The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 166

Last time, Citrine had disrupted Sawyer's negotiations with CICI Group, and he hadn't forgotten. Now, seeing her here today, Norton felt a creeping sense of dread. Determined not to let her mess things up again, he decided she shouldn't be allowed inside.

"Your brother's right. You can't go in today," Sawyer said, echoing Norton's sentiment. His gaze toward Citrine grew wary, as if she might ruin everything for him.

Citrine let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to boss me around?" She was genuinely amused—if nothing else, the Iverson family sure knew how to keep surprising her, time and again.

Carlotta saw Citrine being pulled aside and followed, frowning. "What's going on here? Citrine's with me today," she said, clearly annoyed.

Carlotta had read enough online to know the gist of Citrine's messy history with the Iversons. Not that she'd ever had a high opinion of them, but now she could barely hide her disgust.

"Ms. Yarbrough?" Sawyer had been so focused on Citrine, he hadn't even noticed who was with her. Now he recognized Carlotta's face.

Carlotta didn't bother with pleasantries. "Citrine is my guest today." If Citrine weren't so intent on keeping her identity under wraps, Carlotta would've loved to tell Sawyer that the "little girl" in front of him was actually the founder of CICI Group—the very person he was so desperate to do business with.

"Ms. Yarbrough, I'm afraid she can't join you today." Sawyer kept a polite smile plastered on his face, though his eyes gave away his resolve—there was no way he was letting Citrine in.

Carlotta bristled at his shamelessness and was about to argue further when Citrine spoke up, her tone edged with amusement. "I was invited. I have an official invitation. Can you say the same?"

She looked from Sawyer to Norton, her gaze playful and challenging. "Do either of you have an invitation?"

Sawyer and Norton both froze, exchanging startled glances. "Where did you get an invitation?" Sawyer asked, astonished.

Citrine's expression turned icy. "Not for sale," she replied flatly.

Just then, a group of middle-aged men in black suits emerged from the Viridis Medical Institute. The one leading them wore black-rimmed glasses and carried himself with unmistakable authority. His gaze landed squarely on Citrine.

Sawyer caught sight of the man and held his breath, excitement flickering in his eyes. He was about to speak when the man strode past him, heading straight for Citrine.

"Is there a problem here?" the man asked, stopping in front of her.

Citrine smiled sweetly. "Just a couple of troublemakers without invitations, trying to force me to hand over mine." She shot a pointed, mocking look at Sawyer and Norton.