Boss, Your Ex-Wife is Unreachable Now! novel Chapter 259

Juliette had gone out alone for drinks at a quiet bar before, but this was her first time at a high-end business club like Silverton. She snapped an artful photo of her cocktail and posted it to her social feed—no caption, just the image, moody and evocative.

As fate would have it, Lionel Scott was also at Silverton that evening, wining and dining clients. When Juliette’s photo popped up on his feed, he stared at it for a while, expression unreadable. Instead of hitting “like,” he went straight for the comments: *Where are you out drinking tonight? All by yourself?*

Lionel had asked Juliette out for drinks before, but she’d turned him down flat. “I don’t go drinking with men,” she’d said. After that, he never brought it up again.

Given the uncomfortable falling-out they’d had just that past Saturday, Lionel doubted Juliette would reply.

Meanwhile, across the club in a private suite, Juliette barely had time to put her phone away before a colleague dragged her off for karaoke. She didn’t see Lionel’s comment at all.

Half an hour passed. Lionel, distracted, kept checking his phone—no response, just as he’d expected.

Tonight, he was at Silverton to discuss a potential resort hotel partnership with two real estate moguls. They’d even hired a hostess to pour drinks and keep the mood light.

Noticing his distraction, the hostess tried to keep his glass full at all times.

Lionel could hold his liquor—he wasn’t exactly invincible, but it was rare for anyone to drink him under the table. Since Saturday, though, he’d been in a sour mood, so he didn’t refuse the drinks she offered. Glass after glass disappeared.

“Mr. Scott, you really can handle your liquor! Just like your father,” Mr. Clarke, one of the real estate bosses, said with a hearty laugh, laying on the flattery.

This dinner had been arranged by the two developers, hoping to butter up Silverton’s “prince” and get him to consider their land for his next big project.

Because the meeting was informal—just a first contact—Lionel hadn’t bothered bringing his assistant or secretary. He’d come alone.

At Mr. Clarke’s remark, Lionel finally set down his glass, his eyes lighting with a polite smile. “You flatter me. Compared to you two, I’m still learning the trade.”

He nodded for the hostess to pour more drinks for the other two men.

He’d assumed that since Lionel had come alone, he wasn’t planning to talk business tonight.

Lionel didn’t bother with small talk. He simply held up one finger, lips curling in a half-smile. “A ten percent concession. That’s all I want.”

He glanced between them. “Straightforward, isn’t it?”

Mr. Caldwell’s plump face broke into a hopeful grin. “One percent?”

“No.” Lionel shook his head. “Ten.”

The smiles on Caldwell and Clarke’s faces vanished in an instant.