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.

the familiar sounds of him typing away, rapid clicks filling

a minute or so, Matthew's voice returned. "Got her. She's at her office.

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

her head. "Nope, not this time. This was pretty last-minute, actually. I mean, I had some ideas, but nothing solid. When you have someone

shocked, her hand flying dramatically

guess. I mean,

"Can't argue with that. He's got

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 to France the moment his plane landed, his sole mission was to confront Claudia and make her delete that damn

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 finally arrived,

of her desk. Alexander clenched his jaw, fists

"Oh? Which ones specifically, darling?" she asked

feel

He stepped closer to

sharp. "First you limit the wine stock at my hotel-even after we had an agreement. Then, you demand raise

set her cup down carefully, not a drop of tea spilling as

made a mistake, and I was just

the entire staff?" she

and sometimes they need to be told

one that made Alexander's skin crawl. "Oh, I'm sure that's how it works in your world, Mr. Harris. But

fisted his palms, trying hard to suppress the rage bubbling inside him. "This is not how business works, Claudia! You and I had an

wider, which, if possible, only infuriated Alexander more. 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 in his chest as he read through it, each line making less sense than the last. And