Chapter 773

Thorne had already congratulated her in private, but since he was playing the part of someone just hearing the news, Charlene played along. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

That was the end of their interaction.

Shortly after, Charlene and Thorne went their separate ways.

Watching them interact like passing acquaintances only cemented Raleigh's belief that their relationship was far more twisted than he'd originally thought.

As Mr. Abner was about to head back upstairs, Raleigh suddenly asked, "Did anyone from The Henderson Group win an award this year?"

If someone internally had won, it would make sense for Thorne to attend and drum

up publicity for the company's products. Otherwise...

"No," Mr. Abner said, pausing. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just curious."

Charlene had stepped on Vesta to get to where she was today. If there was truly nothing going on between Thorne and Charlene, Thorne—as Vesta's boyfriend— would never attend that gala unless absolutely necessary.

...

The award ceremony was scheduled for Saturday night.

On Friday around noon, Charlene's phone buzzed. It was Jasmine.

"Mom, you're going on a business trip this weekend too, right?"

Charlene blinked in surprise. "Yes. Did your dad tell you?"

"Yeah," Jasmine grumbled, her voice muffled. "When are you coming back?" "Sunday afternoon."

"Dad too," Jasmine said. "I'll go to the airport to pick you both up, and then we can

all go see a movie together. How does that sound?"

She and Thorne weren't necessarily on the same flight. Even if they were, they probably wouldn't leave the. airport together.

But Charlene kept that to herself. "I be getting back right around rush hour flow about we meet restaurant first, grab some food, and then catch a movie?"

"...Okay," Jasmine agreed reluctantly.

They chatted for a few more minutes before Charlene hung up.

She left work early, packed a bag at home, and headed straight to the airport.

As she was checking in, she literally bumped into Thorne.

They both froze. Before either could say a word, someone tapped Charlene's shoulder.

She turned around and found Gaylord Hearst standing there.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, genuinely surprised.

Gaylord smiled. "I wanted to see you win your award in person."

Charlene didn't know what to say. After a long beat, she managed a quiet, "Thank you."

Standing a few feet away, Thorne watched the exchange. He gave a faint smirk and looked away.

Gaylord noticed Thorne immediately. He was surprised at first, but quickly pieced together why the man was there.

Glancing at Thorne, he asked Charlene, "Is he here to present an award as a sponsor?"

"...I think so," Charlene replied.

Gaylord left it at that.

Once on the plane, Charlene and Gaylord ended up in neighboring seats. Thorne

was seated in the row right next to theirs.

He didn't speak a single word to either of them the entire flight.

The event organizers had sent cars to pick them up. Originally, there were supposed to be two separate vehicles, but one got stuck in terrible traffic The coordinator approached them apologetically: "Would you mind sharing a ride?" .net