Chapter 140

Everett's voice cut through the hum of computers. "Do you know that woman?"

At the mention of Camille, Selene's fingers froze mid-keystroke. Her first thought was that Everett might be interested in her.

Camille was undeniably stunning. But remembering the auction whispers and Everett's current tone, Selene realized her mistake.

She kept her face blank. "Not really. Why?"

Everett gestured toward Camille and Gabriel. "The way she talks with Gabriel - she seems competent."

Selene shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Heard she only has a bachelor's degree."

"Just a bachelor's?"

"Mhm."

That explained everything. With lower qualifications than Selene and none of her striking presence, Camille's insecurity about Gabriel made perfect sense.

Everett could sympathize with her fear of losing Gabriel.

But turning every accomplished woman into competition? Assuming they all wanted to steal her man? That was pathetic.

His neutral opinion of Camille soured into mild distaste.

Across the room, Gabriel finally had a free moment. His gaze drifted through the glass partition to Everett and Selene in the conference room.

After watching them for several seconds, he leaned close to Camille. "Everett likes Selene?"

Camille was deep in data analysis. It took her a second to process the question. "Probably."

She genuinely didn't care. After answering, she pulled Gabriel back to work with a sharp tug. "Focus."

The sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave.

Gabriel smirked. "Poor taste." That ended his gossip session.

Everett noticed Gabriel looking their way and assumed he was watching Selene. When Camille frowned and pulled Gabriel away, he thought she was jealous of his attention toward Selene.

Selene hit a technical snag and paused.

She considered asking Gabriel for help, but when she looked over, he and the Vertex Dynamics engineers were all listening intently to Camille.

Their rapt attention made Camille look like some tech genius.

Selene quickly looked away.

Camille and Gabriel worked straight through until 5:30 pm before finally wrapping up.

Roland invited them into the conference room for a break and some water.

Meanwhile, the contract between CodeFlux and Vertex Dynamics had been finalized.

Seeing Everett's team had also finished, Roland suggested, "It's getting late. Dinner together?"

Everett's interest sparked as he glanced at Selene.

Selene pretended not to notice. "Sorry, Damien is picking me up from Calder Group. We have plans. Enjoy your meal."

With Selene declining, Everett lost all interest. "I've got things to handle too. Rain check."

Selene showed no reaction, though she'd expected this.

Gabriel observed everything, now certain Everett liked Selene.

It was obvious Everett only backed out because Selene wasn't going.

With both refusing, Roland turned awkwardly to Gabriel. "Mr. Ashcroft?"

Gabriel clinked his teacup against Camille's with a grin. "We're free, right, Belle?"