As several pairs of eyes turned toward him, Landon flashed a composed smile, pulled out a chair, and took a seat beside Zachary. The atmosphere grew palpably tense—yet there was something undeniably compelling about the charged silence. He was genuinely curious to see Eugene finally show some frustration or jealousy. Opportunities like this didn't come often. Melinda, meanwhile, couldn't take her eyes off Eugene. She had never seen a man so strikingly handsome. The more she looked, the more captivated she became. She quickly noticed, however, that Eugene's attention never strayed from Chloe. As for her own presence, she might as well have been invisible. This man was clearly interested in Chloe. It was obvious from the way his gaze lingered—those longing looks were unmistakable. Melinda recalled Chloe's earlier phone call. Clearly, the person on the other end was the man now sitting across from her. And Chloe had agreed to meet without hesitation. Did that mean the attraction was mutual? Coming here had definitely been the right move. She needed to find a way to share this juicy discovery with Blaine. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" Melinda said with a light smile, offering Eugene a friendly glance. In response, Eugene simply raised his glass slightly and said, "Eugene." "Wow, what a great name!" Melinda laughed brightly. Leaning closer to Chloe, she whispered, "Chloe, I'm loving this gossip. Is this the lucky guy...?" She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Is he?" Chloe frowned slightly and pushed a skewer of grilled meat into Melinda's hand. "You ordered this yourself. Can't it keep you quiet?" "Chloe, come on! I came all this way to see you. We're sharing a room tonight, remember?" Melinda pouted playfully, then winked at Robert. "Robert, tell her—I'm always being bullied. It's so unfair!" "Oh please. You're overdoing it. It's giving me secondhand embarrassment," Robert said, rolling his eyes dramatically."Really? I think I'm doing great! I should've been an actress. The Oscars owe me a trophy." One moment Melinda was grinning, the next she straightened up, assumed a serious expression, and turned to Eugene. "Hi, I'm Melinda—Chloe's like a sister to me. Nice to meet you!" Eugene offered a faint smile. "Likewise." "Holy—" Landon shot to his feet so abruptly that he smacked his head against a hanging pendant lamp. "Ouch..." The dull thud and his pained groan sent the whole table into laughter. "Easy there, man. This place isn't exactly new. Don't bring the whole stall down on us," Zachary teased, picking up a skewer with a smirk. Ignoring the throbbing on his forehead, Landon stared at Eugene with a deeply wronged expression. "You knew all along?" Eugene didn't elaborate. Instead, he raised his glass toward Chloe and said, "Bruce mentioned you've officially announced a partnership negotiation meeting." "That's right," Chloe replied, lifting her own glass. Without another word, she leaned forward and gently clinked it against Eugene's. They exchanged a quiet, knowing smile. Melinda tactfully shifted her attention to Landon, who was still rubbing his forehead in misery. "Sir, are you alright?" "Uh... yeah, fine," Landon muttered, though internally he was screaming. Fine, his foot! That bump was definitely going to mess with his image. When had Eugene figured out that this person—who looked more masculine than most guys—was actually a woman? A woman! So androgynous! How were other men supposed to compete? Landon felt thoroughly deflated. He suddenly understood how Arthur must have felt. He'd been just as clueless. Melinda! How had he not recognized her? Melinda, the sought-after model from Oskary, famously nicknamed "The Money Walker" because every step she took on the runway was literally worth a fortune. He'd even seen her on the cover of a magazine. And here she was in front of him, and he'd completely forgotten—too wrapped up in Eugene's love life.How embarrassing. Was that bump on his head the universe's way of laughing at him? "Sorry about that," Landon said as he sat back down, trying to regain his composure. "Speaking of the negotiation meeting—correct me if I'm wrong—but don't you only have forty-eight hours left until the deadline?" Chloe's expression tightened slightly. "Forty-seven hours and five minutes, to be exact." Landon leaned in and lowered his voice. "You should know—someone's been throwing their weight around. A lot of the parties interested in partnering with Lewis Group are now too intimidated to move forward. I'm afraid when the time's up, you won't have any takers."