Reclaiming Her Heart
Chapter 870 Max Was More Sensible than Selena

Upstairs, Raymond had already yanked out all his suits and tossed 'em on the bed. When John showed up, he got right to work, organizing each one like a pro.

Raymond stood there, staring at the empty closet, eyes landing on a small box inside.

John's voice piped up from behind. "Mr. Montague, everything's packed."

Raymond shut the closet door, his eyes sweeping the bedroom before locking onto the shelf by the window. The room still had that leftover romantic vibe from last night, but Selena had gone ice-cold in a heartbeat. With a sigh, Raymond stepped out of the room.

As he was about to hop in the car, Max showed up, chomping on his pant leg.

Max had always been Raymond's little buddy. Even before the split, Max was always glued to his side.

Plus, it was Raymond who took Max to the vet last time. Animals just know, and Max was all about him now, wagging his tail like crazy. Raymond glanced at the drool circle on his fancy suit pants, his face going stone-cold. He opened the car door and slid in.

Next thing you know, Max jumped right in after him.

Raymond stayed quiet.

Max was way more chill than Selena.

John, sitting up front, was freaked out. Knowing Raymond was allergic to dog hair, he figured if they ended up in the hospital, it'd be a mess.

John said, "Mr. Montague, I'll get him out right now."

Raymond looked at Max, lost in thought, remembering how freaked out Selena was last time, and then told John, "Go delete the surveillance footage from Ashbourne Manor. Don't let them know Max left with me." John's mouth twitched, thinking Raymond was being kinda childish. How could he live here so long and still swipe the dog?

But orders were orders, so John headed to the surveillance room.

The staff, all William's people, just ignored John's sneaky business.

After wiping the footage, John got back to the car.

Raymond leaned back, "Tell the butler to get some beef ready, the fresh, airlifted kind."

The car door was shut tight, so even if Max wanted out, he couldn't. Not that he wanted to.

The car rolled up to Manston Manor, and Raymond cracked the window. Max bolted out, tearing around the garden like a maniac.

The servants here all knew about Raymond's dog hair allergy, so when they saw Max, they freaked out, thinking he was some stray that wandered in.

Raymond didn't give it a second thought. When he walked into his bedroom, he felt a bit off, like he hadn't been there in ages.

The bed was still the one he used to share with Selena. He rubbed his temples and, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window, saw Max tearing up some pricey flowers.

Raymond's face darkened, and he headed downstairs, yelling, "If that dog digs up anything else, chop it up."

The butler knew Raymond was just blowing off steam. I mean, fresh imported beef was already prepped; would Raymond really care about a few flowers?

But Raymond always had a sharp tongue.

Meanwhile, Selena was glued to the online chatter.

S.M Corporation had botched the contract with Ford, and now they were getting roasted for it. She could only kick herself for trusting Alvin too much, never thinking he'd set her up. Selena stayed at the office until 8 PM, waiting for Richard to personally bring the contract.

Richard showed up with the contract and said, "Penny, check out these three roles. Happy with 'em? These are our top IPs. You know these are globally cast, with tons of competition, and I don't need to tell you how hot these IPs are. They're already planning the second sequel. If you're good with it, just sign here."

The terms Richard laid out were killer, even better than Selena had hoped for with these IPs.

If her company's actors could snag these roles, even if they were nobodies now, they'd shoot to stardom once the news broke.

She took a deep breath and called for a high-level meeting right away.

They had the contract, but she was stumped on which three actors to pick.

Right now, the top contenders at S.M Corporation were Austin and Sophia, both crazy talented. Plus, Austin was the first actor they signed when S.M Corporation was just starting out.

Selena was loyal, so whenever there were prime opportunities, Austin was her go-to.

Plus, Austin was drowning in bad press and needed some big news to turn things around.

Richard waited in the conference room while they hashed it out.

Selena watched the execs go back and forth, knowing the final pick was a tough call.

She kept going over the documents in front of her, and finally, she spotted a familiar name.