Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 42

Chapter 42 The Composed Man

“It’s nothing.” Lennox picked up a macaron and tasted it with complete composure, as if absolutely nothing had happened.

He was so calm about it, so unbothered, like he hadn’t just had his hand touched at all.

Nerissa gave him mental props. ‘Guess I still need more life experience, she thought. ‘It was just touching his hand. Why am I so flustered? I need to learn from Lennox.’

She took a deep breath and pretended nothing had happened, continuing her chat with Riley and Faye. Thankfully, Riley and Faye were deep in conversation and hadn’t noticed anything.

Lennox glanced at his phone. “Riley, Luke’s here. I’ll go meet him outside.”

“Sure, go ahead.” Riley didn’t even look up.

If Riley had been paying attention, she would’ve noticed Lennox’s voice sounded rougher than usual, deeper somehow.

Lennox stood up and headed for the door.

Early October air already had a slight chill to it, but Lennox felt uncomfortably warm. He undid the top button of his shirt.

He waited about ten minutes before Luke finally showed up.

Luke looked surprised to see Lennox standing outside the restaurant entrance. “Lennox? What are you doing out here?”

“Waiting for you.” Lennox’s tone was casual.

“Waiting for me?” Luke felt flattered and a little shocked. ‘Lennox was actually waiting for me.’

But then Luke noticed something different about him and asked, “Lennox, have you been drinking?”

“What do you mean?” Lennox asked.

Luke continued, “Why is your face so red?”

Lennox’s face was flushed deep red, and the color spread all the way down his neck.

“It was too stuffy inside, Lennox explained.

‘Too stuffy?’ Luke scratched his head in confusion. “But it’s not even that hot today.”

“I run hot,” Lennox said, his voice low.

‘He runs hot?’ Luke immediately caught up with Lennox and teased, “Sounds like you need a girlfriend, Lennox.”

What started as a joke made Lennox’s face turn even redder, like it was on fire.

Whatever crossed his mind made him lower his voice and say, “Your mom and everyone are inside. I’m gonna hit the

restroom.”

He needed to splash some cold water on his face and pull himself together.

Luke watched Lennox’s hurried retreat with pure surprise in his eyes. He’d only been joking around, but apparently Lennox was way more innocent than he thought.

Luke laughed to himself. ‘Dude’s like some kind of innocent alpha virgin.’

Luke walked into the restaurant and spotted Riley and Nerissa sitting together chatting, and there was a cute girl sitting next to Nerissa.

“Mom, Luke walked over. “Ms. Jamison.”

Nerissa smiled at him and said, “This is my friend, Faye.”

“Nice to meet you, Faye. I’m Riley’s son, Luke Merritt.” Unlike Lennox, Luke was naturally outgoing and friendly.

Riley looked at Lennox curiously. “Where’s Lennox?”

“He went to the bathroom,” Luke said.

“I see.” Riley didn’t ask anything else.

**

After they finished eating, Riley smiled and said, “Lennox, Luke can take me home. You should drive Nerissa and Fifi back.” “Alright, Lennox said with a slight nod.

They headed down to the restaurant’s parking garage, and Lennox’s car was just as flashy as Luke’s. It was a limited edition Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Faye and Nerissa slid into the back seat.

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Chapter 42 The Composed Man

Faye gave her address and said, “I live closer, so Mr. Stratford, could you drop me off first?”

“Sure,” Lennox said with a nod.

Faye wasn’t slow on the uptake. She could tell Riley really liked Nerissa and had been quietly trying to set her up with Lennox this whole time.

But more importantly, Faye thought someone as amazing and beautiful as Nerissa deserved to be with someone exceptional like Lennox. Regular guys just weren’t on her level.

Plus, Nerissa and Lennox looked absolutely perfect together. They were way better looking than any couple on those dating shows.

‘I’m totally shipping this, Faye thought. So she decided to play matchmaker and make sure nothing got in the way of Nerissa and Lennox getting together.

After dropping Faye off, Lennox kept driving to take Nerissa home.

“Want some music?” His deep, magnetic voice broke the silence in the quiet car.

His voice was really nice to listen to.

Nerissa realized he was talking to her and nodded. “Sure.”

“You can connect to the Bluetooth,” Lennox said.

He didn’t know what kind of music she liked.

Nerissa pulled out her phone and started connecting to the Bluetooth.

Once she got it connected, Nerissa leaned back in her seat and turned to look at the driver’s side.

From her angle, she could only see Lennox’s profile. He had a really high nose bridge, and his sharp features looked mysterious under the flickering streetlights, like he was both restrained and elegant at the same time.

“Do you mind if I play some opera, Mr. Stratford?” she asked.

A lot of young people weren’t really into opera these days, so she was worried he might not like it either.

“I actually really like opera,” Lennox said.

“Really?” Nerissa was a bit surprised.

“Yeah.” Lennox nodded slightly.

“Do you like this one?” Nerissa asked.

“I like it a lot.”

“Then I’ll play this one.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the melodious opera music started flowing through the car.

Nerissa relaxed against the seat back and rested her hands naturally on her lap. Her fingers tapped along to the rhythm of the music on her legs.

Some people probably thought opera was too slow and tedious with all that drawn-out singing, but Nerissa really loved listening to it. She enjoyed just letting time pass like this, and when they got to her favorite parts, she’d even hum along quietly.

Lennox could see Nerissa’s face in the rearview mirror.

She was utterly lost in the opera and didn’t notice the deep eyes watching her from the mirror. She also didn’t notice that the car had slowed down.

*****

About twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of her apartment building.

Nerissa pushed the door open and got out. “Thanks for driving me home, Mr. Stratford.”

“No problem.” Lennox’s gaze landed on the rearview mirror, and he spoke up to remind her, “Ms. Jamison, you forgot your boyfriend’s clothes.”

He could see the color through the bag opening. It was a gray polo shirt. He looked at it more carefully. ‘So ugly. Yeah, that’ s one ugly shirt, he thought.

“What boyfriend?” Nerissa looked confused.

Lennox was tall with long arms, so he turned slightly and easily grabbed the clothing bag from the back seat. He handed it to her. “This.”

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Chache 42 The Comprised Man

Nerissa laughed ‘Oh, that’s for my grandpa’

Grandos? Lennor smiled too. The colors nice it looks great and really suits an oder gentle

“Thanks” Neross added, “Dove safe, Mr. Starford

Meanwhile, over at Calloway Manor, Evelyn sat in the study. She told Owen everything that had happened at the mal today

“Mom, are you absolutely sure you didn’t mistake her for someone else? Owen’s eyes filed with distelef Someone a high-status as Mrs. Merit would actually car Nerissa as her sister?

Anyone with half a brain could see that was impossible.

Besides, before held gotten his mariage license with Nerissa, Owen had run a full background check on the. She was just an ordinary girl from some smal village with no hidden identity whatsoever

After the married into the Calloway family, Nerissa had been completely transparent with him about everything if one maly knew Riley and they were close, the would ve told him right away

They’d only been divorced for a few days. The odds of Nerissa somehow connecting with Riey after ther divorce were about the same as Mars colliding with Earth

Even Audrey, the most talented socialite in their circle, probably couldn’t pull that off

So there was no way Nerissa could’ve done it.

Owen was convinced Evelyn had simply mistaken someone else for Nerissa

Evelyn said, I swear I saw it with my own eyes. I even tried to say hi to Mrs. Merit, but she didn’t even look at nobodies like us.

Evelyn frowned and continued, 1 have no idea what spel Nerissa cast on Mrs. Meric but it looked like Mrs. Mento actually liked her

Owen’s eyes narrowed. “Mom, are you sure it was Mrs. Merric?

Evelyn pulled out her phone 7 even took a photo from far away Look, isn’t this Mrs. Merit?

Owen’s heart sank when he saw the photo on the screen. His face darkened.

The woman in the photo was definitely Riley, and the person next to Riley was Nerissa

How is this even possible? What does Nerissa have that I don’t know about? he thought

Evelyn sighed and went on, “You know, I’m starting to think that fortune teler was right. Maybe Nerissa really does bring luck to her husband.

“We had that deal with Stratford Group all lined up, but after you divorced Nerissa, we lost the partnership completely And now she’s gotten close to Mrs. Merritt

She looked at Owen. ‘Owen, maybe you should ask Nerissa to come back. She loved you more than anything Just say a few sweet words to her and she’ll come running back and be grateful for whatever scraps you throw her way.”

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Chapter 43 Nerissa Takes First Place

Chapter 43 Nerissa Takes First Place

Evelyn spoke with absolute confidence. She understood Nerissa better than anyone else.

Sure, Nerissa had acted tough in front of her and Kaia today, but if Owen showed up instead, Nerissa’s whole attitude would flip in an instant.

The moment Nerissa saw Owen, she’d completely lose it and break down crying, begging him to forgive her and take her back.

And honestly, Evelyn was getting scared.

Even if Nerissa’s “lucky wife” fortune was fake, her connection to Riley was real, and bringing Nerissa back would only help Calloway Group right now.

Riley was Lennox’s sister, and Riley absolutely adored Nerissa, so if Nerissa just said a few words to Riley, Riley would definitely put in a good word for Calloway Group with Lennox.

Then Calloway Group wouldn’t have to worry about landing bigger deals.

Owen let out a cold laugh when he heard Evelyn’s suggestion. “You want me to ask Nerissa to come back? She’s not worth it.”

‘What is Nerissa anyway?’ he thought. ‘Does she really deserve me going to get her myself? What if she uses this to pressure me into remarrying her?’

Evelyn frowned. “So what are you planning to do then?”

Owen let out a smug smile. “Don’t worry, Mom. My engagement with Audrey is coming up soon, and Nerissa will come crawling back begging me to take her back. When that happens, she’ll do whatever I say.”

Confidence flooded his eyes as he spoke.

Evelyn nodded. “You’re right. Nerissa loves you so much, so she definitely won’t be able to sit still when she hears about your engagement to Audrey. She’ll show up and make a scene at the party for sure.”

‘I can already picture it, she thought, and satisfaction warmed her chest.

She couldn’t wait to see Nerissa on her knees, begging for forgiveness.

Owen turned to Evelyn and asked, “By the way, Mom, did you get Audrey’s dress ready?”

Audrey was the love of his life.

Owen refused to let her feel any less than perfect at their engagement party, so he wanted to give her the absolute best of everything.

It had to be better than what Griffin had prepared for his engagement with Nerissa.

Evelyn smiled, “Don’t worry. I already ordered it, and they’re shipping it overnight from overseas. It’ll arrive tomorrow morning.”

“Good.” Owen nodded.

Now all he had to do was wait for the engagement party.

*****

When they got home, Nerissa handed the shopping bag to Hunter. “Grandpa, I bought you some clothes. Go try them on.” “Why waste money on this? I have more clothes than I can wear.” Hunter complained about the unnecessary spending, but he still took the clothes happily and went to his room to change.

A few minutes later, Hunter walked out of his bedroom and looked at Nerissa. “Nerissa, look at me. Don’t I look years younger in this?”

“Yes.” Nerissa nodded. “Grandpa, you look really good in that. Does it fit okay?”

“Perfect fit, absolutely perfect.” Hunter smiled. “Nerissa, I have a coworker whose daughter bought him a similar T-shirt, and he looked great in it too.”

Hunter had been envious of that coworker before.

He never expected that Nerissa would buy him clothes too, and not just one piece either.

Nerissa looked Hunter over carefully and then Successfully unlocked! a little long?”

“Not at all, they’re fine. I can just roll them up once. Hunter en genumery happy that he could wear clothes Nerissa had personally bought for him. “Just don’t spend money carelessly from now on.”