But Serena's triumph lasted all of two fleeting seconds before her mind raced back to a scene at school.
Mr. Albright, in a very public setting, had proclaimed that Rosemary's chess prowess was his tutelage at work, and even floated the idea of Rosemary succeeding him.
If Rosemary truly was his protégé, given their mentor-mentee bond, it stood to reason that Mr. Albright would likely extend an invite to his birthday bash.
With that thought, Serena's mood soured. It seemed Rosemary's luck was infuriatingly good, having stumbled upon Mr. Albright's guidance.
Without that stroke of fortune, Rosemary probably wouldn't even know chess.
Her thoughts stewing, Serena's fingers danced over her phone, sending a WhatsApp message to Martin.
[Martin, got an invite to Mr. Albright's birthday bash? I heard he's always been low-key, celebrating quietly. Never threw a big shindig like he's doing this time. I'm head over heels for the violin, you know.
