Chapter 140

Dominic's voice cut through the hum of computers. "Do you know that woman?"

At the mention of Isabella, Victoria's fingers froze mid-keystroke. Her first thought was that Dominic might be interested in her.

Isabella was undeniably stunning. But remembering the auction whispers and Dominic's current tone, Victoria realized her mistake.

She kept her face blank. "Not really. Why?"

Dominic gestured toward Isabella and Nathaniel. "The way she talks with Nathaniel - she seems competent."

Victoria shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Heard she only has a bachelor's degree."

"Just a bachelor's?"

"Mhm."

That explained everything. With lower qualifications than Victoria and none of her striking presence, Isabella's insecurity about Nathaniel made perfect sense.

Dominic could sympathize with her fear of losing Nathaniel.

But turning every accomplished woman into competition? Assuming they all wanted to steal her man? That was pathetic.

His neutral opinion of Isabella soured into mild distaste.

Across the room, Nathaniel finally had a free moment. His gaze drifted through the glass partition to Dominic and Victoria in the conference room.

After watching them for several seconds, he leaned close to Isabella. "Dominic likes Victoria?"

Isabella was deep in data analysis. It took her a second to process the question. "Probably."

She genuinely didn't care. After answering, she pulled Nathaniel back to work with a sharp tug. "Focus."

The sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave.

Nathaniel smirked. "Poor taste." That ended his gossip session.

Dominic noticed Nathaniel looking their way and assumed he was watching Victoria. When Isabella frowned and pulled Nathaniel away, he thought she was jealous of his attention toward Victoria.

Victoria hit a technical snag and paused.

She considered asking Nathaniel for help, but when she looked over, he and the InnovaTech engineers were all listening intently to Isabella.

Their rapt attention made Isabella look like some tech genius.

Victoria quickly looked away.

Isabella and Nathaniel worked straight through until 5:30 pm before finally wrapping up.

Arthur invited them into the conference room for a break and some water.

Meanwhile, the contract between CodeFlux and InnovaTech had been finalized.

Seeing Dominic's team had also finished, Arthur suggested, "It's getting late. Dinner together?"

Dominic's interest sparked as he glanced at Victoria.

Victoria pretended not to notice. "Sorry, Alexander is picking me up from Fleming Group. We have plans. Enjoy your meal."

With Victoria declining, Dominic lost all interest. "I've got things to handle too. Rain check."

Victoria showed no reaction, though she'd expected this.

Nathaniel observed everything, now certain Dominic liked Victoria.

It was obvious Dominic only backed out because Victoria wasn't going.

With both refusing, Arthur turned awkwardly to Nathaniel. "Mr. Graves?"

Nathaniel clinked his teacup against Isabella's with a grin. "We're free, right, Belle?"