Maverick remembered Isaac mentioning that Niall and Cullen would be making an appearance tonight. Rising from his chair, he nodded decisively. "Perfect. Text me when your grandfather wraps up his business."
"Absolutely." Maverick and Kolton made their way toward the exit. The moment they disappeared through the doorway, Marco and Nate walked into the gallery.
The Crystal and Mack immediately swarmed toward them like moths to a flame.
Marco extended his hand to Isaac in a firm handshake. Nate surveyed the crowded room with calculating eyes. "I thought Cullen and Niall were supposed to be here tonight. Have they not arrived yet?"
His sentence died mid-air when his gaze crashed into Veronica across the room. "Son of a bitch."
She was actually here.
Marco, oblivious to his companion's sudden tension, followed Nate' stare until his own eyes found Veronica. Something dark and unreadable flickered across his features.
Dario was approaching Veronica and Mary at that very moment, his attention completely focused on them.
Marco turned back to Nate and Isaac with practiced composure. "Excuse me gentlemen, I need to make the rounds." Without waiting for a response, he cut through the crowd.
"Mr. Reid, Ms. Murray." His voice carried just enough authority to make both Dario and Veronica pivot in his direction.
Dario straightened slightly. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Valerie."
Mary's ears perked up at the name. She remembered Thomas and Phillip discussing this man before, and her curiosity compelled her to study Marco more carefully.
Marco quickly assessed the obvious closeness between Veronica and Mary, his business instincts connecting the dots. He offered Mary a respectful nod. "You must be Madam Jayden. The pleasure is entirely mine."
"Likewise, Mr. Valerie." Mary's smile was warm but measured.
The Crystal and Mack had been watching Marco's movements, expecting him to schmooze with some industry heavyweight. Instead, they witnessed him paying his respects to Dario and, more surprisingly, to Veronica and Mary.
While Dario commanded obvious respect, Marco's deference to Veronica and Mary caught them off guard.
Jade's eyes narrowed as she observed Marco's courteous behavior. She leaned toward Nate with barely concealed curiosity. "Mr. Dante, what exactly is happening over there?"
Nate provided the explanation with clinical detachment. "Marco is knee-deep in a crucial business deal with Dario right now. Veronica wields considerable power at DataPulse. Dario actually threatened to pull the plug on their entire collaboration because of some issue with Veronica. Marco had to swallow his pride and play nice with her to keep the deal alive."
The revelation made perfect sense to Sophia and Jade, who nodded with newfound understanding. DataPulse's reputation in the industry was legendary.
The Crystal family had burned bridges trying to secure a partnership with DataPulse, only to be shut down because of Veronica's interference.
That rejection had left them nursing a grudge against her that still festered.
Given this context, they dismissed Marco's polite treatment of Veronica and Mary as purely strategic maneuvering.
Aurora tightened her grip on Jade's arm and whispered conspiratorially, "I had no idea Mr. Reid was so protective of Veronica."
Watching Dario's obvious regard for Veronica stirred something unpleasant in Aurora's chest.
Jade remained ice-cold in her assessment. "Patience is key here." The game was far from over between Dario and Veronica.
Once Cullen finally went through with the divorce, Veronica would be damaged goods - a single mother with baggage. Would the prestigious Reid family ever welcome a woman carrying that kind of history?
Veronica's charmed existence was living on borrowed time.
Bonnie chose that moment to make her entrance. She had initially planned to skip the art exhibition entirely, having zero interest in pretentious gallery showings.
But Marco had been conspicuously absent from her life lately. When Niall mentioned Marco would be attending tonight, she spent hours perfecting her appearance before making her way to the venue.
After exchanging pleasantries with her family and Nate, she was about to inquire about Marco's whereabouts when she turned slightly and spotted him across the room.
He was deep in conversation with Veronica.
Bonnie's carefully applied smile froze on her face as she watched Marco's body language. There was something in the way he held himself around Veronica that made Bonnie's stomach clench with an emotion she refused to name.
The gallery's ambient lighting cast shadows across Marco's face, but Bonnie could see enough to recognize that this was not mere business courtesy. The way he angled his body toward Veronica, the focused attention he gave her words, the subtle relaxation in his usually rigid posture - these details carved themselves into Bonnie's memory with painful clarity.
She forced herself to breathe normally, to maintain her composure, but her manicured nails dug crescents into her palms. Bonnie had dressed to perfection tonight, had hoped to reclaim Marco's attention, but here he was completely absorbed by another woman.
The bitter irony wasn't lost on her. She had come here specifically to see Marco, only to discover him entirely captivated by the one person Bonnie viewed as beneath her station.