Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 181

Noreen handled Healy's questions with effortless poise, even managing to turn his words back on him with pointed questions of her own.

Now it was Healy's turn to be stumped.

The moment he caught the contempt in Noreen's eyes, he realized he'd just shot himself in the foot.

"Sorry for making you laugh, Ms. Gilmore. If it's convenient, could we exchange contact info? We can discuss the details of our collaboration later."

Healy pulled out his phone and held it out, clearly hoping to add Noreen's number.

The whole scene struck Noreen as oddly familiar.

She'd once stood in Healy's shoes—just as sincere, asking for his contact info.

What did he say back then?

"Sorry, I don't use WhatsApp."

But just minutes later, he was sending videos on WhatsApp to some new fling—right in front of her, like he didn't care if she felt humiliated.

Back then, out of respect for Seth, she'd let it pass.

But now…

Noreen lifted her teacup and took a slow, measured sip.

Healy waited, phone in hand, his expression earnest.

But Noreen only replied, "Sorry, I don't use WhatsApp."

Healy was speechless.

Chase opened his mouth, ready to jump in, but Wade stepped in first, skillfully steering the conversation toward the impact of artificial intelligence on global business, smoothly shifting to business models and strategies for coping with AI-driven changes.

After that, Healy never found another good opening.

Chase was getting desperate.

He threw his dignity to the wind and blurted out, "Ms. Gilmore, you look about the same age as my son. Do you have a boyfriend?"

Healy, who'd just taken a sip of tea, nearly choked.

Noreen, however, answered calmly, "I'm single at the moment."

Chase's eyes lit up with hope—until Noreen added, "But I'm afraid Mr. Naylor and I just don't click."

Just then, Seth and Bianca returned. Bianca took off her cap and sat down for a drink. Noticing Seth still had his cap on, she asked, "Why've you kept your hat on all day?"

Seth brushed it off. "Bumped my forehead, that's all."

"Let me see." Bianca sounded genuinely worried.

"It's nothing," Seth replied, gently refusing. "Just a scratch. It'll be fine in a couple of days."

He quickly changed the subject, turning to Healy. "So, who was the blind date with?"

Healy gave a wry smile. "Noreen."

Jude choked on his drink.

Seth's reaction was almost indifferent—calm, cold, as if the name meant nothing to him, as if not the slightest ripple disturbed his mind.

Instead, it was Dylan—quietly scrolling through his phone in the corner—who finally looked up and asked, "What's going on?"

Truth be told, Healy himself still hadn't processed it all.

He hardly knew where to begin. "Mr. Harcourt set it up. All the Rivercrest Chamber of Commerce board members were there. Oh, and your dad too," he added to Jude.