A Night of Desire

Chapter 272 - 269: Since When Did You Get Interested in Matchmaking?

After getting out of the car, Clara Grant realized Chase Childs had brought her to The Tuberose. She went upstairs and into a private room, only to find that Seth Quinn, Poppy Vance, Linden Jennings, and River Sterling were all there.

The moment Poppy Vance saw her come in, she leaped up and threw herself at her. "Clara, you’re here!"

Clara remembered that Poppy had tried to conspire with Seth to trick her yesterday, so she pretended to be angry and ignored her.

Seeing this, Poppy Vance quickly grabbed her hand and apologized. "Clara, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to trick you yesterday. It’s just... Brother Quinn seemed so pathetic, so I wanted to help him invite you out."

As soon as Poppy Vance said this, Linden Jennings and River Sterling both understood exactly what she meant by "pathetic." They couldn’t help but glance at Seth Quinn and snicker to themselves.

He really was pathetic. A wife he could look at but not touch. Tsk, tsk. Utterly pathetic.

Seth Quinn himself, however, remained perfectly composed where he sat. He paid no mind to the other two men and their suggestive smiles, instead casting a gentle gaze toward Clara as the corners of his mouth curved up unconsciously.

"He’s pathetic?" Clara Grant didn’t understand what she meant and grumbled under her breath in dissatisfaction. "What’s so pathetic about him? He’s a liar!"

Although her voice was quiet, Seth Quinn still heard her.

’Ugh. First, she called me a beast, and now she’s calling me a liar. Looks like I haven’t left a very good impression on her.’

"Oh, come on, Clara," Poppy continued to coax her. "Just one smile. A smile will prove you’ve forgiven me."

Clara Grant started to feel a little embarrassed. She was two or three years older than Poppy Vance, yet here she was, letting the younger girl coax her.

So, she gave a small smile and let Poppy pull her over to the sofa.

Clara had intended to sit with Poppy, but Poppy pushed her down right next to Seth.

’She wanted to refuse, but then she thought, ’Everyone in this room is one of Seth’s closest friends. They probably know that my relationship with him is... complicated. It’s even possible they know we’re married.’’

Trying to move away now would just seem overly dramatic. So, she simply stayed put, pointedly not looking at Seth beside her.

There were snacks on the table, and since Clara had been hungry the entire ride over, she paid no mind to anyone else and started eating.

Seth Quinn leaned closer to her. "Hungry? Didn’t you eat on set? I can take you to get dinner first if you want."

He asked a few questions in a row, but Clara Grant just kept eating, ignoring him completely. It was hard to tell if she was too preoccupied with her food to answer or if she was genuinely giving him the cold shoulder.

"Come on, let’s sing!" Poppy Vance loved to sing and would always belt out a few tunes no matter where she was.

With that, she turned to Clara Grant and asked, "Clara, what do you want to sing? I’ll queue it up for you."

With her mouth full, Clara mumbled indistinctly, "Don’t want to. I’m hungry. Gotta eat."

’So she really *is* ignoring me!’ Seth realized.

Poppy Vance knew that Seth Quinn and Linden Jennings didn’t sing, so she queued up her own songs before picking one for River Sterling as well.

Finally, she tried asking Chase Childs, who had been sitting silently and lost in thought ever since he’d arrived, but he didn’t react at all even after she called his name a few times.

River Sterling snapped him out of his reverie and teased, "Chase, my man, are you lovesick? Thinking about a girl? Tell me who’s caught your eye. Big Bro here will go be your wingman."

Clara, who was still eating, couldn’t help but roast him in her head. ’Tch. Since when did the great President Sterling get into the matchmaking business?’

Chase Childs’s relatively calm expression immediately vanished. Hearing River Sterling’s words, his face flushed red, and his speech became flustered. "Wh-what? No! President Sterling, d-don’t talk nonsense!"