New beginning: Billionaire love story (Claire and Alex) novel Chapter 398

As Claire stepped into her office, a familiar voice greeted her from across the room. “How's the self-care going?” Matthew was seated on her desk, casually flipping through a newspaper.

Claire let out a long sigh and plopped down on the couch. “It went well. Honestly, I feel relaxed... but,” she trailed off, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

Matthew raised a brow, folding the newspaper. “Uh-oh. What's the ‘but’?”

Claire turned fully to him, frowning. “I ran into Cindy Marshall.”

Matthew chuckled. “Name rings a bell, doesn’t it?”

She snapped her fingers, clearly frustrated. “Exactly! Sounds so familiar, but I can’t remember where from.”

Matthew leaned back, a playful smirk on his face. “Claire, your age is showing.”

Claire shot him a glare. “Very funny.”

“Hey, I’m just saying,” he shrugged. “You remember telling me about her a few months back? The whole mess in America—Cindy Marshall and her dad, Alexander. You even said Alexander pretty much single-handedly ruined her career. Ringing any bells now?”

Realization dawned on her face, and she nodded. “That’s why her name sounded so familiar. I can’t believe I forgot that.”

“Must’ve been one heck of a self-care day if it wiped her right out of your memory.”

She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I saw her at my regular salon. But, like... what’s she even doing here in London? She’s American, and after everything that happened, I thought her career was pretty much over.”

Matthew scratched his chin, thinking. “Funny you mention that—I saw a new billboard with her face on it just the other day. I thought it was weird, too, given what you told me about Alexander putting an end to her career.”

Claire shrugged, looking bored already. “Probably ran crying to Daddy and got herself a job.”

Matthew smirked. “So you’re not worried?”

“About her?” Claire scoffed. “Not even close. She’s not on my radar. I mean, she’s not worth it.”

Matthew leaned forward, grinning. “Fair enough. Speaking of people on your radar, how’s it going with your mystery admirer?”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Stuck, honestly. No clues, no nothing. Weirdly enough, there hasn’t been any movement these past few days. Whoever this person is, they’ve been haunting me constantly, but suddenly… radio silence. I mean, either they gave up, or they got wind of the new software I designed to keep their nonsense out.”

Matthew raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “So, it’s good enough to keep them out?”

She gave a small, prideful smile. “Mostly. There are still a few bugs I need to work on. Every now and then, it just… glitches.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Well, that’s still progress. Anyway, keep me posted. I’m still working on finding the guy behind that whole dead-body-in-the-car-trunk situation. Fun times.”

Claire snorted. “Oh, good. I’ll leave that delightful task in your hands.”

“Gladly.” Matthew hopped off the desk, giving her a little wave before he strolled out of her office.

Sighing, Claire turned back to her computer and picked up where she’d left off. After a while, Sandra poked her head in, clipboard in hand.

“Claire, just a reminder—you’ve got that meeting tomorrow with a potential business partner.”

Claire looked up and nodded. “Got it. Thanks, Sandra.”

As the clock struck five, Claire decided to call it a day. She packed up, slipped her things into her bag, and headed downstairs to the lobby, where her driver was waiting. A light rain had started, soft drops hitting the car windows as they made their way through the city streets.

When they pulled up to the hospital, Claire took a deep breath, steadying herself. She walked inside, took the elevator to Adrian’s floor, and made her way to his room. She knocked gently, then pushed the door open, spotting him watching TV with a snack in hand.