New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 348 Claire Style

Alexander gritted his teeth. "You're still upset about that? The apology video was your own fault."

"My fault?" Claudia scoffed, shaking her head in mock disbelief. "You forced me into it! You made me sit there, like some guilty child, apologizing for things that weren't even my responsibility. And don't even get me started on that stupid handwritten letter. Do you have any idea how many people online are laughing at me because of that?" Alexander's jaw clenched. "You deserved that. You messed up, and you needed to own it. That's how adults handle things, Claudia."

Claudia's eyes gleamed as she leaned back in her chair once more, crossing her legs in a casual display of triumph. "Oh, darling. I owned it, all right. But now? Now it's your turn."

Alexander's hand balled into a fist again, the knuckles turning white as he glared at her. "This isn't how business works, and you know it."

"Business?" Claudia laughed, the sound light and carefree as if this were all just a fun little game. "Sweetheart, this isn't business. This is war. And in war, there are no rules. You should've learned that by now."

Alexander swore under his breath, pacing the room like a caged animal. "You can't just play with people's livelihoods like this."

Claudia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, but I can. And I will. And there's nothing you can do about it because, as you so helpfully pointed out..." She gestured to the contract on the table. "You signed it."

Alexander grabbed the contract again, feeling like the words on the page were mocking him. He knew he should've been more careful.

"I swear, Claudia," he growled, "I will find a way out of this."

Claudia stood up, brushing imaginary dust off her perfectly tailored blazer. "You do that. In the meantime, I'll just sit back and watch you squirm. It's quite entertaining, really."

a withering look. "You're

heads toward the sound. Standing there, bold as ever, was Claire, her smirk already in place. Behind her, Claudia's secretary, looking flustered, was waving

cannot just walk

like she owned the place. "Well, well, well, look who's playing queen of the castle," she said with dripping sarcasm, her eyes locking onto Claudia's. "Hope I'm not

she glanced from Claire to her secretary. "Get out!" she barked at the poor woman, who mumbled a quick apology before scrambling out of the room. Claudia's glare then fell back

couch, her posture stiff, arms crossing tightly over her chest. "Cut the crap, Claire. What do you

still seated, looked just as bewildered. He stood up slowly, looking

faded, replaced by a serious expression. She met Alexander's gaze before turning back to Claudia. "I'm here to save you, Alexander. Whether you

walked even closer, her

her arms tighter, if that was even possible, glaring at

and pulled out a small flash drive. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed

a look at that," Claire said coolly. "Then

to her laptop, plugged it in, and opened the file. Her expression changed almost instantly. Her eyes widened in shock, practically bulging out of her head as the video played on her screen. "What the" she muttered under her

not the only one with connections. Did you think you were the only one

practically shaking with rage. "You...

Twitter. I noticed it's getting quite a bit of attention. Seems your private little account isn't so private

she snatched her phone off the desk, her fingers frantically scrolling through her notifications. The flood of replies, the shock on her face as she realized her account was set to public-it

"Did you do this?!"