Never Forgive Never Forget (Celeste and Philip) novel Chapter 76

Celeste spun on her heel and walked away.

Philip, who had already planned to head to Duncan Group for a business meeting, strode forward and fell into step beside her.

"Celeste, did you deliberately badmouth me in front of Mr. Alfred? Are you trying to keep him from associating with me? Or are you just worried he'll find out about the thirteen years we spent together?"

She shot him a look. "Don't flatter yourself."

They stepped into the elevator together. Once the doors slid shut and they were alone, Celeste gave a sudden, bright laugh instead of snapping at him. "I'm just Alfred's side piece. Why would he care about my past?" Her tone was mocking. "If I can't get his attention, what makes you think my ex-boyfriend has any chance of worming his way up the ladder? You might want to give up on that ambition."

Philip's face went pale with humiliation.

The elevator stopped again.

What rotten luck—Beverly, arms full of files, walked in. She glanced at the two of them, then, with a pointed smile, held the elevator for the other employees to wait for the next one, stepping inside alone.

As soon as the doors closed, she turned to Philip with a cheery grin. "Mr. Robertson, surprised to see you without your girlfriend today. Didn't she usually accompany you to meetings?"

Philip answered quickly, "Viola's just my sister. My girlfriend is... someone else."

Celeste arched an eyebrow. Beverly hadn't even said a name—so how did Philip know she meant Viola? Apparently, their "inseparable duo" routine was common knowledge.

Beverly, hoping to annoy Celeste, was disappointed by Philip's hasty clarification. Well, that was no fun. She turned away, clearly bored with the game.

Silence fell in the elevator.

Celeste, on the other hand, was perfectly content to ignore the both of them. She had no interest in sparring with these two clowns.

When the doors opened on their floor, the three of them headed toward the conference rooms.

Their standoff attracted curious glances from employees down the hall. The whispering gave Celeste a headache. She hesitated, then decided to just play along and get it over with.

Philip and Beverly entered the conference room first. Celeste followed at last—

And found Herbert already sitting inside.

What was he doing here?

Herbert knew all about her history with Philip. The fact that he'd shown up early was a clear signal—he was here to make trouble.

Celeste's eyes swept across the table, icy and unimpressed. She had no patience for a circus of fools.

"Mr. Robertson," she said crisply, "since the head of Duncan Group himself is here to discuss the project, I'll leave the important negotiations to you. If you'll excuse me, I have other work to attend to. Enjoy your meeting, everyone."