Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 112

Lance didn’t act the way Barnard had predicted. “Barnard should be punished, but let’s give Camilla a break.” He glanced at Abelard. “Bring a chair over for Camilla. Please, take a seat.”

Abelard read the cue right away and pulled out the chair nearest to Lance, nodding at Camilla to sit.

Camilla told herself there was nothing going on with Lance, nothing she needed to feel guilty about. Still, the tension in the room made her uneasy, like she was doing something wrong just by being there. Especially now, seated so close beside Lance, while Barnard stood at Lance’s other side, throwing back drinks like he was trying to drown out the room. From the outside, anyone would assume she and Lance were together.

Camilla shifted, itching to move to another chair, but Lance noticed and stopped her. “Sit here, Camilla. It’ll be easier for us to talk. That’s alright by you, isn’t it, Barnard?”

“Of course,” Barnard replied smoothly. “I already spoke to Camilla. You two should swap numbers. If you ever need any custom jewelry, you can talk to her directly.”

“Looks like I’ll be troubling you, Camilla,” Lance said, his tone cool and formal, almost like a polite stranger.

Barnard, finishing another drink, finally found his chance to speak to Lance. But leaping into business right away felt too pushy to him. He kept tossing Camilla nervous glances, hoping she’d steer the conversation that way for him.

Camilla ignored those looks completely, keeping her eyes on the table. She wasn’t about to bail him out.

So the tension dragged on for another half hour, nobody bringing up what they really wanted to say. Barnard was getting impatient when a hotel server came in with more drinks.

Seeing who it was, Barnard nearly choked on air. His stiff expression froze.

It was Davina. She had dressed herself as one of the hotel staff.

The second she entered, Barnard’s panic was obvious. He looked all around, like someone might catch him in the middle of something shameful. He shot Davina panicked signals, urging her to leave right away.

This was a private dining suite, with plenty of staff. His housekeeper pretending to be a server made no sense, no matter how he spun it.

Camilla saved him. She looked at Davina and said, “Really, Davina, if you think your pay isn’t enough, you can talk to Barnard. There’s no need for a side job here, is there? Anyone hearing about this might think we’re terrible employers. It’s embarrassing, honestly.”

The moment Camilla spoke up, Barnard snapped out of his daze and latched onto her story. He scolded, “Exactly. Davina, you work for the Carter family. If you have any issues, you talk to me, not go hunting for other jobs. Come with me now. You’re disturbing our guests.”

Davina was trembling. She’d just wanted to peek in, make sure Barnard and Camilla were okay. She never thought Barnard’s guest would be so sharp that they’d spot her in an instant. Afraid to make things worse, she hurried out, following Barnard.

The door shut behind them and the room felt a little lighter. Lance let out a soft, mocking laugh. “So careful, keeping tabs like that. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were his secret lover.”