"President Taylor, Miss Melissa," Aria raised her glass with effortless grace, her smile warm and poised.
"Pleasure to meet you."
Mr. Taylor, much like Calvin, stood at the very pinnacle of the social hierarchy in the capital.
Under normal circumstances, someone like her wouldn't even have the chance to catch a glimpse of him, let alone exchange words.
Of course, that was precisely the perk of being Calvin's decoy.
"The pleasure is mine," Taylor lifted his glass slightly, his lips curving into a polite yet distant smile.
Outwardly, he exuded the refined elegance of polished jade, yet beneath that veneer lay an impenetrable aloofness.
Aria quickly sized him up.
This man would be even harder to handle than Calvin.
"Mm," Melissa, though reluctant to clink glasses with her so-called "rival," didn't want to compromise the Taylor family's dignity.
She raised her cup half-heartedly for a perfunctory toast.
