Chapter 765

When ordering, Corinne Lancaster took the initiative to select two or three dishes Granger Harden usually liked.

"Thanks for the thought, Ms. Lancaster," Granger said coldly. "But I'm not interested in those tonight. I'll order for myself."

Being rejected so bluntly didn't make Corinne awkward or discouraged. Just as she was about to keep talking to him, Granger looked at Thorne Henderson and deliberately shifted the topic. "Why didn't Minnie come along?"

"Minnie went to see her mother," Thorne replied.

Hearing that, Granger paused, nodded, and then started discussing the current global business climate with Thorne.

Anyone with eyes could see that whether he was asking about Jasmine or talking business, Granger was doing it to block Corinne from getting a word in.

Moreover, Granger looked at Thorne, at Moran Albright, at the ceiling, at the floor- anywhere but at the woman sitting right next to him.

His rejection was entirely undisguised.

Seeing Granger shut Corinne down so obviously, Moran stopped playing along with her attempts to mingle.

Throughout the dinner, even though Corinne managed to interject and speak to Granger a few times, his attitude remained freezing cold.

Once Granger made his stance clear, Moran and Thorne respected his boundaries, completely staying out of the dynamic between him and Corinne. Even Vesta Hawkins silently lowered her head.

Granger's blatant refusal proved that he wasn't going to save face for Corinne just because of who brought her.

What Thorne and Moran didn't know was that Granger's resolute rejection of Vesta's friend was actually because of Charlene Ross.

If they had known...

Overall, the atmosphere of the dinner remained fairly pleasant.

After the meal, they all went their separate ways.

Not long after, Granger tagged Vesta in their group chat: [Tell your friend to back off. I'm not interested in her. Don't set up another dinner like this again.]

Vesta saw the message almost immediately.

Staring at the screen, her heart sank.

If she remembered correctly, this was the first time Granger had directly tagged her

in the group chat since he fell for Charlene.

She gripped her phone, digesting his words for a while before finally typing a reply: [Okay, I will. I'm sorry about today. I should have told you in advance, but my friend really likes you and didn't have the heart to say no, so...]

Since this was a group chat, and given Thome and Vesta's deep

relationship along with Granger's

lifelong friendship with

Thorne-Granger kept his irritation in

check. He simply replied: [It's fine.]

In the past, Granger would have probably messaged Vesta privately about this, since it was just a quick heads-up.

But now, he had deliberately called her out in the group. Moran didn't think there was anything wrong with that choice.

Initially, Moran hadn't thought much of Granger's firm rejection of Corinne. After all, it was normal to turn someone down if you weren't interested.

But now that the gathering was over and Granger was emphasizing it to Vesta in the group, Moran could sense Granger's distinct displeasure at Vesta's meddling.

Moran was already curious about who Granger was in love with, and now his curiosity hit a fever pitch. He couldn't resist tagging Granger in the chat.