New beginning: Billionaire love story (Claire and Alex) novel Chapter 248

Alexander jammed his hands into his pockets and looked every inch at the child who knew he'd been caught having done something wrong. His eyes flicking up to Claire's, he exhaled a deep sigh. “I'm sorry about last night,” he began contritely. “I didn't mean to get drunk. And I definitely didn't mean for you to have to take care of me.”

Claire's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows rose as she looked at him coldly. “Take care of you?” she repeated, and her voice was honey dripping with acid. “I didn't take care of you, Alexander.”

Alexander frowned, his head cocking slightly to one side. “Then what did you do last night?” he asked, and in it was the ring of confusion.

Claire fidgeted, staring at her nails in a bored fashion. “Your parents asked me to check on you,” she said nonchalantly. “I did not want to make a scene, so I went along with it.”

Alexander was really puzzled now. “But you were the one who brought me to the penthouse, right?”

Claire nodded, still disinterested. “Yes, I did. With the help from the hotel staff, mind you. It's not like I wanted to drag you around.”

Alexander frowned, slightly annoyed now. “I remember being at the lift. We were already out of sight of my parents. You could've just ignored me and left. So why did you help me?”

Claire let out a very audible sigh; she was tired of this conversation. “Why is it such a big deal to you?” she asked, turning to him exasperated. “I just want to know,” Alexander responded back-firm but not aggressive he genuinely wished to comprehend why she would go out of her way to help him when she could have easily walked away.

Claire clicked her tongue in annoyance and crossed her arms tighter over her chest. “I couldn't just leave you sprawled on the floor. We're business partners, Alex. If you ruin your image, Metacortex gets dragged down with you. It's not good for business.”

Alexander's shoulders sagged just a little. For some reason, her explanation let him down. He'd hoped, maybe just a little, that she'd helped him because she cared, not because she was worried about her company's reputation.

He nodded, accepting her reasoning, even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear. “Right. Business as usual,” he said, his tone flat.

Claire raised an eyebrow at him, echoing the change in tone. Alexander liked to argue; and enjoyed pushing until he got his way. But tonight, he seemed to have very little fight left within him. It was odd, yet Claire wasn't about to complain. She wasn't exactly in the mood for one of their usual battles.

“Thanks, though,” Alexander said finally, genuine in his tone. “For helping me last night.”

Claire frowned, taken aback by the air of calm that radiated from him. Alex had always been aggressive in his pursuit, never leaving her any breathing space. Now he was just. accepting of everything. Which, at best, was odd. "You're welcome, I suppose," she replied slowly, warily studying him.

Alexander nodded again and then huffed a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I don't know why I got so drunk,” he confessed. “I guess flying from Vegas and back to London without much sleeping and a lot of work then attending the banquet taken a toll on me.”

Claire studied him for a moment, then nodded. Claire understands him because she knows how it feels being so stressed out about loads of things and deadlines, and at the same time attending parties, events, and so on. “Just make sure next time, it's better to ditch than getting drunk.”

Alexander nodded. “Yeah, don't worry. I learned my lesson.”

Claire turned to Alexander with a look of finality. "We're done here," she said, making her way toward the door. Just as she reached for the handle, the door of the robotics room swung open and out walked Abigail. Her eyes immediately landed on Alexander, and a wide grin spread across her face.