Chapter 290: The Banquet
Jordan’s gaze scanned the room without hesitation as he navigated the banquet, passing groups of people who greeted him in hushed voices.
“Mr. Cooper.” “Hello, Mr. Cooper.”
Jordan finally found his target and quietly whispered, “Wyatt, your wife is here.”
Wyatt happened to pass by Yunice, and as she looked up, their eyes met. She gave him a slight smile. The exchange was brief, and Wyatt turned away, walking out of the banquet hall in a good mood. As soon as he left, the chatter in the hall grew louder.
The men were busy flattering each other, talking about where they had met Wyatt before and how they had exchanged a few words with him. The women, on the other hand, focused on relationships, imagining when they might catch Wyatt’s eye.
Victor, who had been sitting close to Yunice, thought Wyatt would be upset seeing them so close. To his surprise, Wyatt didn’t seem to mind at all. This was beyond his understanding.
Victor turned his attention back to Yunice’s paper and was surprised to realize that Yunice hadn’t made a mistake on the problem. Her approach to solving it was unconventional, which was why he hadn’t noticed at first. He awkwardly said, “You have some interesting ideas.”
Jordan followed Wyatt, still thinking about the scene he had just witnessed—Yunice and Victor sitting together, heads close, talking.
“Wyatt, do you think it’s too much for Mrs. Cooper to work and study at the same time? Isn’t she getting too tired?”
Wyatt asked, “What are you trying to say?”
Jordan replied, “As your wife, shouldn’t her focus be on ensuring the quality of your life? She can’t keep working and studying like this… At her age, it would be better if she had children, right?”
Wyatt shot him a glance. “Are you trying to get me to say something?”
Isn’t it the best time for Yunice to do whatever she wants, regardless of her age?
Jordan laughed awkwardly. “I’m just trying to help you out. You’re not exactly highly educated, so you can’t help her with her studies, and someone else might take the opportunity to win her favor.”
A hint of romantic interest. This was a problem. He lowered his voice and added, “Victor may be like an older brother to her, but he’s still a man.”
Jordan thought he was being clear enough, but Wyatt didn’t seem to care at all. Wyatt adjusted his cufflinks, then mocked, “Do you think if she doesn’t like me, she’ll suddenly like Victor?”
Jordan had no words for Wyatt’s narcissism. He’d already given his warning, but Wyatt didn’t take it seriously. If someone else came along to steal his woman, he couldn’t complain.
Wyatt then asked, “Did you find the people I asked you to?”
Jordan responded, “They’re all in the banquet hall. As soon as they hear it’s an invitation from the Cooper family, they’ll come running.”
In the banquet hall, someone whispered, “Isn’t that Yunice? What’s she doing here at the Cooper family’s event?”
Yunice, with her keen hearing, caught the conversation and looked over. The two men didn’t bother to hide their gaze and looked down at her from their elevated position. Yunice frowned. It was really unfortunate to run into people she disliked in a professional setting.
The two men walked over with their glasses in hand. After seeing the table’s sign and realizing Yunice didn’t hold a high position, they straightened up even more.
“Ms. Saunders is really lucky to have gotten into the Cooper family’s project,” one of them said, raising his glass, signaling Yunice to drink.
Yunice raised an eyebrow, straightened her back, and gave them a defiant look.
Sure enough, the man was provoked by her boldness and was about to say something cold. But before he could, his companion grabbed him and whispered, “Don’t argue with her. This is a Cooper family event. If we cause trouble, we’ll be kicked out.”
They’d worked hard to get here, so it wasn’t worth ruining things over something small.
The man glared at Yunice angrily, then returned to his seat. With that disruption, Yunice lost interest in studying. She put away her iPad and started observing the other guests.
It was when she looked around that she realized just how many familiar faces were present. There were about seven or eight people who were mutual friends with Elsie, including some who had made things difficult for her the last time they were in the private room.
Is this a coincidence? Yunice felt a sense of unease, but considering how vast the Northvale project was and how many people were attending the banquet, running into a few familiar faces wasn’t that strange.
“Have you all heard about Henry?”
Yunice paid extra attention to them, so even though they were trying to keep their voices low, she could hear them clearly.
“Henry was bragging to me just a week ago about getting the Cooper family project. I was thinking of joining him, but now I’m glad I didn’t. If I had, I’d probably be sitting in prison with him right now.”