Chapter 498

Alexander was meant to join them too, but a last-minute issue kept him away.

That evening, Nathaniel was technically the host.

But when he reached the bar, he only exchanged brief pleasantries before excusing himself, citing another engagement.

Benjamin, who had several close friends in Edinburgh, was quickly pulled away when they came looking for him.

Isabella, unfamiliar with Benjamin's circle, followed him to say hello but didn't linger in their private booth.

She returned to the NovaTech staff and others, dancing for over half an hour before finally settling back into her seat to chat.

She was undeniably striking.

Once seated, men kept approaching, asking her to drink with them.

She declined each one without hesitation.

Most took the hint and left quietly.

A couple proved more persistent.

One, a slick man with a shy yet arrogant air, frowned.

"Pretty lady, you're not local, are you? Don't you know who I am? Won't you just have a little drink with me?"

Another chimed in, sneering.

"Exactly. Don't you bother to ask around about who Mr. Lugo is? He personally comes over to invite you, and you just snub him? Are you sure you want to offend him?"

Isabella's brows knit together.

Though Nathaniel hadn't spent time with his staff or the NovaTech crowd since arriving, he was still in a VIP room upstairs.

His booth had a clear view of the main floor.

Isabella's beauty was impossible to overlook.

Even the two executives speaking with Nathaniel had noticed her, and the scene unfolding below.

One remarked, "Quite a view down there."

The other gave a short laugh.

"Plenty of eyesores in that view, too. And..."

He trailed off, but the meaning was clear—trouble was brewing.

They knew Tobias Lugo.

In Edinburgh, his family name carried weight.

While Isabella had her group around her, that might not be enough.

Alexander glanced toward the floor, then turned his head slightly in Daniel's direction.

Daniel instantly understood.

Back when Isabella worked at Whitmore Group, Alexander had paid her little mind.

But over the past two years, he had doted on their daughter Sophia.

Daniel knew well that while divorce papers might be looming, Alexander had never interfered with Sophia's bond with her mother.

In other words, even if Alexander didn't care for Isabella, even if he was cold to her, even if he could ignore her entanglements with Benjamin, he would never sit by and watch some shady man harass the mother of his child.

With that thought, Daniel gave a nearly imperceptible nod and slipped downstairs before the situation escalated.

"Mr. Lugo, isn't it?" he said smoothly once he arrived. "I'm Daniel Prescott, secretary to Mr. Whitmore of Whitmore Group."

Whitmore Group was one of the country's most powerful conglomerates.

Even if Alexander wasn't an Edinburgh native, Tobias could hardly claim ignorance of the name.

At Daniel's words, Tobias glanced up toward the VIP rooms.

Spotting Alexander and his companions watching from above, his expression shifted.

A moment later, though clearly reluctant, he backed down and stalked off.

With the crisis averted, Daniel cast Isabella a brief look, then turned and left just as quietly as he had come.

The NovaTech group all exhaled in relief.

"Good thing Mr. Whitmore had someone step in. Otherwise..."

Isabella listened in silence, her expression cool and unreadable.