The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 263

Crystal forced herself to swallow her anger and turned to Joyce again. “Ms. Gellar, I was hoping we could be friends—and maybe chat a little about my startup idea.”

Her voice was tinged with a mixture of hope and forced sweetness.

Then she whipped around to Rebecca, her tone turning icy. “Could you move aside?”

Rebecca was about to refuse, but Joyce cut in first. “Sorry, I’m busy right now. It’s not a good time. Besides, I’m not interested in your project—and I don’t have any desire to be friends.”

Joyce’s voice was firm and left Crystal with no room to maneuver.

Crystal’s face twisted with humiliation at the rejection. She stood frozen, as if rooted to the spot.

Only when Joyce made it clear she wanted her gone did Crystal snap out of it. She shot Rebecca a venomous glare, then stormed off in a huff.

Rebecca watched Crystal’s awkward retreat without the slightest trace of sympathy. As far as she was concerned, Crystal had brought this on herself.

Joyce’s eyes followed Crystal for a moment, a flicker of distaste passing through her gaze. She couldn’t stand people who were so calculating—it made them impossible to trust.

She turned away, dismissing Crystal from her mind, and smiled at Rebecca.

“Don’t mind her, Ms. Raina. Let’s get back to what we were talking about,” Joyce said warmly.

Rebecca nodded, just as eager to move on. The two women picked up their conversation as if Crystal had never interrupted them at all.

Crystal lingered a short distance away, watching Rebecca and Joyce chatting like old friends. Jealousy contorted her face as she clenched her fists until her knuckles went white.

But Rebecca didn’t notice. She and Joyce were getting along brilliantly, as if they’d known each other for years. They swapped stories about their lives, favorite books, and hopes for the future. In a world that often felt superficial and noisy, finding someone she could truly connect with felt like a rare gift.

Time slipped by unnoticed, until Dylan came over to let Rebecca know the party was winding down.

Only then did Rebecca realize how late it had gotten. She stood up to say goodbye to Joyce, and before leaving, they exchanged contact information, promising to meet up again soon.

After a pause, she tried to come up with a plausible excuse. “Mr. Thompson, it’s just... well, it’s not really convenient. If you take me home this late, people might get the wrong idea…”

She hoped that would be enough to put him off.

Dylan looked puzzled. “Who would get the wrong idea?”

Rebecca thought to herself, It certainly wouldn’t be me. But she knew this question was tricky to answer.

What she didn’t realize was that Dylan had already jumped to a conclusion. “Is it your boyfriend? Would he misunderstand?”

Rebecca blurted out, “What?”—completely caught off guard by the turn his thinking had taken.

She wanted to explain, but was at a total loss for words.