Chapter 460 - 456: How Did She Get In?

"Mr. Jennings."

Cecilia Sterling greeted him warmly, and Jasmine Sterling followed suit. "Mr. Jennings."

"This is just a lively charity event. No need to be so formal," Randall Jennings said softly. He then turned to introduce Megan Nash, who was beside him. "This is Ms. Sterling. I mentioned her when we were chatting earlier. She saved my life once."

"And this is her daughter, Cecilia. This young lady is incredible—the most promising young investor I know."

Megan Nash listened intently. She remembered Jasmine Sterling, having seen her from a distance at the restaurant during her blind date.

"Hello, Ms. Sterling. You look so young. If Mr. Jennings hadn’t told me, I would have thought you and your daughter were sisters," Megan Nash said with a smile.

Whether such words were sincere or just a compliment, the recipient was always pleased to hear them.

Jasmine Sterling smiled and quickly replied that she was flattering her. Cecilia, however, picked up on a subtle clue in her words. Seeing the woman affectionately linking arms with Mr. Jennings, she had initially assumed she was his girlfriend.

But she had just called him "Mr. Jennings," which suggested their relationship wasn’t as intimate as she had first thought.

’She must just be his date for the evening, then?’

A waiter walked over with a tray. Randall Jennings took two glasses of champagne and handed them to Cecilia and Jasmine. After inviting them to toast, he said, "Please, make yourselves at home. I’m going to go say hello to some friends."

Cecilia smiled and nodded, watching as Randall Jennings and Megan Nash walked off in another direction.

Only then did Jasmine Sterling lean in and whisper to her daughter, "That Miss Nash just now... she and Mr. Jennings met on a blind date."

"How do you know?" Cecilia asked, slightly surprised.

"Your Miss Monica and I happened to be at the same restaurant that day and saw them."

Cecilia understood. They met on a blind date, and now she was attending such an important event as his partner. They must be getting along very well. ’Their relationship might be about to take the next step,’ she thought.

"Well now, Miss Sterling! You’re here too!"

Soon, an acquaintance of Cecilia’s spotted her and came over to greet her. Cecilia quickly and naturally stepped forward to respond, "Director Cross, it’s been a while..."

Not far away, Mrs. Lane also saw Cecilia Sterling.

At first, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. It was only after staring for a moment that she confirmed the person chatting and laughing with Director Cross was indeed Cecilia.

"How did she get in?"

Mrs. Lane muttered to herself. Walter Lane, who was beside her, heard her and glanced over in confusion. "Who?"

"Cecilia Sterling." Mrs. Lane jutted her chin slightly in Cecilia’s direction, her tone filled with undisguised shock. "And it looks like Director Cross knows her quite well?"

Walter Lane followed her gaze, his dark eyes flickering with an inscrutable emotion.

Compared to his wife’s shock, he felt much calmer. That Cecilia Sterling had given him quite a few "surprises" already. At this point, nothing she did could truly surprise him anymore.

Mrs. Lane, however, started to move forward, but Walter Lane grabbed her arm to stop her.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

"I’m going over there to see!" Mrs. Lane said, gritting her teeth. "Just looking at her makes my blood boil!"

"Behave yourself. Do you know what kind of event this is?" Walter Lane warned in a low voice. Seeing Randall Jennings walking in their direction from afar, he added hastily, "Don’t cause trouble with her. We’re here to attend the event."

As he finished speaking, a smile already appeared on his face. "Director Jennings!"

"Director Lane, long time no see."

As Randall Jennings approached, Mrs. Lane quickly composed herself and greeted him with a smile.

The two companies didn’t have any deep collaborations, but the Lane Group was thriving in its own field, so Walter Lane held a respectable position at an event like this.

Though there was still a considerable gap compared to the Jandon Group.

The two men chatted casually for a moment when Mrs. Lane suddenly interjected, "Director Jennings, we’ve been using that cleaning company you recommended. Oh, it’s wonderful, so professional. Their business is just too good, though. Sometimes we can’t even get an appointment for a bi-weekly cleaning."

Walter Lane was taken aback, not expecting his wife to suddenly bring up such a topic.

Before he could react, however, Randall Jennings laughed. "Is that so? It’s a friend’s company, and as it happens, she’s here today too."

"Oh? In that case, Director Jennings, you must introduce us! Maybe I can pull some strings with her. It’s really so hard to get a booking," Mrs. Lane said, half-joking.

"No problem at all." Randall Jennings was more than happy to oblige. After all, he was always willing to lend a hand for anything that could benefit Jasmine Sterling.

He scanned the area briefly, then spotted Jasmine Sterling’s location. "She’s over there. Let’s go, I’ll introduce you."

With that, he started walking ahead.

Walter Lane frowned at his wife. "Why on earth did you bring up the cleaning company?"

"Didn’t you say that if we used the company Director Jennings recommended, we’d have another topic of conversation with him in the future? Well, here’s our chance!" Mrs. Lane felt she had done the right thing, even helping her husband forge another connection.

In any case, a friend personally introduced by Director Jennings must be an important one. It couldn’t hurt to get acquainted.

Jasmine Sterling was accompanying her daughter as she socialized. Seeing so many people of high social standing proactively greet her daughter, chatting and laughing with her, Jasmine felt an unconscious look of pride spread across her face just from watching on the sidelines.

Before, she had only a vague understanding of what her daughter did, her business dealings, and the friends she kept. She had no concrete picture of it all, nor had she ever had a chance to witness her daughter’s capabilities firsthand.

But today, attending an event like this with her daughter for the first time, she was truly seeing just how capable she was.

"Ms. Sterling!"

Randall Jennings had returned. Jasmine Sterling quickly responded, "Mr. Jennings."

"I’d like to introduce you to some friends."

As Randall Jennings spoke, Mrs. Lane had already extended her hand in greeting. "Hello, Ms. Sterling."

Seeing how forward and enthusiastic the other woman was, Jasmine Sterling reflexively extended her own hand. "Hello."

"Hello, Ma’am. My name is Walter Lane, Chairman of the Lane Group, and this is my wife." As he spoke, Walter Lane took out a business card and handed it to Jasmine Sterling.

Jasmine Sterling accepted it, a little bewildered. For a moment, she didn’t understand why Mr. Jennings would make such a point of introducing these friends to her.

Thankfully, she had also prepared business cards. She took one out and handed it to Walter Lane. "Mr. Lane, here is my card."

Cleanscape Housekeeping and Cleaning Services.

CEO, Jasmine Sterling.

"Oh, right, this is it! Ms. Sterling’s company is the one we’ve been using recently." Mrs. Lane looked at Jasmine and jumped in to speak. "Ms. Sterling’s company is very professional, just incredibly popular. I tried to make an appointment the other day—my goodness, I saw it’s nearly booked solid until the end of the year."

Mrs. Lane was surprisingly enthusiastic, her emotions on full display.

Just then, Cecilia Sterling came to Jasmine Sterling’s side. She noticed Shawn Lane’s parents standing opposite them, and a flicker of surprise crossed her face before she called out softly, "Mom."