New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 409 Banquet

Alexander gritted his teeth as he walked into the grand banquet hall. If it weren't for business obligations, he'd be anywhere else. The place was packed with overly-dressed guests, all buzzing with chatter about mergers, acquisitions, and the latest financial drama. He "Alexander, good to see you here!" A familiar voice called out, and he turned to see Mr. Dawson, an old partner in the tech industry. With a polite nod, Alexander extended a hand.

could barely muster up the energy to pretend he was interested in any of it.

"Good to see you too, Dawson. How's the recent project treating you?" Alexander asked, already bracing himself for the inevitable long-winded answer.

"Oh, you know, busy as ever! I've got the best team, though," Dawson said, clearly proud of himself. "Maybe one day we'll give Metacortex a run for their money, eh?" Alexander gave a slight chuckle, more out of courtesy than anything. "Good luck with that. They're quite the competition."

Another business partner joined them, immediately launching into talk of numbers and predictions for the upcoming quarter. After a while, Alexander couldn't take any more. Business talk was exhausting on the best of days, and tonight, he simply wasn't in the mood. As soon as he spotted an opening, he excused himself. "If you'll excuse me, I need to grab a drink," he said with a slight smile, making his way to the bar. He was about to order a whiskey when he turned, bumping into someone. His eyes narrowed when he saw who it was.

"Cindy?" he asked, surprise mixed with irritation. "What are you doing here?"

She flashed him a sweet, borderline smug smile. "Oh, Alexander! Nice of you to finally talk to me," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Especially after you so kindly ruined my career."

Alexander rolled his eyes. "You deserved it. You embarrassed Claire back in America-don't pretend like you're innocent."

Cindy scoffed, folding her arms. "So, you really are that whipped by her, huh? It's almost cute."

His eyes flashed with irritation. "Watch it, Cindy. Don't do anything stupid or think about bothering Claire. If you do, I won't hesitate to do the same thing I did before."

her, puzzled. What did she mean by

polite nods and small talk here and there, but his attention drifted until his gaze landed on Claire from across the hall.

sigh, he downed his drink. This banquet was a nightmare of boring conversations, stiff competition, and veiled threats. Not to mention running into Cindy. Enough was enough. Alexander set his glass down, straightened his suit, and headed for the exit, deciding he'd rather face a quiet night

a marble column, wine glass in hand, but her mind

stuck with you, and now Claire was feeling unusually... rattled. She couldn't help but wonder, what on earth could

for a glimpse of Cindy's blonde hair bobbing around. Spotting Matthew across the room, she made her way over

a little closer,

at her, looking thoroughly perplexed.

glancing around. "She was here earlier. And she

a brow, looking curious and amused

"Claire paused, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "She said

serious, his brow furrowing. "She said that?

"That's the thing, Matthew! I have no idea. That's why I'm worried. I mean, Cindy's showing up here out of the blue—it's strange,

slowly, the wheels in his mind clearly

wine. "Well,

harmless," he said,

things up just for fun." He leaned a bit closer,

muttered, unconvinced. "But... there's something about it