"Pandora must really be something," Henrietta said, honestly impressed. A woman from such a powerful family, still working hard as a doctor-it was admirable.
Out of all the younger people in the James family, Claire was probably the only one following in Pandora's footsteps. But the irony? Claire wasn't even their real daughter.
"Pandora is amazing," Octavia replied. Of course, she wouldn't say anything negative about Pandora in front of possible future in-laws.
"Henrietta, why don't you two take a look at the menu? I'll call Lance and see where he is," Octavia said, handing them the menu, clearly eager to change the subject.
Henrietta and Mabel didn't know the full story, but since Octavia had moved on, they started looking over the menu too. Truth was, neither of them really cared for Western food, but since they were guests, they kept their preferences to themselves and chose something simple.
Octavia stepped aside and dialed her son. "Lance, where are you?"
Lance, on the other end, had no clue why his mom was being so insistent about this dinner. He had other plans, but they'd been tossed aside. It wasn't that he was scared of Octavia, she'd just keep blowing up his phone until he showed up, and he didn't want to deal with that.
"I'm almost there. Just parking," he grumbled, not really excited about whatever his mom was up to. He parked the car and headed for the restaurant.
The minute he walked in and saw Octavia wasn't alone-not just her, but also a middle-aged woman and a young girl-something clicked. Was this a setup? A blind date? Seriously?
His first instinct was to turn around and walk right back out, but Octavia spotted him right away.
"Lance, over here!" she called, leaving him no room to escape. Resigned, Lance headed to their table.
"Mom," he greeted, barely hiding his annoyance.
Octavia stood up, dragging him closer. "Lance, this is Henrietta, and this is Mabel." "Nice to meet you, Henrietta, Mabel," Lance said, polite and composed as ever. Henrietta took in his good looks and gentlemanly manners, immediately feeling more at ease. "Lance, you're really impressive," she said with a smile.
Before Lance could reply, Octavia started listing Mabel's virtues in return. The two moms began flattering each other's kids, one compliment after another.
Meanwhile, Lance and Mabel
couldn't care less. Mabel eyed Lance, quietly sizing him up,
wondering what their kids would et
look like if they ended up together. He was handsome, definitely her type, and honestly, she could do worse. It wasn't like she cared much about feelings anyway-a pretty face went a long way for her.
But then she remembered Claire's boyfriend. Now that guy was something else— seriously good-looking. If Claire and her boyfriend had kids, they'd probably be the kind you just wanted to spoil rotten.
Lance had no idea what Mabel was
no ide
thinking, but her stare was making him uncomfortable. He wished he could just tell her directly that his mom set this up without telling him, and he already liked someone else. He hoped she wouldn't waste her time.
It wasn't that he was full of
himself-he just knew that, with his background and looks, he got this kind of attention a lot. Girls were alwaysinterested, and if someone like Mabet with her own wealthy connections, decided to go along with the parents' matchmaking, it was bound to be complicated.
Henrietta kept chatting with Octavia, glancing at her daughter every so often, trying
to figure out if Mabel was really interested in this young man, but it was impossible
to tell.