My Accidental Billionaire Husband (Katia and Julian) novel Chapter 242

The Scent of Betrayal

~Katia~

The private dining room at the Metropolitan Transit Club was filled with the quiet, expensive clinking of silver against porcelain.

This was the city infrastructure committee’s quarterly luncheon. It was a room where billions of dollars in public contracts were discussed over sea bass and dry white wine, and today, I* Technologies and the Windsor Empire Group were the center of gravity. I sat on the left side of the long mahogany table, my corporate armor locked into place. I wore a tailored, charcoal–grey suit with a high–neck silk blouse. No skin. No vulnerabilities.

Directly across from me sat Julian.

He wore a dark blue suit, his posture straight, his face the unreadable, icy mask of a billionaire who owned half the transit hubs on the eastern seaboard. He hadn’t looked at me once since we sat down. We were business partners here, nothing more. The press was still buzzing about my arrest yesterday, but the DA’s silence after the pail hearing had kept the partners cooperative, if slightly tense.

Tessa Sterling sat to Julian’s right.

Despite Julian terminating their WEG sponsorship contract yesterday morning, she hadn’t accepted defeat. She had managed to secure the seat by arriving five minutes early with the committee chairman, using her family’s deep political ties to force her way into Julian’s physical space. She wore a cream–colored dress that looked elegant, but her eyes carried the sharp, predatory look of a woman who had spent twenty–four hours plotting how to recover from her boardroom defeat.

Tessa leaned close to Julian, her dark hair brushing the shoulder of his jacket as she whispered something directly into his ear. She didn’t bother to keep her voice entirely silent; she wanted the table to see the proximity.

“Julian,” Tessa said, her voice carrying that low, deliberate speed. “My father is willing to overlook the contract termination if we can discuss the logistics of the new transit hub over something private. The noise in these committee rooms is always so… administrative.”

I didn’t let Julian answer. I set my wine glass down with a slow/controlled click.

“Administrative noise is what keeps your cars on the track, Ms. Sterling,” I said, my voice level and completely empty of emotion. “Without our telemetry contracts, your drivers are essentially flying blind in expensive metal. I would think resolving your breach–of–contract penalties would be your top priority rather than trying to salvage a terminated partnership.”

Tessa’s head snapped toward me, her eyes narrowing. She offered a tight, artificial smile.

“Telemetry is a utility, Ms. Kensington,” Tessa countered, her tone dripping with subtle condescension. “Utilities are easily replaced. The real value is in the infrastructure and the legacy partnerships. Julian and I share history that goes far deeper than a terminated software license.”

“A legacy partnership is only as valuable as its compliance record,” I replied immediately, matching her tone word–for–word. And if I recall correctly, Sterling Motorsports is currently facing a twelve–million–dollar breach–of–contract penalty to I* Technologies. That is a very expensive history to maintain.”

A few of the committee members at the end of the table cleared their throats, suddenly very interested in their plates.

Tessa’s cheeks flushed slightly under her makeup. She looked back at Julian, her expression shifting into something softer,

more intimate.

“Julian,” she murmured, leaning closer still. “You know my father only wants what is best for the WEG alliance. We don’t need to let vendor disputes or temporary contract issues complicate our personal agreements.”

Under the table, I felt a slight shift in the air.

Julian’s posture went entirely rigid. His chest expanded with a slow, deep breath, his jaw clenching so hard the muscle beneath his skin twitched.

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I didn’t move. I kept my hands resting flat on the table, my fingers steady against the white tablecloth.

Tessa had reached under the table. I knew the angle of her shoulder. I knew the way her body leaned. She had slid her hand onto Julian’s thigh, attempting to establish the physical claim she had beerr denied at the media wall.

Julian didn’t flinch. He didn’t pull back.-

Instead, his hand went under the table.

A sharp, sudden gasp left Tessa’s lips. Her entire body jerked forward, her head snapping up as her eyes went wide with a sudden, violent shock.

Julian had grabbed her wrist.

He didn’t keep it hidden. He brought her arm up, his large, calloused hand clamped around her slender wrist like an iron cuff, holding it just above the edge of the dark mahogany table. He squeezed. He did it slowly until the blood left her fingers and her skin turned a pale, bloodless white.

Tessa winced, her lips parting in a silent cry of pain as she tried to pull back, but Julian’s grip was absolute.

“Touch me again, Tessa,” Julian said, his voice dropping to a low, quiet rumble that cut straight through the ambient noise of the room. Every head at the table turned toward him, the silence dropping like a stone. “And I will have security remove you from this building.”

“Julian, please-” Tessa whispered, her face turning a blotchy, furious red as fifty eyes locked onto her gripped wrist.

Julian didn’t look at her. His dark, icy eyes rose from her wrist and locked directly onto mine across the table.

“The only woman allowed to touch is my wife,” Julian said.

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