Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 326

Noreen recognized the man at once—he was Castle Joyner’s assistant.

“Right this way, please.”

She followed him through the hall. When Noreen entered the VIP lounge, Castle was deep in conversation with a small group.

As soon as he spotted her, Castle stood up and walked over with a warm smile. “Miss Gilmore.”

The others rose in unison, their gazes drifting to Noreen. Everyone was silently speculating—who was this Miss Gilmore, and why was Mr. Joyner going out of his way for her?

“Good afternoon, Mr. Joyner.” Noreen offered her hand.

Castle shook it, still beaming. “I caught a glimpse of you earlier during the conference tour, but got pulled into a discussion and couldn’t break away. Now that things have wrapped up, I asked my assistant to find you.”

He almost sounded apologetic, and that only fueled the curiosity in the room. For Mr. Joyner to care this much, Miss Gilmore must be someone important.

“Didn’t expect to see you again so soon after our last meeting,” Castle continued, “Small world, isn’t it?”

He glanced at her with genuine interest. “Are you working on a game project yourself?”

Noreen nodded. “I am, but it’s still in its early stages. I’m mostly here to learn.”

“Perfect,” Castle said, turning to the others. “Let me introduce you to some veterans in the industry. You’ll learn a lot from them—they’ve seen it all.”

Then, raising his voice so the group could hear, he added, “Everyone, please look out for Miss Gilmore. Share your stories, your missteps—help her avoid the same pitfalls. It’s not easy building something from scratch, especially as a woman. If you can lend a hand, I’d appreciate it.”

There were murmurs of agreement. If Castle asked, no one would refuse.

After Castle invited her to sit down, the group genuinely began sharing their experiences—lessons learned, mistakes made, advice for someone new to the field.

When Bianca caught sight of Castle’s name card, her face lit up. Last time, Seth had tried to introduce her to Castle, hoping to help her make a valuable connection, but Noreen had somehow derailed the whole thing. Bianca had been stewing over that ever since.

Now, with a second chance in front of her, she was determined not to miss it. She leaned towards Seth, whispering, “Seth, why didn’t you tell me Mr. Joyner would be at the Game Developers’ Summit? I wasn’t prepared at all.”

Seth shrugged. “I just found out myself.”

Bianca narrowed her eyes, half-joking, “I thought you were keeping it from me on purpose.”

He laughed. “When have I ever kept anything from you?”

As they bantered, a staff member approached Bianca. “Miss Lowell, I’m so sorry, but there’s been a mix-up with your seat assignment. If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to the correct location.”

Bianca looked bewildered. “How did my seat get mixed up?”