Betrayed and Dumped She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 295

He lifted the seafood bag and grinned. “Don’t worry about the prep fee. I just thought it’d be more fun to eat together. The more people, the better, right?”

Rebecca almost turned him down. This was a company team-building trip, not a casual get-together. But then Paul let out a heavy sigh, his eyes full of disappointment. “If it’s a hassle, don’t worry about it. I’ll just find a little table in the corner somewhere. I know you booked all the private rooms anyway.”

That felt... a bit harsh. He was the eldest son of the Larson family, born with every privilege, and now he was talking about eating alone in some dark corner. It really didn't seem fair. Besides, Paul had helped her out a lot lately. Her mom always said you shouldn’t forget someone’s kindness.

Rebecca sighed, took the bag of seafood from him, and handed it to the waiter. “Alright, you can eat with us.”

It would take at least half an hour for the kitchen to deal with the seafood. With nothing else to do, Rebecca wandered off to the nearby bamboo grove to check out the new bamboo shoots. This was the season when they popped up everywhere on the mountain, poking through the earth, looking kind of adorable.

Paul followed her without missing a beat. “I really like bamboo shoots too.”

Morris, who was standing nearby, froze. Wait, what? Since when did you stop being allergic to bamboo shoots?

He stood there for a full two minutes, trying to convince himself it was real. So the girl Paul was into was probably... maybe... definitely Rebecca! He didn’t want to believe it, but his gut told him he was right. Of all the people in the world to fall for, Paul had to pick Bruce’s ex?

Morris swallowed hard, wondering if Bruce knew. And if he did, would he go ballistic? This was all Rebecca’s fault. He’d really underestimated her. She was way more capable than he’d thought.

Rebecca and Paul headed toward the bamboo grove and ran right into Stephen, who was on the phone at the entrance to the path. His lips were pressed together, brow furrowed as he listened to whoever was on the other end. When he spotted Rebecca and Paul approaching side by side, he spoke quietly into the phone. “Keep looking. If anything turns up, let me know right away.”

“Oh, sure. We’ll go ahead,” Rebecca said quickly, more than ready to escape the awkward tension.

The island was wide open, the scenery beautiful, and the air was fresh, but whenever Stephen was around, Rebecca always felt like she couldn’t breathe. Classic withdrawal symptoms. A few more encounters and maybe she’d get used to it.

As the phone kept ringing, Stephen walked off to a quiet spot to answer.

On the other end, Cody’s voice came through, buzzing with excitement. “Man, I’m finally up against someone who can keep up with me! It’s been forever since I had a real challenge, you know? I—”

Stephen pulled the phone away from his ear, not having any of it. “I don’t have time for your chatter. Just tell me what you found.”