Chapter 584
Chapter 584:
At John’s signal, two bodyguards swooped in, seized Steven and Hildegarde by the arms, and dragged them out of the room.
Silence descended like a heavy curtain.
Some of the party guests exchanged wary looks, but one person in particular—Maxwell Torres—quickly sprang into action.
He sidled up to Yelena, grinning a little too broadly. “Yelena, I’ve always known you’re the brightest in our class. And now that I see how close you are with Mr. Barton, well… could you maybe p>
He couldn’t have been more obvious. His scheme was practically tattooed on his forehead, so painfully transparent that anyone could have seen through it. Yelena read him like a children’s book in seconds.
“Sorry, but Mr. Barton only hires based on actual skill. If you’re asking me, the assembly line might be more your speed p>
John couldn’t hold back a snort.
After all, Barton Group wasn’t some dumping ground for desperate opportunists.
Austin’s expression softened just a fraction as he regarded Yelena, though a flicker of something unreadable lingered in his eyes. Then, with the commotion behind them fading fast, he and Yelena turned and walked away.
After Maxwell’s blatant misfire, everyone else kept their thoughts to themselves. They stood by, deflated, as Yelena and Austin made their exit. But at the doorway, Yelena halted and looked over her shoulder at Nicole.
“Nicole, aren’t you coming?” she called out brightly.
Nicole, still wide-eyed from the spectacle, finally snapped back to reality. Her foot inched forward, only to stop as if it had hit an invisible wall. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, gave Yelena a gentle smile, and murmured, “I think I’ll pass p>
Under normal circumstances, going out to eat with a friend—especially a former classmate—would have been easy. But nothing about Yelena seemed “normal” anymore.
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She was rubbing elbows with Austin Barton, for goodness’ sake. Where did that leave someone like Nicole, an ordinary woman with ordinary ambitions?
Before Nicole could barely muster a polite refusal when Yelena lunged forward and grabbed her hand. “Come on! Even if you plan to disappear off the face of the earth after this, you can at least have dinner with me, right p>
Nicole, caught off guard, blinked. “That’s not what I— I didn’t mean—” She hadn’t intended to avoid Yelena. She just couldn’t shake her insecurities, the nagging worry that Yelena might see her as too insignificant.
“As long as you want, we’ll always be friends,” Yelena reassured her.
A tide of emotion rose in Nicole’s chest, and her eyes burned with the threat of tears. She nodded quickly—maybe a bit too quickly. “Yes. Of course p>
They had dinner. Nicole did her best to enjoy it, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being out of place.
Despite Yelena’s clear attempts to keep the conversation light, Nicole’s own self-doubt put up a wall she couldn’t quite scale.
When they finished, Nicole scribbled her number on a scrap of paper and passed it to Yelena before hurrying off.
She told herself she was just tired, but in truth, she felt a little overwhelmed.
Alone once more, Yelena pulled out her phone and dialed Brody. She knew she couldn’t just throw money or flashy gifts at Nicole—her friend would see it as an act of pity and run for the hills. Still, if there was a way to discreetly help Nicole along, Yelena wanted to explore it.
Yelena ended the call and exited the room—only to find a dark silhouette crossing her path without warning.
Yelena arched an eyebrow as she caught sight of Austin still waiting in the hallway. “Well, color me surprised, Mr. Barton. I thought you’d be long gone by now p>
He shrugged, visibly unamused by her formal greeting. Respecting her privacy, he had stayed behind when she mentioned dinner with her friend. Yelena had assumed that, with Austin’s packed schedule, he’d leave while she and Nicole spent a good few hours eating and chatting.