Chapter 545
Chapter 545
It was the first time that night Jonathan actually looked at Ramona.
Ramona’s makeup and style couldn’t have been more different from Niamh’s.
Niamh was breathtakingly beautiful, yet she carried herself with an understated grace, always shying away from the spotlight.
Ramona, on the other hand, seemed determined to be the center of attention no matter the occasion-her every move designed to draw every eye in the room.
“Mr. Thomas, would you be so kind as to join me for a drink?”
With her scarlet lips curved in a dazzling smile, Ramona’s invitation left no room for subtlety.
“I don’t think Miss Quinn is in need of my company,” Jonathan replied coolly.
He shot a quick glance over his shoulder-Hayes, Carlotta, Sprague, and Marigold were all watching him and Ramona with interest.
Ramona tossed her hair, playing up her charm with the practiced ease of someone who knew the effect she had.
“They’re busy with their grown-up talk. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a drink with me,” she purred.
Her delicate hand slid onto the back of his, but Jonathan simply lowered his gaze
in silence.
A moment passed. Then he looked up at Ramona and offered a cold, dismissive
smile.
“But I don’t want to.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Jonathan shook off Ramona’s hand, not bothering to conceal the gesture. Heads turned at the abruptness of it.
Ramona’s expression darkened in an instant.
He could have discreetly pulled his hand away, but he had chosen to make a show of it, leaving Ramona to stew in her humiliation.
Under her resentful glare, Jonathan turned, leaving the Nimbus Summit without so much as a backward glance.
He hurried through the lobby, chasing after Niamh. He finally caught sight of her at
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the entrance to Isabelline Tower-her back straight, wrapped in a sleek black evening gown that accentuated both her elegance and her delicate, willowy frame.
She looked almost porcelain in the soft lights-a fragile, perfect silhouette. But before Jonathan could call out, she slipped into a white Lexus waiting by the curb.
Jonathan’s lips pressed into a thin, sharp line.
He knew that car. It was Elmer’s.
Niamh hadn’t lied-she really had asked Elmer to pick her up.
The realization hit Jonathan like a punch to the gut. His handsome features twisted with a complex mix of disappointment, frustration, and heartache.
He stood outside Isabelline Tower for a long while, as still and silent as a statue.
Eventually, the lobby manager, who recognized Jonathan, approached with a polite nod.
“Mr. Thomas, is there anything I can help you with?”
Jonathan turned, his expression still stormy.
“Are you married?”
The manager blinked, caught off guard. “Uh…pardon?”
He clearly didn’t understand, but something in Jonathan’s face told him not to ask
for clarification.
“N-no, I’m not…”
“Do you have a girlfriend, then?”
Jonathan pressed on, making the manager sweat a little.
Had he somehow offended Mr. Thomas? Or was Jonathan moonlighting as a
census taker?
“Yes… I do have a girlfriend/
“So if you upset her, what do you do?”
“I make it up to her, of course!” the manager replied without thinking.
“How?”
“Say sweet things to her. Compliment her, call her ‘gorgeous, tell her you love her.”
It was a tried-and-true method in his experience.
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But Jonathan’s brow only furrowed deeper.
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Buy her a gift.”
“What kind of gift?”
“A bag!” The manager answered with conviction. “There isn’t a woman in the world. who doesn’t like an expensive purse. I mean, I can only afford something from Coach, but with your means, Mr. Thomas, you could buy a limited edition Hermès. That’d do the trick for sure.”
“Is that so…”
Jonathan murmured, his voice flat, eyes clouded with frustration.
