Nicholas stepped closer to the family. Close enough that Aurora turned away defensively and Logan was forced to put his family behind him.
"Don't be foolish, Aurora. Come back with me."
"That's enough, Nicholas," Mr. Kaufmann said, stepping forward. "Aurora's already stated she's not leaving her family. You're also about to start your own. Let her go."
"You don't tell me what to do. Don't forget who's sponsoring your little party tonight." Nicholas threatened as he stormed off.
"I'm very sorry for what just happened," apologised Mr. Kaufmann.
"It's alright," said Logan, trying to reassure their host.
"It's not alright," Aurora interjected. "Mr. Kaufmann, how do you know Nicholas?"
"I am a cousin to his mother."
Aurora gritted her teeth. "You've never associated with him before; why now?"
Aurora's question struck a nerve with their host. Keeping his composure, Mr. Kaufmann raised his glass to the family. "Enjoy yourselves," he said as he walked away with his wife.
"What are you going to do?" Aurora asked, turning to Logan.
Logan glared at her. "You owe me answers."
"Then, let's go home," she whispered.
"We're not going anywhere. I've waited too long for this chance."
"You're not getting the contract."
"You don't know that."
Aurora let go of Adam and turned to face Logan.
"He's seen your proposals and is funding the dinner. It's obvious he's Kaufmann's backer. He'll never let you have the contract."
"I'm not walking away from this dinner." Logan said sternly.
Logan and Aurora said nothing but kept staring at each other. Aurora backed down, nodding her head in silent acceptance of Logan's decision. Logan sighed loudly.
"Even if my chances of getting the contract are nil, this is a dinner party on a level I've never attended."
"I know." Aurora said softly, gripping his hand.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYMB6cICTd
The family composed themselves and continued to mingle with the other guests. For his parents, mingling with the other adults was easy; there were a few eager to get acquainted with his mother.
Things weren't so easy for Adam. The other children were not interested in talking to him. He had tried to say hello to a few of them, but they all ignored him.
Adam remembered one of his mother's lessons.
"Everything has an order. You can't get to the top without climbing the ranks."
He had to get acquainted with the lowest-ranking group on Logan's level of wealth first. He remembered the pictures Aurora had shown him. Adam observed the groups of children carefully. Soon, he saw the hierarchy of the groups, like Aurora said. The group in the far left corner was where he had to mingle.
"Hi, I'm Adam."
"Hi Adam," the girl on his right replied.
She had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen.
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