives Corp across her desk. "This is the initial draft Jacqueline and Howard put together. Take a look and see if you spot any issues."

Lavinia hesitated, keeping her hands at her sides.

"Ms. Chandler, shouldn't I recuse myself from this?" she asked.

Jocelyn threw her a sideways glance. "You can be so rigid sometimes. I'm just asking you to review it and offer feedback. I'm the one writing the final version, so what are you afraid of?"

With a small smile, Lavinia took the report and began reading. After a few moments, she pointed out a couple of technical inconsistencies.

Listening intently, Jocelyn finally nodded. "You have the strongest background in chemistry and physics in our department. You can spot things the rest of us miss, which is why I asked for your input. Don't be so uptight next time."

"Understood. Thank you, Ms. Chandler," Lavinia replied.

"By the way, I need a small favor."

Jocelyn opened her drawer and pulled out two classical concert tickets.

"The Vienna Philharmonic is playing in Blossom City next week. It took a miracle to get my hands on these."

She paused for a moment.

"The program features Shostakovich, which is Charley's absolute favorite. I know he'd love it, but if I ask him, he probably won't agree to go."

Lavinia froze, staring down at the tickets.

After a long silence, Jocelyn dropped her authoritative director persona and spoke with the soft vulnerability of any other girl with a crush.

"Lavinia, I know you two are close. Could you pass these to him for me?"

Lavinia hesitated for a long time. She didn't know what to say, and Jocelyn clearly wasn't going to back down.

"Ms. Chandler, I honestly think you and Charley make a great match," Lavinia finally said, her voice slow and measured. "But I really think it would be better if you asked him yourself."

She just had a feeling Charley despised having people play matchmaker for him.

He was incredibly independent. No matter how fiercely loyal he was to his friends, he never tolerated them meddling in his private life.

Jocelyn studied the expression on Lavinia's face. After a long moment, she offered a light smile.

"Alright then. I'll call and ask him myself. You can get back to work."

After overthinking it for several minutes, she finally typed back: [I'm not sure if I have plans that day. Let's talk about it later.]

Who knows? Maybe Jocelyn would ask him, and he would say yes.

That way, she wouldn't be the one who had to reject him.

Putting her phone down, it took Lavinia a long time to forcefully drag her attention back to her work.

***

During the investment committee meeting, Jocelyn and Sigrid Sloan got into a massive screaming match.

The valuation recommendation prepared by the Industry Research Department was entirely dismantled by Sigrid, citing her so-called "value models."

According to the Quantitative Research Department, Joplin Adhesives Corp was essentially garbage.

Armed with field reports, industry comparisons, and market data, Jocelyn fired back at Sigrid line by line.

A few nosy attendees were secretly live-texting the drama in a group chat.

Watching the play-by-play unfold on her screen, Lavinia felt her heart racing, while a profound sense of gratitude and admiration for Jocelyn swelled in her chest.