Chapter 31


    Chapter 31 Heavyweight Drinker


    Suzanna’s smile froze at Gwendolyn’s question, but she quicklyposed herself and smiled even


    more brightly.


    She pulled Gwendolyn aside and whispered, “These directors are influential figures in Grandeur Group.


    One word from any of them would make or break our artists‘ casting opportunities in the drama. So try


    not to upset them, Ms. Shalders.”


    Gwendolyn nodded expressionlessly in response.


    They returned to the table after their whispering.


    Tom, Harry, and Peter had not stopped staring at Gwendolyn since she entered the private room.


    Gwendolyn wanted to throw up under their lustful stares.


    Tom was the first to speak up. “Ms. Shalders, you’re really as pretty as the rumors say. You’ve got a


    great figure too.”


    “You’re too generous. The three of you are truly exceptional and sessful,” replied Gwendolyn


    obligingly.


    Suzanna quickly invited everyone to take their seats before toasting Gwendolyn, “This is your first


    business meeting since joining thepany, Ms. Shalders. Please allow me to toast to a sessful


    deal.”


    As she spoke, she pushed a ss of red wine into Gwendolyn’s hand.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Gwendolyn swirled the liquor around the ss and sniffed the bouquet elegantly. “Hmm, a 1982


    Chateau Lafite Rothschild. What an excellent wine.”


    She smiled and clinked sses with Suzanna before polishing off the wine in a single gulp.


    Harry jumped in to tter Gwendolyn, praising, “Ms. Shalders, I didn’t take you for a wine aficionado.


    You can hold your drinks well too. How utterly charming. I hope you’ll ept my toast as well.”


    “Aren’t we discussing the casting for Grandeur Group’s drama project? Why haven’t any of you brought


    the subject up?” asked Gwendolyn.


    Calmly, one of the directors replied, “Of course, we’ll get to it, but we should have a few sses and


    rx before getting down to serious business. I’m sure you understand how this works, don’t you, Ms.


    Shalders?”


    They smiled at Gwendolyn and raised their sses at her.


    Gwendolyn did not put off their requests and downed ss after ss of wine.


    Meanwhile, Noah knocked on the door to the CEO’s office at Wright Construction Group.


    He entered the room and politely handed a dossier on Gwendolyn’s background to Maverick.


    “Boss, our men have investigated her three times. This is the final, organized information we have on


    her background for your review,”


    Maverick received the documents from his assistant and read them several times, his brows slightly


    furrowed.


    At first nce, Gwendolyn’s background seemed perfectly ordinary until it came to her life before she


    was fifteen years old.


    There was only a line about hering from an orphanage. No other details were avable, not even


    regarding when she was first brought to the orphanage.


    Is there actually someone in this world that my genius hackers can’t investigate?


    Noah seemed to sense his employer’s doubts and asked, “Do you want them to dig deeper?”


    “No.” Maverick closed the dossier and ced it on a stack of documents in his office, adding, “She’s


    deliberately hiding her true background from us. We’ll just be wasting our efforts investigating her. The


    only thing that’s certain is that her background isn’t as simple as it seems.”


    He strolled to the long windows in his office and lit a cigarette, his gaze dark and thoughtful.


    Noah checked Maverick’s schedule on an iPad and asked, “Boss, you have a dinner meeting tonight,


    which was booked a week ago. Are you going?”


    “Yes.”


    Suzanna and the three directors from Grandeur Group took turns toasting Gwendolyn at their business


    meeting.


    Gwendolyn had not refused a drink during their three rounds of toasts.


    The party promptly polished off six bottles of red wine.


    Gwendolyn’s cheeks were mildly flushed despite the amount of liquor she had drunk, which added to


    her allure. Her gaze, however, remained lucid.


    Suzanna was frustrated, even as she struggled to keep a clear head.


    I didn’t expect her to be a heavyweight at drinking. Even the directors are getting tipsy. How is she


    perfectly fine?


    Everyone was about to copse at the table.


    To her surprise, Gwendolyn refilled her ss with red wine and downed it when the others stopped


    pouring liquor for her.


    Then, she shot her dinnerpanions a smile so beatific it bordered on a taunt.


    They had no choice but to bow to her prowess.


    It was truly a sight which they had to see to believe.


    Gwendolyn turned the tables on them and asked, “Why did everyone stop drinking? If that’s too much


    liquor to handle, perhaps it’s time we got down to business?”


    She even raised her ss to toast them.


    The three directors hastily turned to Suzanna, signaling her to fix the situation.


    If they had to drink one more ss of wine, they would surely copse and spend their night in the


    private dining room.


    Suzanna gritted her teeth in annoyance. Plying Gwendolyn with alcohol was no longer an option.


    Thankfully, before she came, Eloise had given her a packet of odorless, colorless powder to guarantee


    the sess of their n.


    Suzanna exchanged nces with Peter, who caught her hint and smiled at Gwendolyn.


    “Ms. Shalders, have you seen the production n for our uing male protagonist drama?”


    While he spoke, he took out some documents and handed them to Gwendolyn, exining. “This is the


    latest version. Why don’t you take a look and let us know your top picks for the production?”


    Gwendolyn stood up to receive the documents from him.


    Suddenly, the sound of ss shattering filled the room.


    Suzanna had knocked Gwendolyn’s wine ss off the table.


    She apologized profusely, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it, Ms. Shalders. I must be kind of


    tipsy. Let me get you a fresh ss of wine,”


    Gwendolyn eyed her colleague suspiciously but did not stop her from leaving.


    Suzanna returned shortly with a new wine ss, which she filled with red wine before handing it to


    Gwendolyn.


    She exchanged knowing looks with Peter and quickly raised their sses to toast Gwendolyn.


    Gwendolyn did not ept their toast and said, “There’s no rush for that. Let’s treat this as thest drink


    to close the night.”


    Peter did not understand what she was getting at but agreed anyway. “Of course, of course. Whatever


    thedy wants, she gets.”


    “I’ve read through the character list, but I think there are some potential issues here,” Gwendolyn


    pointed out while discreetly shifting her wine ss.


    She stood and carried the documents with her, leaning closer to hand them to Peter.


    The three men were positively hypnotized by her svelte figure.


    For easier viewing, Gwendolyn bnced the documents atop two neighboring wine sses before


    giving her detailedments.


    None of the directors paid attention to what she had to say. They absent–mindedly agreed to all her


    suggestions, eager to get the discussion done and over with.


    Peter jumped on the opportunity to toast Gwendolyn again. “Ms. Shalders, now that we’re done talking


    business, let’s all have a drink to celebrate our future coboration.”


    Gwendolyn no longer rejected the toast and lightly clinked her wine ss with the others. Still, she was


    in no hurry to touch her drink.


    The other four people in the room downed their sses quickly and shot Gwendolyn expectant or


    excited looks.


    The aroma of the red wine was intoxicating.


    Gwendolyn brought the ss to her lips. After a moment of hesitation, she finished her drink in one


    gulp.


    A few secondster, her vision blurred. Her mind turned fuzzy, and she finally copsed heavily across


    the table.


    Suzanna and the others smiled in triumph, their gazes affixed to Gwendolyn’s empty wine ss.


    In the middle of his dinner meeting, Maverick left the private dining room to visit the restroom.


    He used an emergency exit to return to the private dining room, and on his way back, he spied a


    familiar–looking woman speaking with a pot–bellied man.


    Maverick took a second look and recognized the woman; she had been showing off her BMW to


    Gwendolyn in the parking lot some time ago.


    Not particrly interested in eavesdropping, Maverick turned to leave. Just then, he overheard some


    rming words in the woman’s conversation.


    “Mr. Zinn, please remind your fellow directors to record Gwendolyn’s face clearly in the video. And


    make sure to prioritize me in your future business dealings.”


    “Don’t worry about it. We won’t forget to reward you.”


    Peter rubbed his hands greedily, impatient to return to the private dining room where the unconscious


    Gwendolyny.


    He had barely turned around when someone grabbed his cor fiercely from behind.