Chapter 9 Long Time No See
Claudia and Gloria finished dinner and chatted for a bit before leaving.
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As they walked out, laughter still drifted from the private room across the hall. Andy’s childish giggles were the most distinct.
Gloria heard it and cast a cautious glance at Claudia. Seeing her expression calm and unreadable, she relaxed slightly–but the worry in her heart didn’t ease at all.
This wasn’t just about Claudia’s marriage falling apart.
Gloria had seen them go upstairs earlier. Her best friend’s son was unbelievably attached to Summer.
No wonder Claudia had given up custody the moment she mentioned divorce.
Gloria hadn’t asked too much at the time, but she had her suspicions. In the earlier years of Claudia’s marriage, she often brought Andy over to play. They’d even discussed having Andy call her godmother.
But over the last year or so, Claudia stopped bringing Andy altogether.
When Gloria asked, she simply said he was busy with schoolwork. But thinking back now, maybe Andy had already grown distant from her.
Still, since Claudia didn’t want to talk about it, Gloria hadn’t pressed.
When it came to children, it always hit the heart the hardest.
Gloria hadn’t been optimistic about Claudia marrying Alan in the first place. Whether before or after the wedding, Alan never made an appearance in Claudia’s world and had zero interest in her social circle.
When Gloria dated someone, she’d always make sure to introduce him to her closest friends.
Alan never even tried.
In seven years of marriage, Gloria–Claudia’s best friend in Capital City–had never met Alan in a private setting.
She could accept that. Marriage was between two people, after all.
And Alan was the current head of Moore Corp–a legend since his school days. He’d seized
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control of the company within seven years, even forcing his own father out. His reputation was that of a ruthless strategist. Now, he was charging into the AI sector with aggressive reforms.
When Claudia had somehow managed to marry that cold, unreachable man back in college, Gloria had been shocked.
She hadn’t been hopeful, but figured maybe Alan just didn’t care about small social circles. As long as he treated Claudia well, it didn’t matter.
But clearly, that hadn’t been the case.
There’d always been a wall between them. Claudia had been shut out from his world entirely.
Gloria thought about the way Claudia had been threatened in public days ago, then about the people sitting across the hall tonight–including her best friend’s own child–and her head buzzed.
What a mess.
They parted ways on the first floor. Gloria reminded Claudia several times to eat well before letting her go.
Claudia returned to Lane Studio and worked late into the night before falling asleep there.
Meanwhile, the Moore family villa was dark. Neither Alan nor Andy returned that night.
The next day,
Claudia had just started working when she received a call from HR.
A few senior programmers were available for interviews over the weekend. They asked if Claudia would be willing to come in and meet them.
She agreed.
She was eager to find a successor as soon as possible, so she could fully focus on her design work.
After reviewing the resumes, she selected one candidate whose location was relatively close to the studio. She had HR arrange an afternoon interview at a café nearby–it was convenient and gave her a chance to grab a meal.
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Her studio was in a remote area, and food options were limited.
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Around noon, Claudia headed out. After lunch, she arrived at the café a little early to wait.
To her surprise, the candidate had already arrived–a pale, clean–cut young man who looked eager and polite.
They exchanged greetings and sat across from each other at a small table.
Claudia asked about his coffee preferences, placed the order, and jumped straight into business.
“Let’s start with a quick introduction.”
She picked up the resume to skim through it, but after a few seconds with no response, she looked up–only to see the young man staring at her in a daze.
“What is it?”
Was there something on her face?
The man’s face turned bright red as he stammered, “S–Sorry, I just… wasn’t expecting someone this gorgeous to be in charge of my interview.”
He’d gotten a bit lost staring.
Claudia
gave a light smile. “A sweet mouth’s only helpful if your skills match.”
“I know, I know!”
His ears were bright red as he scrambled to recover. He quickly delivered a neat three- minute self–introduction.
“Wayne Quinn. Nice name.”
That little interruption actually made the atmosphere more relaxed.
Claudia gave a passing compliment, then began asking technical questions based on his resume. She brought up the technologies her company currently used and asked a few managerial hypotheticals as well.
He responded smoothly and even made some constructive suggestions.
He was solid. Claudia was about to wrap up with a few casual questions when she caught a familiar figure in her peripheral vision.
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She looked up–and froze.
Alan, Summer, and Andy were standing just outside, looking straight at them.
Wayne noticed her staring and followed her gaze–then was struck again.
“That’s a good–looking family.”
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A handsome man, a beautiful woman, and a charming little boy–it was only natural to assume they were together.
He noticed them looking in as well and asked curiously, “Ms. Claudia, do you know them?”
Know them?That was putting it mildly.
Claudia was just about to steer the conversation away when the café door opened.
Andy came barreling toward her, smiling wide. “Mom!”
He hadn’t wanted to see her before, but the moment he did, he felt a little guilty for avoiding her these past few days. Now that he was right in front of her, he ran straight over.
Wayne was stunned. Ms. Claudia is this young and pretty–and she already has a kid?!
Then came the awkward realization: he’d just mistaken her son for someone else’s. And Ms. Claudia hadn’t corrected him.
And then…
Wayne’s gaze drifted to Alan and Summer, who had followed Andy in. His confusion grew.
Were they friends?
But that man looked a lot like the boy–especially those sharp, fox–like eyes that seemed to see through you. That gaze made Wayne’s scalp tingle.
He quickly looked away from Alan.
Alan glanced at Wayne, then walked over with a smile. “Working?”
As he spoke, he reached for the resume on the table.
Claudia didn’t bother responding. She pulled her hand from Andy’s grip and snatched up the
resume.
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Alan’s hand landed on empty air. He paused but didn’t get angry. He just smiled and slowly pulled his hand back.
Summer, who had followed behind, stepped up beside Alan. She smiled sweetly as she extended a hand toward Claudia.
“Claudia. Long time no see.”
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