New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 347 Payback

They spent the next stretch of the flight chatting about the timeline, laughing over some of the absurd twists and turns in the drama.

Claire filled Adrian in on the major events, from Alexander's public meltdown to the press releases that had sparked it all, and how Claudia had seen her chance to strike. Adrian listened intently, nodding along, occasionally throwing in a sarcastic remark that had Claire rolling her eyes.

The flight was short, and before they knew it, the pilot's voice crackled over the intercom, announcing their descent into Paris.

"Already?" Adrian asked, glancing at his watch.

"Time flies when you're plotting someone's downfall," Claire quipped, shutting her laptop and standing up. She straightened her jacket and made her way to the front of the plane. As she reached the door, she turned and smiled at the pilot. "Thanks for the smooth ride. Excellent service, as always."

The pilot smiled back, giving her a polite nod. "Our pleasure, Ms. Peterson."

Claire thanked the air stewardess too before stepping onto the stairway, the crisp Parisian air greeting her. Adrian followed close behind, pulling his jacket tighter around him.

"Always feels different landing here," Adrian commented as they descended the stairs.

"Yeah, it's got that charm," Claire agreed, spotting the sleek black car waiting for them at the bottom. The driver stood by the car, nodding at Claire as she approached. Without hesitation, they climbed into the backseat, the leather interior cool and smooth. Once inside, Claire took out her phone and dialed Matthew. He picked up almost immediately, his tone casual.

"What's up, Claire?"

"I need Claudia's location," Claire said, her tone brisk.

could hear the familiar sounds of him typing away, rapid clicks filling

minute or so, Matthew's voice returned. "Got

with the incoming message, and she glanced at the screen before looking up at the driver. Switching to flawless French, she gave him the address. "Nous allons à cette adresse, s'il vous plaît." (we are going to this address, please.) The driver nodded and the car smoothly pulled away from the tarmac. Adrian, amused, turned to her

nothing solid. When you

be shocked, her hand flying dramatically to

mean, the guy is

argue with that. He's got a

had been pacing back and forth in Claudia Wright's office for hours, growing more agitated by the minute. The room was sleek, with expensive modern art lining the walls, but to Alexander, it felt like a cage. He had flown straight

when he got to her office, she wasn't there. Instead, he had been told to wait. One whole hour of sitting in that sterile, overly decorated space, his impatience growing by the second. And now that Claudia had

sipping tea as if he weren't fuming on the other side of her desk. Alexander clenched his jaw, fists tightening at

her cup. "Oh? Which ones specifically, darling?" she asked with a slow, deliberate

could feel his

stepped closer to

at my hotel-even after we had an agreement. Then, you demand raise

a drop of tea spilling as she leaned back

made a mistake, and I was just 'fixing'

she

"It wasn't mistreatment. People make mistakes, and sometimes they need to be told off for

Alexander's skin crawl. "Oh, I'm sure that's how it works in your world, Mr. Harris. But in mine? We call that bad

business works, Claudia! You and I had

She tossed a document onto the coffee table between them, her voice sickeningly sweet. "You might want to take another look at the contract, Alex. I believe you missed a little detail." Alexander snatched the contract from the table, eyes scanning the pages furiously. His heart pounded