“Vicente, who is this young lady?”
Hearing everyone ask about Harriet, Vicente smiled and
explained, “She’s a technical staff member from Galaxy
Innovations. Don’t scare Ms. Chavez, gentlemen.”
“Oh, I thought she was your girlfriend, Vicente.”
“The two of you look like a good match.”
Vicente just smiled and didn’t explain further, and Harriet didn’t
pay it any mind.
Strictly speaking, she hadn’t even heard the conversation
around her–she was completely focused on the chessboard.
She didn’t want a draw; she wanted to win.
Vicente looked at Harriet, seeing her staring intently at the
board, and his smile grew. He softly said, “Ms. Chavez, it’s a
draw. Shall we play another round?”
When talking to Harriet, Vicente was noticeably less stern and
more gentle than with others.
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“Sure,” Harriet replied crisply.
Vicente smiled and said, “Ms. Chavez, you’re really serious.”
Harriet smiled and reset the chessboard.
Not far away, while Ellsworth chatted with Alvin, Kelsey sat
quietly and obediently by his side.
Coming with Ellsworth today, she had met many people and
made quite a few connections.
Business people.
These were all valuable resources.
Seeing the lively scene in the small sitting room, Kelsey turned
to look and immediately spotted Vicente among the crowd–he
was playing chess.
There were quite a few people gathered around.
Curious to see who could get Vicente to play and entertain like
this, Kelsey deliberately looked at his opponent.
When she saw that Vicente’s opponent was Harriet, and saw
Harriet sitting silently and intently at the chessboard, Kelsey’s
eyes widened in disbelief and she blurted out, “Hara?”
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Kelsey stared at the small sitting room in astonishment.
Harriet’s grandfather Ralph was only Raymond’s driver, and
when her father was alive, he was just a police officer, maybe a
squad leader–not a high–ranking official.
So how could she be at Sir Leach’s birthday party? And with
Vicente playing chess with her?
Thinking she must be seeing things, Kelsey looked several
more times, but it was definitely Harriet.
At Kelsey’s exclamation of ‘Hara,‘ Ellsworth looked over at her.
Seeing her staring in disbelief at the small sitting room,
Ellsworth, hands habitually in his pockets, followed her gaze.
Turning to look, Ellsworth immediately spotted Harriet among
the crowd.
She was sitting up straight, eyes lowered, completely still,
focused intently on the chessboard.
Across from her, Vicente occasionally glanced at her while
looking at the board.
The way he looked at Harriet was gentle and full of admiration.
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For a moment, even Ellsworth was surprised.
A few days ago, he had asked Harriet if she was free today, but she said she already had plans.
It turned out she was also here to celebrate Sir Leach’s
birthday.
Ellsworth stared motionlessly at Harriet, his gaze lingering on
her for a long time.
“Ells.”
It wasn’t until Alvin called his name that Ellsworth snapped back to reality, quickly turning his head and giving Alvin a smile.
Seeing this, Alvin glanced toward the small sitting room and
asked, “Did you spot someone you know?”
Ellsworth just smiled without answering, but his eyes drifted
once more to Harriet.
The atmosphere was lively over there, so Alvin introduced them
with a smile: “The girl playing chess with the young lord is
Harriet, a technician from Galaxy Innovations. Reginald thinks highly of her–she’s quick–witted and very talented.”
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Ellsworth continued to smile in silence, while Kelsey turned to
look at Harriet again.
Watching Harriet play chess with Vicente, her expression
gradually dimmed.
But then, remembering that Harriet would soon be divorced, she
felt at ease again.
With the label of divorce, she would basically have no ties to
these prominent families.
***
In the small sitting room, Harriet and Vicente played several
rounds of chess, but neither could best the other.
In the end, Vicente let her win a little, and Harriet claimed a
narrow victory.
“This young lady is really impressive–I’m no match for her.”
“Young lord, you’ve finally met your match this time.”
Listening to the others, Vicente looked at Harriet and smiled,
saying, “Ms. Chavez, you won.”
As she put away the chessboard, Harriet said, “Mr. Leach let me
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win.”
The onlookers hadn’t noticed, but Harriet could tell that Vicente
had let her win.
In fact, after several draws, Harriet had first tried to let Vicente
win.
But Vicente didn’t accept her gesture; instead, he let her take a
piece. Seeing the older gentlemen around them waiting for a
winner, Harriet accepted Vicente’s kindness and chose to win.
After giving up the chess table to the elders, Vicente
accompanied Harriet to the study, continuing to chat with her
about her field of expertise.
Alvin had asked him to take good care of Harriet, and Vicente
was doing his utmost.
It was past ten o’clock.
As the party dispersed and guests began to leave, Vicente
joined Alvin in seeing them off.
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