Chapter 302: Didn’t Know Each Other That Well
Yonina Collins was giving her welcome speech on the stage.
But no one was really listening to her. Everyone had their own agenda for being there tonight.
To be honest, no one really bothered about the organiser of such events.
What they really cared about was the networking opportunities.
They were all hoping to meet potential working partners that can help them earn more money.
Zen Tanner walked over to stand beside Christian Lucas. She looked calm and had a hint of a smile on her face.
She swirled the wine in her cup as she whispered into his ears, "What exactly are you planning to do?"
"Don’t be so impatient. You are about to find out." replied Christian. He finished up the red wine in his cup in one gulp.
At this moment, Wendy Stewart and Todd Lewis entered the room.
They didn’t mean to be late for the event. They had left home early but were still stuck in the traffic jam. Thank God they weren’t too late.
The focus was all on Yonina on the stage. No one seemed to notice their entrance.
Wendy and Todd quietly blended into the crowd.
But Christian was looking. His eyes had been running through the crowd, as though he was looking for something or someone.
The moment he saw Wendy and Todd coming in, his smile deepened.
Zen had been observing Christian.
She followed the direction of his gaze and saw Wendy.
She was shocked to see her here.
When did Wendy come back?!
Judging from Christian’s expression, he seemed to have known from the start that Wendy would return.
Zen looked around the crowd and spotted Michael Lucas with Winnie Quinn at a corner.
Did Michael know that Wendy was back?
Zen lowered her head. Many thoughts ran through her mind. She didn’t seem to understand Christian anymore.
Or should she say, she had never really known him?
Michael didn’t want Winnie to be here tonight.
But even after three days, she still remembered about this Collins party.
She had been kicking up a fuss about wanting to come the whole afternoon at home.
Without much choice, Michael had to pick her up from home after work to bring her to the ball.
She was already throwing a tantrum the whole afternoon. If he hadn’t brought her, who knows what else she might do?
Besides, the doctor had advised him to give in to her wishes as much as possible.
Otherwise, her condition might worsen.
Michael considered the matter. She should be fine as long as he was with her.
So his attention was on her throughout the night.
There were many people at the party - the CEOs of various companies, the top talents in different industries, etc.
Wendy and Todd submerged into the crowd. One of them took a cup of red wine from the waiter.
Wendy’s eyes were roaming around too. She was looking for Michael.
But there were far too many people there. And from her position, she had a limited view.
She couldn’t find Michael but Christian came along.
He appeared before Wendy and instantaneously, her smile disappeared.
"Wendy ..." Christian raised his cup as a toast to her. "Why didn’t you tell me that you are coming back? I could have gone to the airport to pick you up."
In the past, whenever Christian met Wendy, he would greet her as "sister-in-law".
But not sure from when, he had dropped the formality and now it’s just "Wendy".
Wendy was irritated but she couldn’t show it.
It was afterall the Collins party. It won’t be right to disrupt the event.
Wendy gave a polite smile and said, "It’s okay. We are not that close. You didn’t have to fetch me."
Wendy’s answer was polite yet distant.
Todd could hear the irritation in her voice. He stood in front of her, gave Christian a smiling toast, and said, "Corrine is with me. Don’t need to trouble yourself, Mr. Lucas."
"Alright, hope you will enjoy yourself tonight ..." Christian wanted to continue but he heard Yonina calling for him from the stage. "Next up, let’s welcome Mr. Lucas from DR Group to say a few words."
Christian put down his cup, gave both of them a nod, turned, and walked towards the stage.
Once he took the stage, he could see everyone clearly.
He could almost spot Wendy immediately from where he was standing.
Wendy took a look at Christian and turned to Todd with a frown, "This Christian is a dangerous man. Try to stay away from him if you can."
"I’ve heard some things about him," Todd confided, "He was the one that forced the Collins group to the brink of bankruptcy. Then he suddenly changed his mind and offered a marriage of convenience to save the company. His unpredictability indeed made him dangerous. But I must say, his ruthless way of doing things in the business world brings more success than those who keep their morals and play by the rules."
Wendy couldn’t refute that.
But what’s the point of making use of others to climb up the corporate leader? Could this be considered a real success?
"Wendy ..." Zen pushed through the crowd to get to her.
Wendy was not surprised at all to see Zen there.
"Did you just come back?" asked Zen Wendy simply replied, "Yes, this afternoon."
Their relationship was not as close as it used to be before.
The atmosphere turned solemn suddenly.
Zen asked sheepishly, "Then have you met Michael yet?"
Wendy shook her head.
"He’s over there. Shall we go over to say hi?" Zen pointed to the corner where Michael was standing.
Wendy walked towards the direction that Zen was pointing but couldn’t see anyone in the crowd.
As she made her way through the crowd, she spotted Michael.
But he was with Winnie.
She was in a hurry to get to him initially but upon seeing the sight, she stopped in her tracks.
Why was Winnie here?
Didn’t she have some mental health issues?
Surely she shouldn’t be showing up at such parties. It would not do her any good and people might gossip.
But since Winnie was here, it would be better for her not to meet Michael.
Winnie didn’t like her in the first place.
Her appearance might provoke her. It could make things worse.
It wouldn’t be advisable to make a scene at the party. Why should they make a fool of themselves?
Wendy took a good look at Michael. His attention was all on Winnie. He didn’t seem to be aware of anything else.
"Not going over?" Zen noticed that Wendy had stopped moving.
"No." Wendy shook her head.
Zen’s brows furrowed together. She couldn’t understand why Wendy stopped.
But since Wendy didn’t explain further, she wasn’t sure what to say.
Wendy turned and walked into the crowd again.
She had planned to just stay for a while and then leave the party quietly.
Who knew, she heard Christian calling out her name over the microphone.
Christian was standing with Yonina on the stage. He was addressing the crowd, "There are so many prominent people here today. It would be impossible for me to name them individually. But let me introduce some of the outstanding people in the various industry to you.
Here is Dr. Smith from the medical field. He is considered the leading doctor around the world.
Next, from the leading fashion company, HG group, we have Corrine Swift and her senior, Todd Lewis. If you are interested in these fields, do grab a chance to have a chat with them before the night is over!"
Wendy and Todd exchanged glances as they heard Christian. They seemed surprised.
"I don’t think we know each other that well," commented Todd with a frown on his face.
Wendy knew exactly what had just happened.
It would be suspicious to just mention her name so Christian had to include Todd too.
But why would he want to single her out on such an occasion?
The moment Christian paused, the spotlight came upon Wendy and Todd.
Michael had planned to let Winnie enjoy the party for a while and send her home. He was taken by surprise when he heard Wendy’s name being mentioned on stage.
He followed the direction of the spotlight and saw Wendy and Todd together.
The crowd had moved aside as the light came on the two of them which made it easy for Michael to spot them.
"Shall we put our hands together to welcome the two of them on stage to address us?" Christian did this on purpose.
Yonina had no idea about what Christian was planning but since he had made the announcement, she had to play along and get off the stage.
All the lights were now on Wendy.
Instantly, she became the centre of attention.
Even if she had wanted to reject the invitation, it was too late.
She glanced at Todd and feeling a little embarrassed.
Since there was no turning back, Todd offered his hand to Wendy to move forward.
Wendy forced a smile on her face, trying to look professional.
She put her hand in Todd’s and together, they walked towards the stage.
Wendy took a look around as she stood on the stage. Her glance was drawn to Michael who was standing at the corner.
Michael locked his gaze on Wendy and waved his hand at her.
Winnie saw him waving and stopped him. She asked angrily, "Who is she? Why are you waving to her?"
Michael tried to pacify her, "She’s nobody."
Winnie had selective memory. She had hated Wendy so much that she subconsciously erased all memories related to her.
Maybe this is not such a bad thing.
At least it’s better than her making a scene.
"Hello everyone, we are very grateful to Collins Group for inviting us here today," Todd addressed the crowd first, "Of course, Mr. Lucas had exaggerated. All the guests here are the real leaders in the various industries. Wendy and I are just ordinary people working for a living in the fashion industry. We shall not take up too much of your time. All the best to you."
Todd and Wendy gave a bow and left the stage.
They were definitely not the stars for tonight’s event.
It had taken them by surprise to be asked onto the stage.
Who knew what Christian was thinking?
For politeness sake, they just went on to the stage and said something.
Michael didn’t know that Wendy was back. Since he spotted her, his gaze had never left her.
He wanted desperately to go to her.
But looking at Winnie, he couldn’t help but be concerned.
To leave her alone in her state was not a good idea.
After some thought, he decided to call Wendy.
Wendy took out her phone from her bag as it rang.
The caller ID showed that it was Michael. She already knew what he was going to say.
It was very noisy at the party. Just when Wendy was about to pick up the call, Michael hung up.
He sent over a text instead.
Wendy read the message. Just as she had predicted, it was a request for her to go over to his side.
She returned her phone to her bag as she turned to Todd smilingly and asked, "I’m going over to look for Michael. Do you want to come along or ...?"
Of course, Todd knew his place. "It’s okay, you go ahead."
