“Alright.” Mr. Potter led them to the banquet hall without further ado. Zachary scanned the cars in the parking lot, but he didn’t see the silver Rolls-Royce. Looks like Charlotte isn’t here. His frown subsided. Now I can get into business.
An uplifting piano tune was heard upon their entrance, and thunderous applause followed. Zachary didn’t pay any heed to it, since Louis was an outstanding pianist, and he just had to show off at every banquet.
But he was shocked to see the pair in front of the piano when he got close.
“Ms. Lindberg came!” Ben was stunned.
“But we didn’t see their car.” Marino was baffled.
“Ms. Lindberg came twenty minutes earlier. She went to Sir Louis’ villa and came with him,” Mr. Potter whispered.
“Damn woman.” Marino glared at Morgan.
“This is going to spell trouble.” Ben frowned at Zachary.
“Shut up,” Zachary growled.
They lowered their gazes and said nothing more.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Potter had a bad feeling about it.
“Mr. Potter,” Ben whispered something to him, and Mr. Potter nodded. “I understand. I know what must be done.”
Another song had concluded, and thunderous applause filled the banquet hall. Sir Louis held Charlotte’s hand politely and bowed at everyone.
Everyone praised them for looking like a perfect couple, while Zachary spared nothing but a cold gaze, though he clapped politely too, and his entourage followed.
Louis gave Zachary a warm welcome when he saw him. “You’re here, Zachary!”
The guests only noticed him at that point, and they stood up to greet him. Zachary gave them polite nods, but he noticed a problem. All the partners brought their own date with them, and even Louis had Charlotte with him. Only Zachary came alone.
“Have a seat, Charlotte.” After Louis had settled Charlotte down, he quickly welcomed Zachary. “What took you so long?”
“What is going on?” Zachary was asking Louis, but his eyes were on Charlotte. Charlotte had mingled nicely with the partners and their family. She even brought gifts for them, though Morgan and Lupine were the ones holding them.
“I have to tell you something.” Louis took Zachary to the side and whispered, “Can we have one more partner for this project?”
“No,” Zachary refused without any hesitation.
“Oh, don’t be a party pooper, Zachary,” Louis calmed him down. “Charlotte’s acknowledged by the partners, and they agreed to it. I can’t do anything about it.”
“So you set me up? You’re forcing me to agree?” Zachary frowned, looking serious. “Who asked you to do this?”
“I…” Louis glanced at Charlotte subconsciously, but he looked away moments later. “Nobody. This talk was going to happen anyway. We’re just having one more member here.”
“So who told them to bring their partners, and who allowed the Lindbergs to attend this banquet?” Zachary was upset. “And who told you to keep this a secret?”
“I did,” Charlotte said coldly. She walked up to them with elegance and smiled at Zachary. “You seem to dislike this surprise, Mr. Nacht.”
Zachary glared at her coldly and looked away. He couldn’t bring himself to get angry at her.
