"He's far too weak. It's best if we don't move him at all."
Since Melanie put it that way, Claire couldn't possibly refuse.
But heading over tonight meant she'd have to go after dinner.
"I'll head over after I eat. Does eight o'clock work?"
Claire figured that gave her plenty of time.
Melanie had another idea. "I've never been to Apex. Could you recommend a good restaurant? Dinner is on me!"
"There should be plenty of great spots right around your hotel."
"But I'm sorry, I've already promised to have dinner with my family."
Claire politely turned down the invitation, though she did text Melanie a list of the top-rated restaurants in Apex.
Sitting pretty at number one was Hearth & Kettle.
"Hearth & Kettle looks incredible, but the reviews say it's impossible to get a table." Melanie was curious. "Why is it so hard? Is it just completely booked out?"
"Partly because of the high demand, but mostly because during the holidays, they strictly cater to existing VIP clients," Claire explained.
Hearing that, Melanie immediately abandoned the idea of dining there.
Even if the chef had a legendary pedigree, she wasn't a VIP, and she likely didn't have the budget to match the restaurant's exclusivity anyway.
She'd be better off finding something a bit more reasonably priced.
"This place, The Summit View, looks nice too. Are you absolutely sure you won't join me for dinner?"
Melanie extended the invitation one last time.
Claire declined yet again.
"I'm sorry. As a local, I should definitely play host, but I genuinely don't have the time tonight."
"I already promised my family."
Claire sounded incredibly sincere, but the truth was, she simply had no desire to share a meal with Melanie.
As far as Claire was concerned, they weren't even close enough to be called friends.
Instead of wasting an hour making small talk, she'd much rather stay home with her grandmother.
Since they were staying at Hearth & Kettle, Jennifer would handle their dinner.
If her grandmother didn't feel like
Jennifer would have the met
walking down to the dining room et
bring the food straight to their suite.
Not that her grandmother was that lazy.
She was always willing to walk a few extra steps for a good meal.
Over the past couple of days, a few regulars had noticed a private wing
of Hearth & Kettle opening up bet
and
gotten rosy.
But whenever anyone tried to fish for
merely
Jennifer smoothly
mentioning that
owner
as staying there temporanly
Seeing that Claire wouldn't budge, Melanie finally let it go.
That evening, while having dinner with her grandmother and Dewitt, Claire
surprisingly ran into The Byron Family.
York was dining with his parents and another family.
Claire immediately recognized the girl sitting across from them.
She had seen her at the hospital.
The girl was Tabitha, York's fiancée, and those were clearly her parents.
Tabitha's family was hosting, while the Byrons were their guests.
"Please don't listen to those vicious rumors. York cut ties with that Cindy girl ages ago."
Olga was fiercely defending her son, just like always.
Frederic looked like he had aged a decade over the past year. He sat in grim silence.
Tabitha's mother, however, let out a sharp scoff. "Are you absolutely sure he cut ties?"
"If they're so completely done, why was that girl still living in York's apartment?"
"Is he keeping her on standby, or is he trying to stash a mistress on the side?"
"We had a crystal-clear arrangement. We bail your company out, and York officially gets engaged to Tabitha."
"An engagement isn't a casual promise."
"If your son wants to play the field, you never should have agreed to our terms!"
Tabitha's mother was a force of nature.
Though she and her husband were new money, they had clawed their way to the top together.
They weren't remotely intimidated by the Byrons trying to back out of a deal.
If they had the power to save The Byron Family, they absolutely had the power to bankrupt them!