New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 341 Let’ s Play

Alexander Harris was not in a particularly good mood after his call with Claire. His conversation with her had been tense, to say the least, and the pressure from the situation involving Claudia Wright was really starting to weigh on him. As soon as he was back in his car, he didn't waste time. He grabbed his phone and dialed Claudia's number, the edge in his voice sharp even before she answered.

Claudia was lounging in bed, flipping through a magazine when her phone buzzed. Glancing at the screen, she saw Alexander's name and rolled her eyes. "Here we go," she muttered to herself before answering. "What now, Alexander?" she said, her tone playful, expecting yet another lecture. But Alexander wasn't playing.

"You need to make an apology video," he said, straight to the point, his voice firm and cold. "And I expect a handwritten apology letter. Post them both on your social media, and send the letter to me as well."

Claudia sat up straight, her magazine forgotten. "Wait, what?" she scoffed, the disbelief clear in her voice. "That's too much, Alex. You're overreacting. I didn't ruin anything. All I did was show up and maybe interrupt a bit, but it wasn't like I crashed the whole Q&A session. I've told you this a thousand times!"

Alexander's voice didn't soften. "I don't care how many times you've said it, Claudia. You started this mess, and now you're going to clean it up."

"I started it?" she snapped. "I didn't realize attending a public event was a crime. It wasn't even that serious! The audience loved me."

Alexander's patience was hanging by a thread. "Loved you? Are you kidding me? The whole thing turned into a circus after you showed up. It's not about what you think happened, it's about how it looks to everyone else. You made a scene, Claudia, and now you have to fix it." Claudia was fuming. "You're acting like I set the place on fire or something! It was just a little Q&A, Alex. Lighten up!"

"Lighten up?" Alexander repeated, his tone icy. "Let me make this clear. If you don't do this, if you don't apologize and make things right, I'm terminating the contract between Solstice Vineyard and Harris Hotel. End of story."

That hit Claudia hard. Her grip tightened on the phone, knuckles turning white as she stood up from her bed. "You can't do that," she hissed, pacing back and forth. "You signed the contract, remember?"

"There's a termination clause," Alexander shot back without hesitation as if he'd been waiting for her to bring it up. "The one about disputes or disagreements between the parties involved. I can pull the plug if I want to."

her breath. That clause. She'd added it herself, thinking it would protect her from any shady moves Alexander might pull. She never imagined it would be used against her like this. She pressed her

glared at the floor, her heart racing. There was no way she was going to let him win this, but right now, her options were limited. He had her cornered, and

voice dripping with resentment. "I'll do it. But this is ridiculous, Alex. You're blowing this

what will happen if you do." Before Claudia could throw another retort, the line went dead. She stared at her phone in disbelief, the silence ringing in her ears. With a frustrated growl, she tossed the

she muttered to herself, glaring at

face as she picked up her phone. She had an idea that would hit Alexander

secretary, a sharp and efficient woman named Juliette,

can I assist you?" Juliette's tone was as smooth as the finest wine from

to limit the stock of our Solstice Vineyard wine at Harris Hotel. Make it very limited, you know? Just enough so they run out and start to panic." There was a brief pause on the other end. "Ah,

grin widened. "Exactly. Alexander needs a little

He threatened me, Juliette. Me! Poor man didn't even bother reading the full

understanding the game. "And

has a temper, and I'm sure there's something out there showing him lashing out at his employees. He can be quite the

start looking immediately. I'm sure there's something we can find. Monsieur Harris does

the pressure, just like he made me feel it. Business is business, after all. If he wants to play rough, well, I'll show him rough." Claudia's grin was positively wicked

her

Claudia placed her phone down on the table and leaned back, satisfied. This was going to be fun. Alexander might have thought he could intimidate her, but

things took an unexpected turn for Claire Peterson. She had just settled into her office, her mind preoccupied with the mountain of paperwork she needed to get through, when her