"But luckily," Derek continued, "I did find out that his name was Reginald Lloyd."

Chantelle sneered. "Reginald Lloyd… Andrew Lloyd—what a coincidence. They're both Lloyds. Too bad one of them earned your admiration as a once-in-a-generation strategist…"

"And the other?" She gave a dry chuckle. "Let's just say… he doesn't quite measure up."

Derek smiled. "Elle, seems like you've got a bit of a grudge against our Mr. Lloyd. Care to share why?"

Chantelle hesitated, visibly grinding her teeth. She obviously could not tell Derek that Andrew had already seen every inch of her thanks to an earlier incident.

Instead, she cleared her throat. "Mr. McCormick, stop pulling my legs. We're public servants, and since Mr. Lloyd is working with you, I have no right to dislike him."

She deflected smoothly with a rehearsed tone.

Derek nodded. "It's obvious Andrew has potential. The old money clans have been monopolizing power and locking up economic control for far too long. Seeing someone