New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 322 A Message from Venus

description, entertaining rich folks." His voice was low, filled with sarcasm as if he was talking more to himself than anyone else.

Matthew leaned back against the wall, half-listening to the small crowd of rich guests laughing and chatting around him. His eyes scanned the room, and he let out a quiet sigh. This was not what he signed up for. He muttered under his breath, "Not exactly in the job Sandra, standing next to him, caught his words and smirked. "I heard that."

He sidled up to her and leaned in. "So, when do I get to hush these people away? Please tell me soon," he asked, voice low but dripping with sarcasm.

Sandra smiled at the guest who passed by her.

"It's your choice. You're the one in charge here."

Matthew grinned, his mischievous side kicking in. "Oh, then it's over," he said with a wink, turning toward the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen," he called out, clapping his hands loudly to grab attention. "Thank you for your time, but our lovely host has some work to attend to. And by that, I mean she's locked in her office, working her magic."

A few of the guests chuckled, but most groaned good-naturedly, knowing it was time to wrap up. Matthew was about to make a smooth exit, satisfied with his performance when he spotted two familiar-and unwelcome-faces approaching.

Frank Potter and Robert Robertson.

Matthew's smile faded instantly, his face turning cold as he crossed his arms. "What do you want, Frank?" he asked, voice sharper than before.

Frank, ever the slimy businessman, smiled widely, but Matthew wasn't fooled by the friendliness. "Just wanted to pass along a little message for Claire. Tell her that Venus is going to outperform Metacortex. By a mile."

Matthew couldn't help but smirk, finding the comment amusing. "Oh, you mean to steal someone's idea and call it your own?" His words were slow, and mocking, and they hit a nerve.

Frank's smile faltered, his eyes narrowing. "You know, Matthew," Frank said, his voice low, "you're just Claire's helper. When she finds someone more useful, she'll throw you away like yesterday's news."

by Frank's side, "Claire will keep me around. I'm her right-hand man, Frank. Always have been,

Frank fuming, Matthew strolled out of the room and headed straight

her fingers drumming lightly on the wood as she watched the Q&A session from her press release earlier in the day. "Jeez, they were quick to upload this," she muttered, half-impressed, half-annoyed. On her second monitor, she scanned the latest news articles. Every outlet was buzzing with positive reviews about the robotic

were more interested in

Claire's eyes landed on a wild theory about the press conference: "That whole thing at the end was a skit! They staged it to go viral!" one commenter had written,

on the line with her secretary. "Any updates on the woman?" he asked, his voice casual, but Claire

She needed to keep her cards close. Adrian, of course, knew her skills, but Alexander? He had no clue.

worth it to dig into this, or let it go? she thought,

by the sound of her office door creaking open. She looked up to see Matthew striding in, looking

there?" Claire asked, not

your loyal sidekick, sending the rich folks home," Matthew replied with a wink as he sank into

an eyebrow. "Sidekick? Is that what

than 'helper."" He leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. "Frank Potter and his little pet, Robert, decided

her phone down. "Let me guess.

his tongue. "I told them to go work on their 'idea-stealing' skills

corner of Claire's lips. "They really think

said, leaning forward. "The dude tried to get in my head, and said you'd ditch me for someone more useful." Claire laughed, a sound that caught even her by surprise. "Useful? You?" she teased, her

said, clutching

getting darker by the second. His

and Matthew, who were in a conversation, whip their heads toward

in the corner, one hand gripping his phone while the other was resting on his hip. He was clearly irritated, and whatever was going on in that phone call wasn't pleasant. He hung up with a huff, tossing his phone onto the nearby

to stop herself from asking, "What

like he was trying to keep from shouting again. "It's Claudia Wright," he practically spat the name like it left a bad taste in his