Chapter 22 10.47 % +23 ) Fred glanced at his dad and replied to Octavia , Lets not bother him .
He must be in the middle of some business .
Octavia hummed as she looked at the group of them at the entrance .
Then she looked at Tommys car .
It was worth close to a hundred thousand dollars .
Their family finances far exceeded her own , so Octavia wasnt surprised that Joycelyn would be interested in him .
She made another suggestion .
How about having dinner with your dad later then ? Sure , Ill ask him later , Fred was willing to accommodate Octavias every need .
Youre so good to me , Octavia cooed as she gave Fred a kiss .
Fred smiled so widely that his eyes narrowed into slits .
Although Fred was only twenty five years old , his life of comfort and ease had made him pudgy .
He was also lacking in the looks department , but his family was loaded , so Octavia put up with him .
At the very least , Fred was young .
She pitied Joycelyn , who was only capable of seducing ugly old men , Comparing the father and son , Octavia believed she had landed the better catch and that soothed her vanity and ego greatly .
Soon , the trio of ladies entered a private dining room in the hotel restaurant with their associates .
Linda greeted all the directors once again and invited them to take a seat .
She had deliberately arranged for Joycelyn to sit next to Tommy .
Joycelyn , you and Mr.
Cross seem to have hit it off well , so do have a good chat with him about our project , Linda had a warm look on her face , but her tone was more commanding than encouraging .
Sure , Joycelyn replied , ready to retrieve the folder from her bag and get down to business .
Tommy took his seat and looked Joycelyn up and down with his narrow eyes .
Although Joycelyn dressed modestly , Tommy had seen his fair share of women , and he could tell from Joycelyns smooth , porcelain skin that she was ravishing .
Your name is Joycelyn , right ? Anyone can see that youre inexperienced at this game .
We havent even had any drinks yet , and youre already preparing to talk shop , Tommy chided while reaching his hand out to cover Joycelyns .
Joycelyn quickly pulled her hand back to avoid his touch .
Youre right , Mr.
Cross .
How rude of me .
No worries .
Im in a generous mood today .
Lets see you down a couple of shots first to apologize , Tommy said , pretending to be magnanimous .
I drove here today , so I cant drink .
Ill have a soda instead if youll allow it , Joycelyn explained .
Right on cue , Aurelia brought a glass of soda over for her .
Looking at Tommy , Aurelia said , Mr.
Cross , I heard youve been interested in working with the Grant Group for a while .
Its obvious that you have a good instinct for business .
Out of all the potential enterprises , Joycelyn had picked out your company to form a joint venture agreement .
This isnt just the work of fate but Joycelyn toiling away behind the scenes to make all this possible .
She stood between Tommy and Joycelyn with the glass of soda , singing Tommys praises and complimenting his successful business .
Tommy was incredibly pleased and he began to beam with pride .
The other business directors all nodded and smiled in agreement .
Joycelyn drank her soda , and soon , the servers began to enter the private dining room with various dishes .
Linda saw that Joycelyn wasnt making any attempts to socialize so she whispered in her ear , Cant you tell that Mr.

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Cross is 178 47 % 12:56 Mon , Feb 10 e Chapter 22 interested in you ? As long as you take some initiative , youll be able to renegotiate the project .
Plus the man is an eligible bachelor worth millions of dollars .
Dont waste this opportunity ( 23 As she said so , she topped up Joycelyns glass with soda .
Secretly , though , shed also mixed in some vodka .
Linda knew that Joycelyn wasnt a good drinker .
If she could make Joycelyn drink this , the deal would be in the bag .
Aurelia , head to the kitchen and instruct them to serve the seafood specials .
Theyre taking too long , Linda instructed , attempting to distract her .
Aurelia turned to Joycelyn and said , Ill get the kitchen to speed things up .
Lets finish this discussion early and head home .
Joycelyn nodded in understanding .
Linda waited for Aurelia to excuse herself , then pulled Joycelyn into a toast with all the business directors .
Joycelyn raised her glass .
Everyone was in high spirits .
As Joycelyn brought the glass closer to her mouth , she caught a whiff of a strong smell of alcohol .
Drink up .
If you dont , youll ruin everyones mood , Linda hissed .
Joycelyn pursed her lips and forced herself to drink .
She could only manage to finish half of it .
The smell was one thing , the taste was a whole different matter .
Her throat and stomach burned .
Joycelyn coughed a few times and excused herself to go to the restroom , taking her phone with her .
She knew she had been set up by Linda .
As she walked , she could feel her legs start to give way .
She felt as if the ground was giving way beneath her .
Shed barely made it to the restroom when a person suddenly held on to her .
She thought it was Aurelia , but it turned out to be Octavia instead .
Joycelyn immediately put her guard up .
What are you doing here , Octavia ? she asked .
Joycelyn , youre drunk , Octavia said in mock concern .
Her eyes kept darting to the entrance of their dining room .
She had been hanging around the area waiting for an opportunity to present itself , and now it had .
Shed watched Joycelyn as she stumbled out of the dining room , and Tommy had soon followed after her .
Oh , Mr.
Cross , are you looking for my sister ? Octavia called out to Tommy in a sweet voice .
Upon hearing the question , Joycelyn fought back her giddiness to frown at Octavia .
Let go of me , she said sternly as she tried to break free from Octavia .
Tommy walked up to them but didnt recognize Octavia .
Octavia ignored Joycelyn as she pushed her into Tommys arms .
Mr.
Cross , my sister had a bit too much to drink .
She was waiting for you here .
And you are ? Tommy asked .
Im Freds girlfriend .
Ive seen you on the news before but I cant believe I have the honor of seeing you in person today , Octavia gushed like a starstruck teenager .
Tommy fell for it hook , line and sinker , beyond pleased with himself .
As soon as Joycelyn got close to Tommy , her instincts to resist kicked in .
She didnt mind falling onto the floor instead of into Tommys arms .
She was determined not to let him touch her .
Joycelyn bit down hard on her tongue to keep her mind clear asong as she could .
In that moment , without hesitation , she 2/3 12.56 Mon , Feb 10 Chapter 22 took her phone out and called Ellison .