Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 96

Quennel had thought it was a small favor, something he could easily help with by making a call to the vice president.

He never imagined Stephanie would be involved.

Quennel knew exactly what this project meant to her. If he had known from the start, he would never have helped Victoria.

"Stephanie..." Quennel rushed towards her, wanting to explain.

Stephanie subtly sidestepped his touch.

She looked at Ternence and smiled faintly. "You're mistaken, Mr. Gonzalez. I'm not Quennel's wife anymore."

The atmosphere grew tense. Wilma gave a subtle nod, and a nearby maid quickly announced that dinner was served.

As they all took their seats at the dining table, Stephanie presented Wilma with her birthday gift.

"A small token. I hope you like it."

It was a pair of gemstone-encrusted hairpins, a perfect match for the style Wilma had recently taken to wearing.

She adored them at first sight, stroking them lovingly. "Stephanie, you have such wonderful taste."

Wilma recognized the brand, "Luminous Jade," which specialized in vintage-inspired designs from the Art Deco era and was highly sought after by the socialites in her circle.

Every new collection sold out almost instantly, a scarcity that was both frustrating and a testament to the brand's exclusivity.

One of her friends had once paid a seven-figure sum to a reseller just to get her hands on a brooch she coveted.

Wilma asked, puzzled, "Stephanie, how did you manage to get these? Did you stay up all night?"

The brand had just launched a new collection on their website, a global limited edition of only two hundred pieces. They released just ten items at midnight each day, and it was said you had to have a reaction time of under a second to even have a chance.

Stephanie smiled. "I did stay up late."

But it wasn't to buy the hairpins. She was good friends with the owner of Luminous Jade and had traded one of her design sketches for the gift.

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