Inside the teahouse, the group chatted merrily, bursts of laughter ringing out from time to time.
Yet everyone harbored their own hidden agendas, each plotting their own little schemes. This was no reunion of old friends; it was clearly a summit of conspirators, fraught with undercurrents of rivalry. Osborne, in particular, kept making subtle, indirect probes, trying to extract intelligence about Gaga.
Gaga had been on guard from the start, frequently talking nonsense to disrupt Osborne's rhythm, making the whole affair feel less like a chat and more of a psychiatric consultation.
Chapter 445