Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 296

Noreen agreed without hesitation.

After she left, Hugh Summers turned to Castle. “Seems like Mr. Joyner is quite impressed with Ms. Gilmore.”

Castle didn’t bother to hide it. “She’s sharp and has vision—a rare talent in business. By the way, where did she work before?”

Hugh replied, “She was at Aurelion Group, but just as Seth’s assistant. A real waste of her abilities.”

Castle paused in surprise. “He just let someone that talented go?”

“Maybe Seth never realized what she was capable of,” Hugh speculated.

But Castle shook his head. “From what I know of Seth, there’s no way he’d overlook real talent. If he couldn’t spot that, Aurelion Group wouldn’t be what it is today.”

After a moment’s thought, Hugh decided to share a piece of gossip he’d heard. “I heard Noreen and Seth had a thing in the past, but she didn’t have much of a background. In the end, Seth chose Bianca. She’s Forrest’s daughter—Forrest just got promoted to deputy director last year.”

With that, Castle understood.

Sometimes, where you come from matters more than how hard you work.

Men tend to weigh their options.

…

On the drive home, Carman finally voiced a question that had been nagging at her all evening.

“At the dinner, Mr. Joyner from NaviTech seemed really impressed when he heard about Bianca’s education. But then suddenly his attitude cooled. What happened?”

He hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, so it puzzled him.

Noreen explained, “Mr. Joyner, along with his father and grandfather, are all known for their patriotism. Earlier, Bianca brought up the Aeterna Industries port sale deal—that hit a nerve for him. I’m guessing he only kept his cool out of respect for Seth; otherwise, he might have shown her the door.”

“You have to understand, those ports Aeterna sold are crucial to our country. Castle would naturally be furious, so it’s no wonder his attitude changed.”

Noreen had learned about Castle’s background from Seth himself.

Back when Seth hit a wall investing in chip tech, he’d had to fly out to Harborview City to ask the Joyner family for help. That’s how he survived the crisis.

She must have been exhausted; she fell asleep in the passenger seat on the way back.

When they reached her building, Carman couldn’t bring himself to wake her.

She worked so hard every day—she deserved this rare bit of rest.

Besides, only when she was asleep could he watch her freely, without restraint.

But the close, quiet space made him uneasy; his heart raced, and every breath felt heavy.

Forcing down his restless feelings, Carman quickly opened the door and stepped out into the night.

Not far away, inside a silver-roofed Maybach, Seth sat expressionless, his eyes cold and unreadable.

He gave Zachary a curt order. “Drive into them.”

Zachary was stunned.