Chapter 75

Victoria frowned slightly as she watched Elena, but didn't answer right away.

The others at the table noticed.

They were all good at reading people, and whatever Victoria's reaction meant, it certainly wasn't the pleasant surprise of seeing a friend. Whoever the woman was, she probably wasn't someone Victoria liked.

"Don't tell me she's one of those people who gets brought in just to take pictures and pretend she belongs here."

One of the young women gave a dismissive laugh. She wore a tweed jacket, with several Cartier bracelets stacked around her wrist.

"They let people like that in now? That's embarrassing."

Her gaze slid toward Elena.

"These wannabe socialites are getting shameless. Look at her. Window table, perfect view—I bet whoever she came with is already taking pictures for her. Then she'll post something like, 'Quiet little weekend,' or 'Just grabbed lunch somewhere,' and wait for everyone to ask where she is."

She put on an affected voice.

"'Oh, nowhere special. Just a little place I like.'"

The table erupted in laughter.

"That's painfully accurate."

"I hate that type. They can't get into places like this on their own, so they come as someone's guest, take a hundred pictures, and spend the next month pretending they live this way."

One of the men lifted his wineglass.

"And look at what she's wearing. The quality looks good, but there isn't a visible logo anywhere. That usually means one of two things—either she's rich enough that she doesn't need anyone to recognize the brand, or she bought a few convincing knockoffs and wants everyone to think she's too sophisticated to care about labels."

"My money's on the second one."

Another guest glanced toward Elena with open disdain.

"And people who actually live this way don't come here just to prove they were here. They certainly don't need the photos."

The laughter gradually died down, though several people continued stealing looks in Elena's direction.

Victoria hadn't joined in. She simply held her wineglass and listened.

"Victoria," one of the women finally asked, "do you actually know her?"

"Yes."

That immediately got everyone's attention.

"What's her background?"

"She goes to Westbridge," Victoria said. "Different program. And she's probably not here to take pictures for social media, so stop making things up."

Victoria knew enough about Elena's social media to know that much. Her account wasn't filled with staged visits to expensive restaurants or private clubs. Most of what she posted involved jewelry, cosmetics, and other things she liked.

"Oh. She's at Westbridge?"

Someone looked at Elena again with renewed curiosity.

"What does she study?"

Victoria paused.

"Dance."

Something subtle changed around the table.

Several people exchanged knowing looks.

"Dance…"

"An arts student. I see."

Ryan Foster, sitting near the corner, straightened slightly.

"Wait. Dance? Isn't that Adrian Cole's girlfriend?"

Unlike the others, Ryan already knew exactly who Elena was. Charlotte had spent half the morning crying to him about her.

The booth went quiet for a beat.

"Who's Adrian Cole?"

"You remember. The guy from—"

"Oh, him."

"Victoria invited him today too, actually. Something came up with his father's company, so he said he'd be late."

Adrian's family had money, but compared with most of the people sitting around this table, the Coles operated on a very different level. Before Victoria became friends with him, Adrian had never really belonged to their social circle.

"Ryan."

Victoria's voice was cool.

"Don't start. Ms. Hayes has made it very clear more than once that she and Adrian broke up. They're not together anymore."

Ryan gave a crooked smile.

"Right, right. I forgot."

Someone else frowned.

"But wasn't Adrian's girlfriend—sorry, ex-girlfriend—from a pretty ordinary family? How did she get into Greenfield?"

"That's the point."

Ryan leaned back in his seat.

"She obviously didn't get in on her own."

"Maybe she found herself a new sugar daddy," someone said. "Would explain why she was so willing to dump Adrian."

A few quiet laughs followed.

Victoria didn't respond.

Instead, she looked at Elena again, then at the man sitting across from her.

He wore an ordinary dark jacket. His posture was straight, his expression composed, and there was a restrained alertness about him that didn't fit the image of a wealthy businessman enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch.

"Who's the guy with her?"

"Her new sugar daddy?"

"No way. He looks more like a driver."

Someone snorted.

"So her sugar daddy sends a driver to babysit her instead of showing up himself?"

Victoria said nothing.

Her gaze returned to the man.

That face…

Something about him was familiar.

She searched her memory but couldn't place him.

If he had been anyone important, she would have remembered. More likely, she had seen him once at some event, standing behind a businessman or accompanying someone through a reception.

Her father employed several drivers himself, but Victoria knew the two she saw most often. This man looked nothing like either of them.

The possibility that he had anything to do with Richard never crossed her mind.

Victoria took another sip of wine and looked away.

Ryan's fingers stopped idly turning the stem of his glass.

His gaze settled on Elena's profile.

He remembered what Charlotte had told him that morning.

Then he raised a hand for one of the servers.

"Excuse me."

The server approached.

"A dark roast," Ryan said. "Freshly brewed."

"Of course, sir."

"And bring it out hot."

The server gave a professional nod.

"Certainly."

Victoria barely noticed.

Her thoughts had drifted back to yesterday's visit with her father—the ridiculous box of pastries, the way Richard had seen through her almost immediately, and the humiliation of realizing he knew she was lying.

The memory still made her uncomfortable.

For now, she could only tolerate it. One day, if she eventually took her place within Sterling Consortium, all the effort would have been worth it.

A few minutes later, the server returned with a steaming cup and placed it in front of Ryan.

Ryan looked down at it for a moment, then picked up the cup and rose.

"I'm going to say hello."

"Hm?"

Someone at the table laughed.

"Charlotte misses one outing and you're already hitting on another girl?"

As far as they knew, Charlotte simply had something else to do today.

And given Ryan's personality, no one found it strange that an attractive woman had caught his attention—especially one they assumed had no real background.

Ryan waved them off.

Then, carrying the hot coffee, he walked around the greenery and headed slowly toward Elena's table.