New beginning: Billionaire love story

Alexander gritted his teeth.

And now Adrian was the center of attention, stealing the spotlight that Alexander thought should be his. He glanced at Abigail.

"Abigail," Alexander said, his voice a little too loud and a bit too eager. "Have you tried the lasagna yet? It's quite good."

Abigail blinked in surprise, her fork halfway to her mouth. "Uh, no, not yet-" But before she could finish, Alexander had already scooped up a forkful of lasagna and was holding it out toward her like he was feeding a toddler. She awkwardly leaned forward, taking the bite. "It's... good," she said, nodding politely, though she clearly wasn't expecting that.

Claire, noticing the sudden shift in Alexander's behavior, hid a smirk behind her wine glass. She speared a piece of salmon from her plate and turned to Adrian with a smile. "You should try this," she said, offering him a piece. "It's really good. I know you like salmon." Adrian leaned forward and took the bite, nodding appreciatively. "Wow, this is delicious! You always know my favorites," he said with a grin, clearly enjoying the attention from Claire.

Alexander clenched his jaw. How could Claire know Adrian's favorite food and not his? They'd been married for three years, and yet here she was, feeding Adrian like they were the best of friends.

Determined to shift the focus back to him, Alexander turned to Abigail again, reaching for the dessert tray. "You've got to try the chocolate cake," he said, scooping up a slice and holding it out to her, clearly thinking this was a winning move.

But Abigail raised her hand, stopping him with an apologetic smile. "Oh, no, I can't," she said softly. "I'm allergic to chocolate."

Alexander blinked, his fork hovering in the air. He hadn't expected that. He dropped the fork back onto the plate, mumbling an apology. "Oh... I didn't know."

Claire, watching the whole scene, couldn't help but let out a small, amused snort. She quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. Alexander's eyes flickered to her, his frustration growing.

Meanwhile, Matthew was watching the whole thing unfold like it was a sitcom. He shook his head in amusement and took a sip of his wine. "Well, this is getting interesting," he muttered under his breath, clearly entertained by Alexander's failed attempts at winning back the spotlight.

Standing up from the table, Matthew stretched his arms and turned to Claire. "I think I'm going to mingle a bit," he said with a wink. "I'll leave you all to... this." He gestured vaguely at the tense atmosphere between Alexander, Adrian, and Claire.

Claire nodded her attention back to Alexander, who was now picking at his lasagna with a frustrated expression.

"Are you okay, Alex?" Claire asked, raising an eyebrow. She was trying to hold back her amusement, but it wasn't working too well.

Alexander scowled, stabbing his fork into his plate. "I'm fine," he muttered, but it was obvious he was anything but fine.

Adrian, sensing the tension but clearly not caring too much, leaned back in his chair and smirked. "You know, Alex, you should really try the salmon. It might improve your mood," he said, chuckling. Alexander shot him a glare but didn't respond. Instead, he turned to Abigail again, clearly looking for some kind of ally. "Abigail, have you tried the salad yet? It's got these really nice cherry tomatoes."

Abigail, caught off guard, nodded quickly. "Uh, yeah, it's great," she said, though it was clear she was trying to stay out of whatever was happening between Alexander and Adrian.

Claire chuckled, unable to hold back any longer. "Alex, relax," she said with a teasing smile. "We're all just here to have a good time."

"Yeah," Adrian added with a grin. "No need to be so tense. It's just dinner."

Alexander clenched his jaw again, clearly not liking the fact that Adrian seemed to be winning over the whole table. But before he could say anything, Claire spoke up again. "Besides," she said, leaning back in her chair, "it's not like we're in some competition. Right, Alex?"

Alexander didn't answer, but his frown deepened. He glanced over at Adrian, who was now chatting with Abigail about something that had them both laughing and then back at Claire, who was watching him with that same teasing smile. Maybe there wasn't a competition, but it sure felt like one to Alexander.

And at that moment, he wasn't winning.

The next day, Claire sat at her desk, deep in thought about Jack's suggestion for a press release. She rocked her chair back and forth, staring at the papers in front of her, wondering if it was really a good idea. It wasn't like her to make big decisions quickly.

She glanced over at Matthew, who

was lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone. "Hey, Matt," she called out, breaking the silence. "Do you think it's a good idea to make a press release? Jack thinks it'll

protect our work, but... I don't know."

Matthew raised his brows, sat up straight, and gave her a serious look. "Honestly, Claire, it's a great idea," he said, putting his phone down. "Why? Because if this goes public, no can steal your ideas anymore. That's exactly what happened with Cortex

One

240, remember? Robert stote it and sold it to Venus AMD."

Claire groaned, the memory of that betrayal still stinging. "Ugh, don't remind me," she muttered. "Robert totally blindsided us."

"Exactly," Matthew said, leaning forward now. "You can't let that happen again. You and your team worked too hard on this project for someone else to swoop in and take all the credit."

Claire sighed and leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers on the desk. "You're right," she finally admitted, nodding. "We can't let history repeat itself. I'll take Jack's suggestion."noveldrama

Matthew grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. "Atta girl! See, you're already making the smart choice."

Claire smiled at him, feeling a little lighter. She pressed the intercom button on her desk. "Sandra, can you come into my office for a sec?" A moment later, Sandra, her assistant, walked in with a notepad in hand, looking ready for action. "Yes, Ms. Peterson?" Sandra asked with a bright smile.

"I need you to prepare a press release," Claire said, sitting up straighter. "Let's hold it at the National Theatre on Upper Ground in London. Can you check on the availability and book the venue?"

Sandra nodded, scribbling down notes. "When would you like to do it?"

Claire thought for a second before saying, "How about Monday? Everyone seems to be in full work mode at the start of the week. It'll get more attention."

Sandra smiled. "Monday's a great choice. I'll get everything sorted and make sure the media is notified."

"Thanks, Sandra. You're the best," Claire said, giving her a warm smile. Sandra left the office, already on her phone to get things rolling.

Claire picked up her office phone and dialed Jack's extension. When he picked up, she jumped straight in. "Hey, Jack. Just letting you know that I'm moving forward with your suggestion. We're doing a press release next Monday."

Jack sounded thrilled on the other end of the line. "That's fantastic news, Claire! I'm really glad you considered it. I'll inform the other shareholders about the decision. They'll be happy to hear this."

"Thanks, Jack," Claire said, feeling more confident now. She hung up and glanced at Matthew, who was stretching out lazily on the couch.

"Looks like everything's falling into place," Matthew said with a satisfied grin. "You're gonna crush this, Claire."

"Let's hope so," she replied, though a small smile tugged at her lips.

Meanwhile, over at Harris Company,

Alexander Harris was in his office, frowning at his phone. He had just gotten off a call with the police, and the news wasn't good. They had been investigating the attack on Claire that had happened a week

ago, but now it seemed a week

things

had hit a brick wall.

The officer on the phone had informed him, "Mr. Harris, we've reviewed the surveillance footage from the night of the incident, but... it's gone. There's no trace of it." Alexander's brows furrowed, his disbelief evident. "Gone? How is that even possible? The only people who had access to that footage were the police. How could it just disappear?"

The officer on the other end of the line sounded apologetic. "We don't know, sir. We've never seen anything like this before."

Alexander leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Unbelievable," he muttered. "There's got to be something. No leads at all?"

"I'm afraid not," the officer replied. "We're still investigating, but at this point, we don't have much to go on."

Alexander sighed deeply, frustration building inside him. "Alright, keep me updated if anything changes," he said before hanging up.

For a moment, he just sat there, staring at the ceiling. It didn't make any sense. How could the surveillance footage just vanish? And who would go to such lengths to cover up what happened to Claire?

He shook his head, trying to make sense of it all. "No wonder Claire always handles things herself," he muttered to himself. She never trusted anyone to take care of her business, and now he understood why.