Chapter 631
The atmosphere in the room took a somber turn almost instantly.
Thalassa was helpless, while Hertha was racking her brains for a solution.
Just then, her phone rang. It was her colleague Rose.
Hertha picked up, listened to what Rose had to say, and her mood instantly lifted. “Really? Alright, I’ll be there soon.”
She ended the call and turned to Thalassa with newfound hope. “Rose just told me that Payne will be at the event at the Starhaven Hotel today.”
Thalassa looked puzzled.
Hertha explained, “Payne is the captain of the Starhaven detective squad. If he’s not the best, no one is. If you can convince him to help you with your investigation, he can probably get to the bottom of it in a few hours.”
Thalassa understood, and she quickly rose to her feet. “Let’s go.”
“Wait a minute,” Hertha said, scanning Thalassa up and down. “Are you wearing that?”
Thalassa was dressed in a white blouse and a black skirt that reached her knees.
The typical office look.
“Is there a problem?” she asked.
“That’s a social event, so everyone will be in evening gowns.”
“I don’t have any evening gowns,” Thalassa admitted. She never had a need for such attire.
“We’ll just swing by the mall and pick something up. There’s still time, Hertha said, linking arms with Thalassa and leading her out the
door
They quickly picked out gowns and then hurried over to the Starhaven Hotel.
Entrance to the event required tickets.
Rose was already waiting for them at the hotel entrance, and she handed the tickets to them upon their arrival.
“I’ve got to go schmooze with my boss, but you two have fun. Good luck, Hertha!” Rose gave her a thumbs-up and a look of encouragement.
Hertha looked confident. “Don’t worry; I’ll win over my dream guy. Wait for the good news.”
Rose waved and left.
Hertha waved back, then held Thalassa’s arm and led her towards the event.
At the entrance, they were handed pens to sign on a wall already filled with numerous signatures.
Thalassa felt a bit awkward, but signed anyway.
Hertha, on the other hand, signed with a flourish.
Together, they stepped into the event.
It was a charity auction, where various items and curios picked up by the attendees were put up for auction. Prices were generally low. as the purpose was more for networking than profit-making.
The attendees, many of whom were well-dressed businessmen and socialites, were engaged in light-hearted conversations while sipping on their drinks.
Hertha guided Thalassa through the crowd, scanning the room for the person they were looking for.
“Thalassa, look, that’s Captain Payne,” Hertha said excitedly, pointing at a man standing by an antique stall not far from them.