Lyle Dean really had some nerve, thinking he was entirely out of his league. He didn't even bother to look in the mirror!
Owen wanted to teach him a lesson the moment he arrived.
Norris shot him a warning glance, forcing him to suppress his rage.
Lyle was fuming but didn't dare say a word.
He was terrified of all three Churchill brothers.
Norris and Phil were at least his cousins, but Owen was a different story.
Owen wasn't related to Lyle and had zero reason to go easy on him.
Growing up, Owen had beaten Lyle up plenty of times.
More importantly, with the Churchill brothers crashing dinner, the bill was going to easily run into the thousands.
The moment Owen sat down, he ordered alcohol, and the bottles he chose were anything but cheap.
The Churchill siblings happily enjoyed their meal, leaving Lyle as the only miserable one at the table.
This single dinner wiped out months of his income!
Although Lyle wasn't exactly broke, thousands of dollars was still a massive hit.
This was the brothers' way of teaching him a lesson, and Lyle didn't dare refuse to pay.
He resented them entirely but kept his mouth shut tight.
After dinner, the brothers whisked Claire and Yolande away, completely shutting Lyle out from saying another word.
Any attempts he made to brown-nose during the meal had been flawlessly blocked. "Claire, I'm sorry. I didn't expect Lyle to come here and harass you," Norris said.
Norris genuinely hadn't expected Lyle to have that kind of nerve.
Claire wasn't Yolande. Yolande was an extended cousin, so Padgett might not have cared as much.
But Claire was their aunt's daughter.
If Padgett found out Lyle dared to target Claire, his wrath would likely extend to Lyle's mother as well.
Lyle was a deadbeat without a real job, acting like he was too good for regular work while lacking any actual skills.
How could he possibly be worthy of Claire?
Besides, Claire was already engaged to Dane.
She was still young, having just started college.
"Why are you apologizing to me, Norris? It's not your fault," Claire replied.
"Lyle wears his intentions on his sleeve. I'd never fall for it."
"It's just Victoria..." Claire had originally intended to tell Ophelia directly.
But Ophelia probably hadn't expected her family to cross the line like this.
If Claire brought it up directly, it would only make Ophelia uncomfortable.
It was better to talk to Norris first and let him handle it with Victoria.
Norris understood her hesitation and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry. I'll talk to Victoria."
Phil headed back to the office right after dinner.
He was incredibly busy, but before leaving, he handed Claire a bank card.
"Claire, I don't have time to hang out, but take this and buy yourself something nice."
Claire didn't bother being falsely polite and accepted it right away.
"Thanks, Phil!"
Owen, however, still had business to discuss with Claire.
It was about Luminate's official launch.
Their initial test subjects had essentially all seen significant results.
It was time for the company to officially open its doors.
Oakley's
ales were completely
healed, and his upcoming comeback
event presented the perfect
promotional opportunity.
Oakley had invested in the company himself and volunteered to handle the promotion.
Even though his manager, Karla, didn't entirely approve of him taking on this kind of endorsement.
Setting aside her role as his agent,
she had to admit that his
endorsement would do wonders for the Experimental Scar Gel's market debut.
With Norris and Phil gone, it was up to Owen to drive the two girls back to campus.
During the ride, he took the chance to discuss the launch timeline with Claire.
"We're only selling this one ointment. Do we really need a grand opening?" Claire was a bit confused.
She assumed they could just put it on the market and be done with it.
the
Owen sighed. "We still need a sense of occasion. Didn't you also give t Experimental Scar Gel to Sienna Darwin? content belongs
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