New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 459 Annoying Client

Claire stared blankly at the stack of untouched files on her desk, her thoughts elsewhere. The day had been a blur of phone calls and hospital visits, and the weight of Matthew's condition sat heavily on her chest. The relentless buzzing of her phone snapped her out of her daze.

She glanced at the screen and felt her stomach twist. The caller ID wasn't a number she recognized, but something about it screamed trouble.

"Private number," she muttered, her gut telling her exactly who was on the other end. Eligos.

For a moment, she considered ignoring it. She had enough on her plate without dealing with his games. But the phone buzzed persistently, almost taunting her. With a sharp inhale, she swiped to answer. "What do you want?" Claire snapped, skipping any semblance of politeness.

A low, amused chuckle echoed from the other side. "Ah, Claire. Always so direct. It's one of your more charming qualities."

She rolled her eyes. "Save the flattery, Eligos. I'm not in the mood."

"Clearly," he replied, his voice dripping with faux concern. "You sound... tense. Let me guess. All those hospital visits taking a toll? Poor Matthew. Such a tragedy."

Claire's grip on the phone tightened. "Don't you dare talk about him."

"Why not? He's practically family to you, isn't he?" Eligos's tone turned colder, sharper. "Tell me, Claire, how does it feel knowing your trusted right-hand man is lying helpless because of you?"

Her jaw clenched, her heart pounding in her ears. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come now," he said, feigning innocence. "You think his accident was random? Nothing in your world ever is. You should know that by now."

Claire's breath caught. The insinuation was clear. "You... you did this."

"I didn't do anything," Eligos replied smoothly. "I merely... nudged things in the right direction." "You're a monster," Claire hissed, her voice shaking with fury.

"And you're predictable," he shot back. "Running to the hospital every day, pouring your heart out to a

man who can't hear you. Touching, really. But you should be focusing on what's coming next. This is only the beginning, my dear."

"I don't have time for your cryptic threats," Claire said, her voice steady despite the fire burning in her chest. "If you think I'm going to crumble because of this, you don't know me as well as you think." Eligos chuckled again. "We'll see about that."

line went dead

desk, her hands trembling. Her mind raced. Andrea? What did he mean by that? She hadn't seen Andrea in years—until their unexpected encounter days ago. Why would Eligos even care about

could spiral further, Sandra poked her head into the room, holding a

blinked, quickly masking her emotions. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's

Mr. Andrew, Ms. Peterson in 30

her eyes close and inhale deeply. "Can't we just cancel

can't. We have been postponing

some excuse. I am not in the mood to

reschedule one more time, he might walk," Sandra had said just

Claire had muttered under her breath, but Sandra's pointed look made

and pushed herself up from her chair. She smoothed her navy blazer and adjusted the cuffs of

conference room at

the rest of the building-glass walls, a massive oak table, and a state-of-the-art screen mounted on one end. Claire entered to find Mr. Andrews already seated, his leather briefcase neatly placed on the table and his tablet propped up in front

handshake. His cologne was overpowering, a mix of

forcing a polite smile. She gestured for him to

to meet,"

tone professional. "It's been a hectic few weeks." "Understandable," he said, though the tight smile on

Claire nodded. "Please."

fifteen minutes of the meeting went smoothly enough. Mr. Andrews outlined his proposal for a partnership between Metacortex and his company, an

paper, it

Matthew, still lying unconscious in the hospital, and the nagging feeling that Eligos

was saying,

The potential for scalability is

Claire nodded absently. "Interesting."

slightly, his expression sharpening. "I assume you've

I

off guard. "I've skimmed them," she lied, making a mental note to actually look at them

"I see. Well, I'd encourage you to take a closer look. The data speaks

the urge to roll her