Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 98

He really had left her with no way out.

No wonder–no wonder he’d agreed to her resignation so readily. He’d been planning for this all along.

This was his way of telling her: without Aurelion Group, without him, she was nothing.

He was trying to force her to come crawling back, to make her surrender and beg.

Seth had once said that without him, she’d be back within three days, begging for forgiveness.

If she had any less pride, maybe she would have.

But she’d told herself–she would never go back.

Not in her career.

Not in love, either.

Whatever doesn’t kill her would only make her stronger.

Noreen steadied herself and called Johnson, hoping to invite him out for dinner the next day.

He used to answer her calls almost instantly, but this time her phone rang and rang with no response.

It wasn’t even late; just past seven.

And Johnson was never the early–to–bed type.

If he wasn’t picking up, there was only one explanation: he was feeling the pressure from Seth as well.

Rivercrest City wasn’t that big, after all–who would risk offending the city’s new financial kingpin, just for her?

Noreen was just starting to feel defeated when Dylan’s name flashed on

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her screen.

She assumed it was just a check–in, but as soon as she picked up, Dylan

got straight to the point. “Heard you’re job–hunting?”

Noreen wasn’t surprised he’d heard–everyone in finance talked.

“That’s right.”

“Found anything good yet?”

He actually sounded genuinely concerned.

She could hear voices in the background, someone urging him to drink–clearly, he was at some after–hours gathering.

Dylan told them to wait, then returned to her, “Ever considered joining Omniva Group?”

The thought honestly hadn’t crossed her mind.

It wasn’t that she looked down on Omniva–just that it was a bank, and banking was a different beast from investment firms or private equity.

She wasn’t sure she’d be up to the challenge.

But right now, she was wavering. She was running out of options.

Dylan didn’t push for an answer. “No rush. Think it over and let me know when you’re ready. I need to get back to this dinner, so I’ll talk to you

later.”

“Okay.”

Whatever happened, she couldn’t help but feel grateful–Dylan was offering her a lifeline, not kicking her when she was down.

Unlike some people.

As Dylan ended the call and turned to head back to the private room, he nearly bumped into Bianca standing right behind him,

From the look on her face, she’d overheard every word.

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Bianca was the first to break the silence. “Dylan, you’re really thinking of hiring Noreen?”

He gave a casual, almost mocking shrug. “Why, are you going to police my business decisions too?”

Bianca frowned. “I don’t like her.”

“You don’t like a lot of people. Should I avoid all of them?”

“It’s different with Noreen. Dylan, do this for me, okay?”

It was rare for Bianca to sound so soft.

He didn’t budge. “Sorry, your requests only carry weight with Seth.”

Her expression darkened at that.

“So, what, are you jealous?” Bianca finally blurted out, remembering something Jude had said.

Dylan only laughed. “You’re overthinking. Noreen’s talented. Why wouldn’t I want her on my team?”

“That’s all it is?”

He shot back, “What else would it be?”

Despite all the years they’d dated, Bianca had never quite figured Dylan

out,

She still had no idea now.

Inside, in the private room, Healy was also chatting with Seth about Noreen’s job search.

“Heard you trashed Noreen in front of Sean today–really tore her down, huh?” Healy sounded positively delighted by the drama.