Luana's eyebrows instantly furrowed, and she blurted out, "Mr. Ortega, I've already submitted my resignation application and am here to handle the handover. Could someone else take care of arranging the dinner?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the three people sitting on the sofa looked up and turned their gazes towards her.
Luana inadvertently met Cline's deep eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.
She feigned composure, quickly averting her gaze to Dawn.
Nearly fifty, Dawn exuded an aura of authority that commanded respect, yet Luana had never been intimidated by him.
Others might avoid his gaze, but she could look him straight in the eye, as if he were a relative who gave her a sense of fearlessness.
Dawn's dignified expression darkened as Luana scrutinized him so boldly.
He felt that Luana, who bore a resemblance to his daughter Runa, had been treated with more leniency by him than others.
Did she think that because he was more attentive to her, she could act so recklessly?
To openly refuse him in front of Cline was to humiliate him.
Dawn was displeased with this, but he had to maintain the demeanor of a chairman and not be bothered by someone as presumptuous as Luana.
Runa suddenly spoke up, "Luana, I've seen your resignation application, but I haven't had the chance to approve it yet. Why don't you finish the task Mr. Ortega has assigned and then discuss the handover with Laura?"
Runa's words were tactful.
On the one hand, she reminded Luana that her resignation had not been approved, and as an employee of Winward, she must complete the tasks assigned.
On the other hand, she indicated that by refusing Mr. Ortega in public and causing him to lose face, Luana had no choice but to undertake this task.
Understanding Runa's implication, Luana sighed deeply in her heart.
She had been too impulsive just now, speaking without thinking.
Luana could only reluctantly agree, considering it the last task she would handle for Winward.
She turned and left, and Dawn watched her retreating figure, his disdainful gaze shifting back to Cline.
"Cline, would you like to join us for dinner tonight?"
His tone was gentle, even ingratiating, and his eyes were warm and kind.
Cline, leaning on the sofa, never looked up.
Seeing that he did not respond, Dawn thought he did not want to go and quickly added, "Oh! I forgot it. The Coburn Group and Winward have had a dispute over the western land project, so it's natural for the Winward CEO to mediate. As the initiator of this bidding, you should indeed avoid any suspicion."
The Coburn Group believed that his daughter had a close relationship with Cline and feared that he would favor Winward out of old feelings, so they had been secretly causing trouble for the Ortega family, trying to force them to withdraw from the bidding.
Dawn would not easily give up such a lucrative opportunity, so he deliberately organized tonight's dinner party in front of Cline.
He asked Cline if he would attend, hoping he would help Runa mediate the relationship between the two parties.
Only with Cline, the initiator, present would the Coburn Group cooperate. Otherwise, it would be difficult for Runa to succeed in mediation alone.
Of course, seeing Cline was not very keen, he made his words more implicit and tactful.
After all, he was not sure about Cline's feelings for Runa now, so he could not ask Cline to do things as the father of his future wife-to-be. It was enough to hint at it.
Cline put away his phone, looked at the expectant Dawn without expression, and said, "Send me the address."
Dawn did not expect him to agree to attend the dinner and was overjoyed, quickly saying, "Runa will send the address to you later."
Then, with a smile, he looked at Cline and said, "Runa has just taken office and lacks authority. Please take care of her tonight."
As a group director, he naturally could not attend such a dinner.
If it were not for the Coburn Group making things difficult for his daughter, he would not have intervened to organize this "mediation" dinner.
Fortunately, Cline agreed, and with such a strong backing tonight, Runa would definitely not be bullied by the Coburn Group.
Thinking of this, he quickly motioned to Runa, "Thank you, Cline."
Runa quickly straightened up from the sofa, moved closer to Cline, and said, "Cline, thank you for your help."
Cline slightly turned his body, avoiding her touch, and coldly said, "He gave me the development rights, so I can not stand idly by."
The "he" Cline referred to was his grandfather, whose status was far beyond the reach of these groups.
Dawn understood the meaning of his words. Cline mentioned his grandfather to indicate that he agreed to attend not because of Runa but for official business.
Although this might make Runa uncomfortable, for Dawn, as long as Cline agreed to the dinner, the reason was not important.
Cline said, "I'll go back to the Moriarty Group first," got up, and left.
Seeing him leave like this, Runa was full of disappointment.
Dawn patted her hand and comforted, "The western land section involves land development. Cline has to handle it officially. You should understand him more."
Runa then put away her dejected emotions, nodded, and said, "I understand."