The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 205

The Chairman's office was on the top floor. When Lavinia walked in, she was shocked to find Garnett sitting there as well.

He was seated opposite Caden Coleman, sharing premium coffee and casually chatting. Suddenly, Lavinia understood exactly why Caden had called her up here.

Seeing her arrive, Caden stood up.

"Ah, Mrs. Harper is here." He offered her a smile that was uncharacteristically warm. "Lavinia, why didn't you tell us sooner? Celestial Capital is truly harboring hidden royalty."

Garnett glanced back at her, stood up, and gently took her hand, guiding her to sit beside him.

"Lavinia, I dropped by uninvited. You aren't mad at me, are you?" his tone was sickeningly gentle.

Caden chuckled and picked up his coffee cup. "Lavinia is exceptional. She has strong opinions and is highly independent. Mr. Harper, your wife clearly has a personality of her own—she must be very spoiled at home."

Garnett looked at Lavinia. "My grandmother treats her like blood; Lavinia practically runs the house."

Caden offered a knowing, silent smile.

Watching Garnett's hypocritical performance, Lavinia had to bite her tongue repeatedly to keep from tearing into him right in front of her boss.

After a bit more small talk, Garnett prepared to leave. Caden stood up to see him out and turned to Lavinia. "Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off? You two should go on a date."

"No thank you, Mr. Coleman. I still have a lot of work to catch up on," Lavinia replied, her tone perfectly flat.

Caden let out a stiff little laugh.

Lavinia knew exactly what they thought of her: she was entirely uncooperative.

Garnett preferred intellectual, subservient women like Sigrid, and Caden preferred brainless loyalists.

Neither of them liked women with unbreakable spines.

"We'll grab lunch together," Garnett declared.

Without giving her a choice, he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her out of the office.

***

Once they reached the elevator bay and were out of earshot, Lavinia violently wrenched her hand free.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you yesterday that I refuse to ride your coattails?"

Garnett shot her a look, his eyes turning frigid.

"Not ride my coattails? If I don't give you political cover, Caden Coleman is going to make you the scapegoat—or worse, send you to prison. Do you believe me now?"

Lavinia froze, her lips pressing into a thin line.

Sigrid gently tugged at his sleeve, whispering, "Garnett, leave it be."

Lavinia stopped in her tracks, slowly turned around, and looked at them both.

Then, she let out a genuine, cynical laugh.

"You two really are a perfect match."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Garnett stared at her retreating back, his hands secretly balling into tight fists.

"Garnett, should we grab lunch?" Sigrid asked casually.

She clearly knew Lavinia wasn't out of earshot yet and would hear every word.

***

When Lavinia got back to her desk, the open-plan office was buzzing. Her colleagues were in a heated, whispering frenzy about something.

"Someone saw Garnett Harper here. He was in the Chairman's office."