The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

Chapter 11

**At The Sterling Room.**

"Mr. Carmichael, welcome!"

Manager Larkin hurried over at a brisk trot, his attitude nothing short of reverent.

His eyes immediately landed on the person standing behind Raymond. The girl was strikingly beautiful-so much so that Larkin couldn't help but steal a few extra glances before catching himself. Realizing his lapse in professionalism, he quickly lowered his gaze and pretended not to have noticed.

President Carmichael had never brought a woman here before, and with how at ease the girl seemed, Larkin couldn't help but speculate about their relationship.

Raymond, catching the direction of his thoughts, shot him a cold glance and offered a rare explanation. "She's my daughter."

Larkin nearly broke into a cold sweat as he realized his mistake. Desperate to recover, he blurted out, "Of course, I should have known. She takes after you so much, Mr. Carmichael."

Mortified by his earlier assumptions, he felt his nerves fray, completely unaware that a sheen of sweat had appeared on his brow.

Luckily, Raymond seemed disinterested in making a scene.

Citrine shot Raymond a surprised look. She hadn't expected him to acknowledge her as his daughter in front of others.

Larkin quickly turned to her and apologized, "Ms. Carmichael, I'm terribly sorry for my rudeness just now."

Citrine replied with a

Larkin hadn't meant any

showing them to a table with the best view in the house, Larkin quietly excused

wonder The Sterling

they were here together. No one would have guessed that the same two who had exchanged such sharp words at their first meeting were now sharing

Raymond said naturally, sliding the menu

made a

done," she said, passing the menu back across the

choices, then looked up at her. "That's all you

nodded, a little

vegetarian, he noted. No wonder she's so

a few meat dishes to the order

the food arrived, he quickly noticed Citrine sticking only to the vegetables,

sour pork," he said, and before she could protest,

stomach churning. She hesitated but steeled herself to take

Raymond never spoke while eating. Citrine, for her part, was

mesmerizing to watch. With both of them being exceptionally good-looking, it

the tranquility didn't last

Sawyer, accompanied by Norton, strode in, immediately spotting

two, she suddenly felt full. Their presence was enough to