Goodbye My Arrogant Ex (Marguerite and Leonard) novel Chapter 216

“All right, it’s done. Thanks to your help, everyone. If it wasn’t for you, who knows how long I’d have been stuck making those changes by myself.”

“We’re all good friends of Mr. Zade, you don’t need to thank us,” one of them replied with a wave of the hand. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll get going now.”

Once they’d finished up, the group started to head out, but Luke stopped them at the door.

“You’ve all worked hard today. Let me buy everyone dinner—I’ve already made the reservation.” Luke couldn’t let them help for free.

“Sounds great! But I’m afraid I can’t make it tonight,” Marguerite said with an apologetic smile. “You know how things have been at home lately. I’ll have Laura go in my place.”

She beamed as she spoke, clearly delighted to give Laura and Luke more chances to spend time together. In her mind, the more they interacted, the more likely they’d see each other’s good sides—and maybe even fall for each other.

“Mr. Taylor, if you’re not going, maybe I should just skip it too. I don’t really know them that well,” Laura said nervously, her voice soft. She was never comfortable in big groups, and the thought of joining them without Marguerite made her even more anxious.

Normally, Marguerite would’ve gone with her, but tonight really was too hectic at home—otherwise, she’d never let Laura go alone.

“Don’t worry. We’re all colleagues here, and you’ll have plenty of chances to get to know everyone. You can’t expect me to always be there to hold your hand, can you? Think of it as practice—go with them.”

Laura always claimed she’d given up on Luke, that she’d moved on—but deep down, she hadn’t. If anything, her feelings only grew stronger with time.

Marguerite had been swamped lately, barely able to keep up with her own problems, so she hadn’t had a chance to talk to the two of them properly. Still, she was determined to create chances for them to be together, no matter what happened in the end.

Laura felt a wave of nerves wash over her. Without Marguerite by her side, she felt anchorless. Just a young woman, heading out for dinner with a group of men—she couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious.

“Laura,” someone asked with a gentle smile, “has Mr. Taylor always treated you well?”