Chapter 14
“We knew each other as children.”
Eugene replied in a blunt voice. I slowly nodded, agreeing with him, while glancing over at Hayden’s face.
I worried that maybe, without his permission, dancing with another man might have hurt his feelings.
“Ah, Eugene Felterwins. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re the CEO of Winters, aren’t you?”
Hayden smiled calmly as he reached out his hand to Eugene. Eugene glanced at his hand, then gave a curt nod.
“Yes. I suppose so.”
“As the rumors say, you’re quite a serious man. I’m Hayden Wolfhaze, the CEO of Wolfhaze & Co.”
Hayden repeated his introduction as if to make sure it was heard. Only then did Eugene reluctantly take his hand for a shake.
Despite Eugene’s rather haughtiness, Hayden maintained his gentle smile.
“I heard it’s almost impossible to get an appointment with you unless it’s an extremely important contract. It’s an honor to meet you like this. People say you have an excellent business sense.”
“It’s nothing special.”
Eugene accepted the compliment with shameless composure.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you this way, so why don’t we have a drink together?”
“Hm… I don’t know. I didn’t come here to talk business.”
“Oh. Then, as the rumors say, is it because of marriage…?”
For just a moment, Eugene’s eyes lingered on me. Unable to hide my embarrassment, I avoided his gaze and lowered my eyes.
“…Now that you mention it, I suppose you’re right. It must be fate, meeting like this.”
With a natural gesture, he signaled to a passing waiter. The waiter brought over two glasses of champagne and two of whiskey.
“Let’s have a drink together.”
Eugene took the glasses and handed them to us. Over his usual indifferent expression, a smile appeared like a mask.
Almost as if under a spell, we each took the glass he offered.
“Honestly. I still haven’t forgotten the humiliation you gave me earlier,” Chloe grumbled.
Eugene smiled gently and gave her a slight bow.
“My apologies, my lady. Had I known you were an acquaintance of Winter’s, I wouldn’t have acted that way. There have just been so many ladies trying to talk to me tonight that I’ve grown a bit tired.”
With Eugene’s courteous apology, Chloe’s expression softened. There was no real need for a nobleman to apologize so sincerely to a commoner, but Eugene seemed not to care about such things.
Chloe still kept a slightly sulky expression, but nodded, her cheeks flushed.
“I understand. That can happen.”
His proper manners had a way of making the other person feel like a better version of themselves. Just a few minutes before, he’d been cold and distant, but now he was completely different.
“Thank you for understanding.”
When Eugene smiled, Chloe’s face grew even redder.
At that moment, Hayden’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. Because I’d been watching him so closely, I noticed the subtle change immediately.
“By the way, is there any special meaning behind your company’s name? Since you said you know Winter, I’m especially curious.”
Hayden asked as he gently wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“Who knows.”
Eugene casually brought the whiskey glass to his lips and tilted his head.
His violet eyes, half-hidden by long lashes, swept over me.
“There’s no particular meaning. I just like winter.”
“That’s unusual. I actually can’t stand winter. I get cold so easily.”
At those words, the strength suddenly left my hand, which was holding the champagne glass.
The glass slipped from my grasp, spilling its contents onto the floor. Champagne splattered over my ivory dress.
“Oh!”
“Oh my, Winter! Are you alright?”
My face flushed with embarrassment as I hurried to brush the champagne from my dress.
“Yes, there was a reason for it.”
Searching for something to wipe with, my eyes landed on Eugene’s mischievous smile.
When our eyes met, Eugene winked at me. Startled by his smile, I quickly looked away.
“Here, Winter. Use this.”
Just then, Chloe found some tissue and handed it to me.
Fortunately, since the dress was a light color, after wiping away the liquid, not much of a stain remained.
I pressed my heated cheeks with the back of my hand and straightened up.
“I’m glad it’s not very noticeable, Winter,” Chloe said, sounding worried.
“Yeah. My hand just went weak for a moment…”
I murmured quietly. I worried for a second that it might seem strange for my hand to suddenly go weak, but nobody said anything about it.
“Miss Chloe Bennett?”
As the small commotion died down, a man in the livery of a palace attendant approached Chloe.
“Yes, that’s me?” Chloe tilted her head and replied.
The man presented a silver tray to her. On the tray was a gift, a little larger than the palm of a hand.
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