Chapter 4
Nicholas reached Emmett first.
Of course he did.
He crossed the ballroom with polished urgency, bride briefly forgotten, smile arranged into the expression he used for wealthy men.
“Mr. Stewart. I’m honored you made it.”
Emmett shook his hand.
“Congratulations.”
“I saved you a seat at the head table.”
“I’m sure.”
Nicholas gestured toward the front of the room, where name cards gleamed beside crystal glasses.
But Emmett’s attention moved past him.
Across the gold chairs.
Past the floral arrangements.
Past the guests waiting to be acknowledged.
To the children’s table.
Nicholas followed his gaze and froze.
Jenna looked up.
For the first time all evening, surprise crossed her face.
Emmett walked away from Nicholas without asking permission.
The room watched.
A billionaire CEO moving toward a children’s table creates a kind of silence no host can explain quickly enough.
Jenna stood halfway.
Emmett shook his head gently.
“No. Please. Stay seated.”
Then he pulled out the tiny chair beside her and sat down with complete seriousness, as if the toy dinosaur were a boardroom centerpiece.
Parker stared at him.
“Are you famous?”
Emmett glanced at Jenna.
“That depends who you ask.”
The little girl offered him a colored pencil.
He accepted it.
“Thank you.”
Jenna finally found her voice.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
Emmett looked around the ballroom, then back at her.
“Yes, I did.”
Nicholas arrived moments later, face tight with panic disguised as charm.
“Mr. Stewart, your seat is at the head table.”
Emmett placed the pencil beside the dinosaur.
“I came here to speak with Jenna.”
In that second, Nicholas understood he had lost control of the room.
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He just did not yet understand how badly.
Read the full story 👉 Emmett chose the children’s table in front of every guest, turning Nicholas’s insult into the center of the ballroom.
