Chapter 5 Going Abroad Next Month
“Dina!” Blair’s face darkened with rage. Without a second thought, he bolted after her.
As soon as she left the private room, Dina pulled out her phone and called Joseph. “Joseph, change of plans. Skip lunch. I’m heading straight to the wedding venue. Just text me the coordinator’s number.”
“Mrs. Woodward, this way, please.” Dina looked up to see Joseph smiling from inside the elevator. He’d clearly been waiting for her. She smiled back and stepped in.
Just as the doors slid shut, Blair burst out of the room, catching a glimpse of her standing next to Joseph.
He frowned in confusion. “What’s Joseph doing here?”
A nearby server replied politely, “Mr. Woodward, Joseph is here to check out the wedding venue. Hank’s getting married at the end of the month. Didn’t you hear?”
Hank had been raised abroad. Six years ago, he’d returned and unleashed a month-long storm of violence that reshaped Vreton’s business scene in blood. From then on, people in those circles feared him like the grim reaper.
“Hank’s tying the knot?” Blair couldn’t mask his surprise. Over the years, their grandfather Darren Woodward had paraded endless society debutantes in front of him, but Hank had never batted an eye. He wondered, ‘What kind of woman can possibly have won him over?’
Still reeling, he punched the up button for the adjacent elevator. He needed to grab Dina fast, before she stumbled into Hank’s domain and pissed him off.
Hank was a certified lunatic, and he showed no mercy, not even to women.
Top floor. The doors parted silently.
Joseph gestured courteously to the side. “Mrs. Woodward, right this way. Celestial Vista, the crown jewel of Vreton’s wedding spots, is just ahead.”
Dina followed him into the enchanting venue.
At the same instant, the other elevator dinged open.
Blair stepped out, scanning the empty corridor with sharp eyes. No sign of her. His gut twisted as he zeroed in on the Celestial Vista entrance.
He thought, ‘She went in? Just my luck, of course this will happen.’
Hank was ruthless and unpredictable. Cross him, and you’d regret it in the worst ways imaginable.
Heart racing, Blair hurried toward the doors.
“Mr. Woodward, one moment please,” the attendant at the entrance said, extending a polite but firm hand. “We have a VIP inside. No entry without an appointment.”
“Move!” With a scowl, Blair pushed past her and flung the door open.
“Blair!” Belinda grabbed his arm, her face etched with concern. “Take it easy! Hank already despises you. Barging in on him during something as big as picking his wedding venue? You’ll just make it worse.”
Blair’s brows furrowed. “Dina’s in there.”
“Look, the elevator’s back on the first floor. She must’ve ridden it down and left already.” Belinda pointed to the display for the one Dina had taken.
Blair eyed the lit-up “1,” and the tension finally eased out of him. He let out a long breath.
Belinda caught the raw relief on his face, the way he still cared so deeply, and jealousy clawed at her insides. She thought, ‘Dina has caused total chaos today, acting completely out of line, and yet Blair is still this hooked?’
She said, “Blair… I probably shouldn’t butt in, but I hate seeing her string you along like this.
“Think about it: that AI emotional interaction project? She’s sunk three full years into it. It’s this close to launching successfully. She’d be the talk of the industry, raking in the acclaim and rewards. No way she’d actually walk away from all that at the eleventh hour.”
She said it with total conviction. “She’s just pitching a fit, sabotaging the deal on purpose to rattle you, force you to chase her down and beg. And in the process, push you to abort our baby. If you hold your ground and don’t cave, she’ll be the one freaking out once the launch rolls around.”
The panic churning in Blair’s chest gradually faded. Logic started to creep back in.
Belinda was right. The AI emotional interaction project was Dina’s sole shot at proving her value to the Woodward family. She couldn’t walk away from Fighters Group, and definitely not from him, Blair.
His tense shoulders finally relaxed, and his expression shifted back to its familiar cool, commanding poise.
He thought, ‘If she insists on throwing this fit and playing hard to get… fine. I’ll bide my time until launch day and watch how she plays her hand.’
*****
In a shadowy room, Belinda punched in a number, her face twisted in cold fury. “Where are you? Get your ass back to Vreton, now.”
The man on the other end chuckled, his tone flirty and casual. “Aw, baby, missing me already? Figures, with you in the third trimester, we can finally get frisky again. I snagged this insane 18+ kit; it’ll be next-level on a pregnant belly. I bet you’ll—”
“Shut your mouth!” Belinda snapped. “Unless you want Blair to find out the baby’s yours, and have you carved up and tossed into the sea for shark bait, kill those thoughts right now.”
“No action? Then what’s the rush to haul me back?”
“The AI emotional interaction software launch is coming up fast. I need you to snatch Dina, make damn sure she doesn’t show.”
If Dina no-showed the event, it’d drive Blair into a rage, torching their relationship for good… and clear the way for Belinda to take the stage, stealing the spotlight as the project’s mastermind.
All those three years of Dina’s grueling work, the accolades, the prestige, the payoffs, would land squarely in her lap.
With that boost, she’d have the chops and connections to reach out to the Wonder Group.
As the unchallenged kingpin of AI, Wonder Group was pushing boundaries with their bionic robot tech, a true game-changer. Snagging a collab and diving into that project would launch Fighters Group into the stratosphere of the AI world, and position her as the Woodward family’s ultimate MVP.
*****
After wrapping up at the wedding venue, Dina hopped in a car back to Summit Bay.
No sooner had she arrived than her phone buzzed with an overseas call. “Ms. Gardner, word just reached me. You’re ditching Fighters Group?”
The caller had a polished accent, practically vibrating with enthusiasm. “Apologies, I’m jumping the gun here, but this is bloody fantastic news! I’ve been holding out for this exact moment for three solid years.
“That offer from the Wonder Group back then? Still stands, and we’ve sweetened the pot with double the compensation. The head spot at our global AI R&D hub? It’s been yours all along, just waiting.
“Dina, come aboard. The global stage is where you belong, not cooped up in a outfit like Fighters Group, tinkering with emotional AI apps. Join Wonder Group and turn your three-year-old vision into reality: genuine AI bionic robots. You’ll be the pioneer kicking off the next AI revolution.”
Three years ago, Dina had sketched out the blueprint and data frameworks for bionic robots. Only Wonder Group had the firepower and infrastructure to bring it to life.
Back then, she’d shelved the dream for Blair.
But now… The dimmed fire in Dina’s eyes flared back to life, sharp and radiant. “I’m in. I’ll head over and start first thing next month.”
*****
Barely married and already jetting off for work abroad, Dina weighed it carefully and figured she owed Hank the heads-up.
She sought out Joseph. “Joseph, any idea when Hank’s getting back? I’ve got something to run by him.”
Earlier in the car, Joseph had noticed the ring back on Dina’s finger and caught wind of her encounter with Blair at the hotel. Hank had mentioned her fondness for pink, yet she’d gone with a blue wedding palette, obviously phoning it in.
And that phone call she’d just taken, all giggles and chatter… Piecing it together, he thought it reeked of her reconciling with Blair.
Now, fresh off the call, she looked stone-faced and insistent on “got something to run by him” with Hank? He thought this wasn’t about chatting. This was her gearing up to call off the wedding.
His gaze darted instinctively to a dark corner nearby, and then his expression hardened into one of deep, solemn concern.
