Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Missing Her After Only Half an Hour Apart

In an instant, all eyes were on Claire Kendall.

She had come straight from her shop, Moonstone, without dressing up.

In a short-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, her hair casually tied up, she looked a bit disheveled and out of place compared to the elegantly dressed people in the private room.

"Claire, there’s a spot over here!"

Dawn, a girl with an oval face, waved enthusiastically. She had been Claire Kendall’s deskmate in middle school.

"Long time no see, Dawn."

Dawn said excitedly, "Claire, you haven’t changed a bit! You’re just as beautiful as you were back then. Our campus belle, through and through."

A sarcastic voice cut in.

"I mean, really, Dawn. The Kendall family’s gone bankrupt. What’s the point of sucking up to her now?"

At the head of the table, a woman in a tight red dress covered her mouth as she laughed, deliberately showing off a huge diamond ring on her finger.

It was Joanne Sutton. Back in the day, she had always targeted Claire Kendall because of some unofficial campus belle ranking.

’It’s been so many years,’ Claire thought. ’I can’t believe she’s still holding a grudge over something so trivial.’

Claire remained composed, pulling Dawn to sit down with a calm and dignified air.

"It’s just friendship between classmates. What does that have to do with sucking up?"

"We’re all gathered here today. Surely it’s not to suck up to Ms. Sutton, is it?"

"Heh, sharp-tongued, aren’t we," Joanne sneered.

It was a minor interruption. The twenty-odd people at the table paid it no mind and continued their lively conversations.

Dawn hesitated, then asked with concern, "Claire, about your father’s bankruptcy..."

"It’s nothing," she cut in, her smile calm and relaxed. "His debts have nothing to do with me."

"I’m running a clothing design studio now in The Keystone Building. Why don’t you bring your daughter by sometime? I can customize some matching mother-daughter outfits for you two! The shop happens to be looking for models."

"Oh, yes, I’d love that!" Dawn nodded repeatedly.

Joanne overheard and immediately raised an eyebrow, eager to pour cold water on the conversation.

"Clothing design? So you sell clothes. Claire, I’m not trying to criticize, but you went to a prestigious university just to end up doing *this*?"

"How’s business? If you can’t make ends meet, I can have my husband stop by your shop. He can order some work uniforms for his factory employees, you know, to help you out."

Her voice was sharp, and she deliberately raised it.

"Old classmates should help each other out, right? I’m treating everyone to dinner today. This table alone costs at least a hundred thousand, but my husband says what’s most important is that everyone’s happy."

"Order whatever you like. Don’t be polite with me."

A chorus of agreement rose from the private room.

"Joanne is so generous!"

"Yeah, really! Marrying well makes all the difference."

"It makes me so jealous. I’m just not that lucky."

Joanne beamed at the flattery, practically giddy with delight. Her gaze drifted, intentionally or not, toward Claire Kendall.

Claire kept her head down, not even looking at her. ’This is so childish and boring,’ she thought.

Dawn, sitting beside her, thought she was upset. After all, before their bankruptcy, the Kendall Family had been on par with the Sinclair Family.

Dawn patted her hand. "Claire, as long as we live our own lives well, that’s enough. Contentment brings happiness."

Claire nodded and focused on her meal.

Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Miles Warren.

[Are you eating? Don’t have anything spicy. Your wound hasn’t fully healed yet.]

A sweet smile touched Claire’s lips: [I know, Dr. Warren.]

"Ooh, Claire, what’s with the happy smile? You must be texting your boyfriend, right?"

Joanne’s interest was piqued.

"Have any pictures? What does he do? How much does he make? Let’s have a look."

Claire didn’t answer. She wasn’t about to use Miles Warren as a topic of conversation for comparison.

Seeing her silence, Joanne grew even more persistent.

"Don’t tell me his situation is so bad you’re ashamed to talk about him?"

Dawn couldn’t help but retort, "Joanne, we’re all classmates. Give it a rest."

"I’m just concerned about her, aren’t I? My husband is rich; he can help her..."

Claire ignored her and continued eating, thinking this class reunion was utterly and completely boring.

[Dr. Warren, listening to people show off their wealth is making my ears sore.]

[Want to leave then?]

[Let’s wait a little longer.]

’Dawn is still here. I can’t just leave while she’s getting bullied.’

A moment later, the door to the private room was pushed open.

A waiter in a black uniform and white gloves walked in, pushing a serving cart. On the cart was a bottle of chilled red wine.

"Pardon the interruption. A wine delivery."

Joanne was the first to react. She stood up and sauntered over, swaying her hips. "It must be from my husband. He knew I was eating here and had someone send wine over."

She paused, looking at the all-foreign text on the wine bottle.

"What kind of wine is this?"

The waiter replied, "Romanée-Conti, 1990."

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone’s eyes widened. Even those who didn’t know wine had heard the name. A top-tier Romanée-Conti started at a minimum of one million per bottle.

Joanne was stunned too. Her husband had some money, but a million for a single bottle of wine...

"Joanne, your husband is too good to you!"

"Now *that’s* what you call real money!"

Her smugness returned. "Business has probably just been really good lately."

She reached for the wine, but the waiter blocked her with his hand. "My apologies, but this wine is not for you. It was sent by a gentleman for this young lady."

The waiter pushed the cart over to Claire Kendall’s side. "The gentleman said that if you are feeling particularly bored, you could try this wine to liven things up."

Everyone’s gaze converged on Claire Kendall.

Joanne was mortified. "There must be a mistake! How could *she* possibly afford a bottle like this?"

The waiter repeated, "There is no mistake."

Claire knew it was from Miles Warren. She asked the waiter to pour the wine for everyone to share and have a taste.

Joanne shoved her glass away. "I’m not drinking it. I wouldn’t touch wine she got from sleeping with some old man. It’s filthy!"

Claire’s expression didn’t change. She swirled the wine in her glass. "Were you hiding under my bed to see it? On the other hand, your husband... if I recall correctly, he must be almost fifty, right?"

Joanne’s hands trembled with rage, leaving her speechless.

She lowered her gaze and sent a message to Miles Warren.

[Thanks for helping me show off, Dr. Warren.]

He replied instantly.

[Show off all you want. That’s the one thing our family doesn’t lack.]

In the private room next door, Miles Warren looked down at the message on his phone screen, the corners of his lips curling into a smile.

Everyone at his table was treading carefully, watching his expression. They were all hoping Miles Warren would give them the green light and invest in their projects. A word from Miles Warren was as good as a word from Louis Warren.

"Mr. Warren, why don’t we ask Ms. Kendall to come over? They’ve been at it for a while over there; it should be winding down soon."

"Mm, I’ll ask."

Miles Warren readily agreed. Even though they had only been apart for half an hour, he already missed her a little.

In the wine-scented private room, someone suggested playing a game to ease the tense atmosphere. They would spin an empty bottle; the person the mouth pointed to would receive a punishment, and the person the bottom pointed to would assign the task.

After a few rounds, there were punishments like doing frog jumps and singing songs...

On the next spin, the mouth of the bottle landed on Claire Kendall, while the bottom pointed squarely at Joanne Sutton.

Joanne was thrilled. Her eyes darted around, and she spoke with a vicious tone, "Claire Kendall, I want you to go to the private room next door and get a man’s WhatsApp!"

The crowd fell silent, a collective gasp rippling through the room.

This was The Sovereign Hotel. When they had passed by the room next door earlier, they had seen the important people inside—all of them were either rich or noble.

Rushing in to ask for a WhatsApp contact? That would definitely offend someone, and powerful people at that!

"Joanne, that’s not appropriate," Dawn immediately tried to stop her.

"What does this have to do with you? Your husband still works at my husband’s company. What right do you have to speak?"

Claire’s phone vibrated. It was a message from Miles Warren.

[Are you done? Come over.]

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