Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle-Chapter 144: Some Habits Never Changed

The Montclair Economic Forum had chosen one of the city’s older conference halls for its evening reception.

The building itself had once been a theater decades earlier, and although it had long since been renovated for corporate events, traces of the original architecture remained visible. Tall columns framed the main room. The ceiling rose higher than most modern conference spaces, allowing sound to drift upward before settling again across the floor.

By the time Audrey arrived, the reception was already in progress.

Clusters of guests stood near the long tables arranged along the edges of the hall. Glasses reflected the warm overhead lights while quiet conversations unfolded between analysts, journalists, and executives who had spent most of the day attending panel discussions.

Audrey moved through the room with the quiet efficiency she had developed over years of attending events like this. Her bag rested against her shoulder. A small notebook remained tucked beneath her arm. Every few steps she paused briefly to greet someone she recognized or exchange a few words with another reporter.

The environment was familiar. Predictable. The same kind of event she had covered dozens of times.

Still, her attention shifted instinctively toward the far side of the room the moment she entered.

Gilbert stood near the edge of one of the discussion circles, speaking with two executives she recognized from a financial advisory firm. The three of them stood slightly apart from the larger crowd, their conversation measured and deliberate.

Even from across the hall, Gilbert remained easy to recognize.

Some people changed noticeably over the years. Gilbert had not. His posture remained straight but relaxed, one hand resting lightly near his jacket pocket while he listened to the man speaking beside him.

Audrey paused beside one of the high tables near the wall. For a moment she simply watched the conversation from a distance.

Five years was a long time. Long enough that she had assumed the familiarity would eventually fade. Yet standing there now, she realized she still recognized the smallest details about him without thinking.

Across the room the conversation concluded. One of the executives shook Gilbert’s hand before turning toward another group of guests.

Gilbert remained where he was for a moment.

Then he adjusted the cuff of his shirt.

The movement was small. Almost absentminded. But Audrey recognized it immediately. He used to do the same thing years ago whenever he was preparing to say something he had already considered too carefully.

She had noticed the habit during a dinner they shared shortly after they first began seeing each other.

"You adjust your cuff every time you’re about to give a serious answer," she had said.

Gilbert had glanced down at his sleeve as if the observation surprised him.

"I do?"

"Every time."

Standing in the reception hall now, Audrey watched the same motion again.

Some habits never changed.

As if sensing her attention, Gilbert looked up.

Their eyes met across the room.

For a brief moment neither of them moved.

Then Gilbert excused himself from the remaining conversation and began walking toward her.

Audrey set her notebook on the table beside her.

By the time he reached her side of the room, his expression had returned to the calm composure he always carried in public.

"Audrey."

"Gilbert."

The greeting felt simple. Professional. Yet neither of them seemed uncertain about it.

"You’re covering the forum," he said.

Audrey smiled slightly.

"You remember."

"You attended the same event last year."

"I’m surprised you noticed."

Gilbert’s expression shifted.

"You were taking notes during the panel discussion."

"That narrows it down to half the room."

"Your notes were more organized."

Audrey laughed quietly.

"That almost sounded like a compliment."

"It was."

The conversation settled easily into a rhythm that felt more natural than their first interview had. Around them the reception hall continued filling as more guests arrived for the evening panel discussion.

Audrey lifted her glass and took a small sip.

"You’re speaking tonight," she said.

"Yes."

"Investment stability again?"

Gilbert nodded.

"The topic rarely changes."

"Neither do the questions."

"That’s true."

For a moment the two of them watched the activity around the room. A group of journalists gathered near the stage while several executives moved toward the front row of seats reserved for the panel speakers.

Audrey noticed Gilbert’s attention shifting briefly across the hall. He was scanning the room. Quietly observing who was approaching.

It was another habit she remembered well.

Years earlier she had first met him at a similar conference. She had been covering a panel discussion on corporate restructuring when one of the speakers—an unusually young executive representing Pemberton Corporation—had drawn the attention of nearly every journalist in the room.

After the discussion she had approached him with a list of prepared questions. Gilbert had answered them carefully. Directly. Without the usual evasiveness many executives used during interviews.

The conversation had lasted longer than she expected.

Later that evening he had approached her again near the reception tables.

"I noticed you asked different questions than the other reporters," he had said.

Audrey had smiled.

"Different answers require different questions."

That had been the beginning.

At first their meetings had remained professional. But eventually the conversations extended beyond interviews. They began seeing each other quietly. Dinner. Coffee. Walks through quieter parts of the city where neither of them expected to encounter familiar faces.

Their relationship had been calm. Private. Neither of them had needed to explain it to anyone.

But as Gilbert’s position within Pemberton Corporation grew more visible, the environment around them began changing. More journalists attended his events. More analysts began studying his decisions. Questions about his personal life appeared occasionally during interviews.

At first the changes were subtle. Gilbert became more careful about where they met. More aware of who might recognize them. Audrey noticed the way he scanned rooms before approaching her. The way he sometimes left events earlier than expected.

Eventually he had ended the relationship with the same calm tone he used for everything else.

"This will eventually attract attention," he had explained. "And when it does, it will create unnecessary pressure for both of us."

The decision had been practical. Reasonable. Audrey had understood the logic.

But understanding it had not made it easier.

The memory faded as the reception hall returned to focus around her. Gilbert was still standing in front of her.

"Did your article get the response you expected?" he asked.

Audrey tilted her head.

"You read it."

"I said I would."

"I didn’t think CEOs had time to read financial columns."

"We read the ones that mention our companies."

"That sounds like professional self-interest."

"It usually is."

The conversation paused as several guests passed between them on their way toward the stage.

Audrey closed the notebook she had been holding.

"These events haven’t changed much," she said. "Same people. Same conversations."

Gilbert glanced around the room.

"No," he said quietly. "For the most part they haven’t."

For a moment his attention shifted back toward her.

"When you stopped attending them for a while," he added, "they were noticeably less interesting."

Audrey studied him.

"You noticed?"

Gilbert nodded once.

"I usually notice the people who ask the better questions."

The corner of Audrey’s mouth lifted.

"Careful. That almost sounded like a compliment."

"It was."

Movement near the stage signaled the panel discussion would begin soon. Several executives gathered near the front row. Someone called Gilbert’s name from across the room.

He glanced in that direction.

"I should get back to the panel group," he said.

Audrey nodded.

"You’re speaking soon."

For a moment they remained standing beside the edge of the reception hall.

Then Gilbert turned and crossed the room toward the group waiting near the stage.

Audrey watched him go. Even among the other executives he remained easy to recognize.

For a brief moment his attention lifted again. Their eyes met across the hall.

Then the crowd shifted between them as more guests moved toward the stage. The space filled quickly with people preparing for the next discussion.

Audrey adjusted the strap of her bag and turned toward the exit.

Gilbert had already disappeared into the group of speakers near the front of the room.