Ellison And Joycelyn: A Love Beyond The Rules

Chapter 22

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Fred glanced at his dad and replied to Octavia, “Let’s not bother him. He must be in the middle of some business.”

Octavia hummed as she looked at the group of them at the entrance. Then she looked at Tommy’s car. It was worth close to a hundred thousand dollars. Their family finances far exceeded her own, so Octavia wasn’t surprised that Joycelyn would be interested in him.

She made another suggestion. “How about having dinner with your dad later then?”

“Sure, I’ll ask him later,” Fred was willing to accommodate Octavia’s every need.

“You’re so good to me,” Octavia cooed as she gave Fred a kiss. Fred smiled so widely that his eyes narrowed into slits.

Although Fred was only twenty–five years old, his life of comfort and ease had made him pudgy. He was also lacking in the looks department, but his family was loaded, so Octavia put up with him.

At the very least, Fred was young. She pitied Joycelyn, who was only capable of seducing ugly old men, Comparing the father and son, Octavia believed she had landed the better catch and that soothed her vanity and ego greatly.

Soon, the trio of ladies entered a private dining room in the hotel restaurant with their associates. Linda greeted all the directors once again and invited them to take a seat. She had deliberately arranged for Joycelyn to sit next to Tommy. “Joycelyn, you and Mr. Cross seem to have hit it off well, so do have a good chat with him about our project,” Linda had a warm look on her face, but her tone was more commanding than encouraging.

“Sure,” Joycelyn replied, ready to retrieve the folder from her bag and get down to business.

Tommy took his seat and looked Joycelyn up and down with his narrow eyes. Although Joycelyn dressed modestly, Tommy had seen his fair share of women, and he could tell from Joycelyn’s smooth, porcelain skin that she was ravishing.

“Your name is Joycelyn, right? Anyone can see that you’re inexperienced at this game. We haven’t even had any drinks yet, and you’re already preparing to talk shop,” Tommy chided while reaching his hand out to cover Joycelyn’s.

touch. “You’re right, Mr. Cross.

down a couple of shots first

a glass of soda over for her. Looking at Tommy, Aurelia said, “Mr. Cross,

venture agreement. This

and Joycelyn with the glass of soda, singing Tommy’s praises and complimenting his successful business. Tommy was incredibly pleased and he began to beam with

business directors all nodded and smiled

the servers began to enter the private dining room with various

any attempts to socialize so she whispered in

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Chapter 22

renegotiate the project. Plus the man is an eligible bachelor worth millions

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said so, she topped up Joycelyn’s glass with soda. Secretly, though, she’d also mixed in some vodka. Linda knew that Joycelyn wasn’t a good drinker. If she could make Joycelyn drink this, the deal would be in the bag.

the kitchen and instruct them to serve the seafood specials. They’re taking too long,” Linda instructed, attempting to

turned to Joycelyn and said, “I’ll get the kitchen to speed things up. Let’s finish this discussion

nodded in understanding.

Joycelyn into a toast with all the business directors. Joycelyn raised her glass. Everyone was in high

brought the glass closer to her mouth, she

you’ll ruin everyone’s mood,” Linda

drink. She could only manage to finish half of it. The smell was one thing, the taste was a whole different matter.

times and excused herself to go to the restroom, taking her

she had been set up by Linda. As she walked, she could feel her legs start to give way. She felt as if the

barely made it to the restroom when a person suddenly held on to her. She thought it was Aurelia, but it turned out to be Octavia instead. Joycelyn immediately put her guard up. “What are you doing here, Octavia?” she