Chapter 341

Thomas inwardly cursed, "This hypocritical bastard!"

Aiden was exactly like his father; if he didn’t want to help against the Reedshaws, he should just say so. Why twist the knife?

Anyone familiar with the Brown Group hospitals’ history knew their current scale was inextricably linked to the decline of Reedshaw medicine. If the Reedshaw Group hadn't undergone a transformation and successively closed its hospitals, how would he have gotten the chance?

Aiden wanted to provoke him into striking first? Well, he wouldn’t. He’d made inquiries. The Reedshaws recently invested in Jeremy’s research, and Jeremy wasn’t a traditional medicine practitioner. His research wasn’t much different from David’s. He believed Aiden would feel threatened! He’d wait and see how Aiden, the Brown Group heir, would handle it once the Reedshaw Group expanded.

Thomas, having figured this out, turned and picked up a glass of wine, his gaze sweeping over Josie Pearson with ill intent. "An orphan, huh? Easy target!"

"Miss Harding, care for a dance?" Aiden placed his glass on a nearby waiter’s tray and extended his hand to Zoey with a gentlemanly air.

A young lady of good breeding, out of courtesy, wouldn’t refuse a gentleman’s dance invitation, especially since the Brown and Harding families had some business dealings, and their elders viewed them favorably. Aiden was confident Zoey would agree, looking at her with utter assurance.

"Pass." Zoey smiled faintly. "Mr. Brown, please ask someone else. I’m with a friend."

She was indeed very polite – politely refusing.

Aiden’s expression darkened slightly, his gaze sweeping toward Josie, who was at her side. A trace of calculation flickered in his eyes. "Since you won’t, surely you won’t stop me from inviting someone else, right?"

He turned to Josie and said, "Josie, I haven’t seen you for a while, and you’ve become even more beautiful. This outfit suits you very well; you look just like a well-behaved and adorable princess! Would you like to dance with me?"

Aiden was brimming with confidence, even more certain Josie wouldn’t refuse than he had been about Zoey. After all, a country girl like Josie had never been to such an occasion. Plus, back in the team, Josie had been at his beck and call, her eyes full of admiration when she looked at him. Although there had been some discord between them earlier, he thought it was just Josie throwing a little tantrum to get his attention and make him come and coax her. As long as he lowered himself slightly, she would cling to him.

This was also the reason why he had previously been unwilling to show her any kindness within the team; someone like Josie, a country girl lacking self-awareness, could hardly be expected to understand appropriate boundaries. However, things were different now; in order to attract Zoey’s attention, he did not mind coaxing Josie. He seemed to have forgotten the incident back in school when the two of them stood together on the same side and ganged up on him.

Even Josie was utterly stunned by his sudden invitation. She pointed to her head and said, "Aiden, is there something wrong here? Have you lost your memory? But that shouldn’t be the case. Since you can call me by name, it seems you haven’t lost your memory."

Her expression turned cold. "Since you haven’t, how could you forget our relationship isn’t that good? At least from my perspective, I can’t dance with you."

Aiden was so furious that he could barely keep his composure. He could accept it if Zoey rejected him. But Josie, a country girl, dared to embarrass him? Did she really think he wanted to dance with her?

"Did you actually take it seriously?" Aiden offered a polite smile. "I assumed you wouldn’t dance, so I extended the invitation out of courtesy – to spare you from being left out and feeling awkward. After all, this is your first time at such an event. Probably no one has asked you to dance?"

This was blatant humiliation.