Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 448

Chapter 448

Madeline’s POV

The dining hall was busier at lunchtime, but we managed to get a table tucked into a quieter corner. Just the four of us. Me, Zoey, Mia, and Olivia. Christian, Luke, and Marcus were still in a meeting with the organizers, probably trying to file a formal complaint about the defective materials.

Zoey was visibly frustrated, pushing food around her plate without much interest. The orthopedic boot on her right foot was a constant reminder of how badly the morning activity had spiraled out of control.

“How’s the pain?” I asked, watching her adjust her leg under the table.

“Manageable,” she muttered. “But it’s humiliating being sidelined from the more intense activities. I came here to compete, not to sit around watching.”

“But you were incredibly brave and you saved Madeline,” Olivia pointed out, taking a sip of water. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”

“Exactly,” Mia agreed. “And honestly, it’s really strange that only our team’s materials looked that damaged.”

“There was nothing strange about it,” I said firmly. “Zoey was right. It was sabotage. I could’ve been seriously hurt if I’d fallen.”

Olivia looked at me with that analytical expression I’d come to recognize as her logical problem-solving mode.

“But let’s think logically for a second,” Mia said, gesturing with her fork. “There was no way for them to know it would be you stepping on a bad plank.”

Zoey nodded in agreement, then added, “But they could know someone would step on it. Maybe Montgomery’s goal was to scare us. Create psychological instability in the team.”

“And is it working?” a voice asked from behind Zoey.

All four of us turned at the same time.

Vivian stood there holding a tray, smiling like she’d just stumbled onto the most normal, friendly conversation in the world.

Without waiting for an invitation, she dragged over an empty chair from a nearby table and sat down with us.

“Girls’ lunch?” she asked lightly, arranging her tray with precise movements. “I miss this. My team is almost entirely male.”

The silence that followed was thick and tense. Zoey, Mia, and Olivia exchanged uneasy looks, clearly unsure how to react to the unexpected intrusion.

“You know how it is, leading men as a woman,” Vivian went on, chatting as if she were among old friends.

“I wouldn’t know,” I replied, my voice deliberately cold. “Tell me something. Do you usually resort to sabotage to earn respect?”

Vivian laughed, a genuinely amused sound that only irritated me more.

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“I’ve already told you, little Madeline,” she shot back with that fake sweetness that made my teeth grind. “Stop thinking everything is always about you. We had nothing to do with this.”

She turned to Zoey, her expression perfectly rehearsed concern.

“By the way, Zoey, how’s your foot?”

“Perfectly capable of kicking your ass in the next challenge,” Zoey replied without missing a beat.

The whole table burst into laughter, Vivian included. She actually seemed genuinely amused by Zoey’s reply.

“You’re competitive,” she said, clapping her hands slowly. “I like that. But is it just during a handful of little challenges, or is that how you are in real life too?”

“Kensington is the biggest name in the industry worldwide,” Zoey shot back with fierce pride. “In the last two years alone, we took fifty percent of Montgomery’s clients in Asia and dominated the last market we were missing. Sorry, but I don’t really see who we’re supposed to be competing with.”

Vivian’s expression shifted, just slightly. The smile stayed, but there was something sharper in her eyes now.

“Don’t brag too much,” she said, her tone casual but threaded with menace, “or you won’t even notice when you get hit.”

She paused, letting the words hang in the air, then added with an even wider smile,

“Professionally speaking, of course.’

The mood at the table changed instantly. Olivia had stopped eating altogether. Mia was watching me with open concern. And Zoey looked ready to launch herself across the table, orthopedic boot or not.

Vivian stood gracefully, picking up her tray with deliberately elegant movements.

“And Madeline,” she said, leaning slightly toward me, “there will always be a spot by my side for my best friend, okay?”

She hesitated, as if weighing the thought, then added,

“You and me? United against Dominic? That would be epic.”

The sheer absurdity of the suggestion left me speechless for a second. After everything she’d done. After all the manipulation and betrayal. She really thought I would consider teaming up with her?

I stood, meeting her gaze head-on.

“Vivian,” I said, my voice steadier and colder than I would’ve thought possible, “you may have fooled Dominic. You may have stolen Montgomery. You might even get away with sabotaging a few rotten ropes. But there’s one thing you’ll never manage to do.”

I paused, watching as the confidence in her expression finally wavered.

“You’ll never convince me that you’re not the exact same manipulative, treacherous person you’ve always been. And you will never,” my voice lifted slightly, “ever get me to join you against anyone in this world.”

Vivian blinked a few times, clearly not expecting such a firm, public rejection.

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“Because you know what?” I went on, all the anger and frustration of the past months finally spilling out. “I’d rather face Dominic alone than have to so much as breathe the same air as you.”

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the noise from the surrounding tables seemed to fade. Vivian stared at me for a long moment, her smile finally disappearing completely.

“Interesting,” she said at last, her voice stripped of all fake warmth. “Very interesting.”

And with that, she walked away, leaving the four of us sitting at a table thick with tension.

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