Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 46

Crystal Lennox's smile faded as she looked up in surprise. "Mr. Teague, would you mind telling us why?"

Teague shook his head. "It's an internal company decision. I'm afraid I can't share the details."

Crystal pressed, unwilling to give up. "But why? We were just having such a productive conversation. Weren't we about to greenlight the prototype?"

"Exactly, Mr. Teague. Is there some kind of misunderstanding here?" Celestine frowned, her confusion clear.

How could things fall apart in the span of a bathroom break? There had to be something more going on.

Ramsey's patience snapped. He shot the two women a look of disdain. "Why bother explaining, Teague? If they caused trouble for themselves, they can't expect Reed & Ripple to clean up their mess. I'll be blunt—this partnership ends here."

"Ramsey," Teague chided softly, then turned back with an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, but we do need to put the collaboration on hold. Miss Selwyn, your designs are genuinely impressive, and it's a real shame. I'd suggest you both wait a bit—there might still be a chance for things to change."

Teague's polite remarks were just empty words—the message was the same as Ramsey's, only a bit softer.

He and Ramsey left first.

Celestine watched them go, piecing together the possible reasons for this sudden change. Could it be… Zeke?

That man never let a grudge go, and she had stepped on his toes—literally—just moments ago. On top of that, Zeke's family was one of the four most powerful in Oceanview City, with enough influence to put pressure on a sportswear company like Reed & Ripple.

Crystal noticed Celestine lost in thought. "Celly, what's wrong?"

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