The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 480

Chapter 210: Paid Fantasy

The silence after Cruz’s words stretched uncomfortably across the entire floor.

Even the employees pretending not to pay attention had gone completely still now, their eyes lowered to their desks while listening to every second of the exchange unfolding behind them.

The woman’s face had paled slightly.

But the humiliation burning in her eyes remained.

Cruz had expected her to back down after that.

Most people would have.

Especially after being publicly reduced to nothing more than a paid mistake in front of an entire

corporate floor.

But instead-

She laughed softly.

The sound caught several people off guard.

It wasn’t loud.

Wasn’t hysterical.

If anything, it sounded nervous.

Disbelieving.

Her eyes stayed fixed on him.

“You really don’t remember me,” she murmured.

Cruz didn’t answer.

Didn’t need to.

The woman swallowed once before speaking again, quieter this time.

“That night…” she said carefully, “you said something very different.”

A dangerous shift moved through the atmosphere instantly.

Cruz remained outwardly calm, but internally, every instinct sharpened.

This was getting worse.

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Chapter 210 Paid Fantasy

Fast.

The woman seemed to realize it too late.

+25 Points

Because now that everyone was paying attention, backing down would only make her look foolish.

And foolish pride was one of the most dangerous things in situations like this.

“You were drunk,” she continued, forcing a small smile. “Your friends had already left the room

hours earlier.”

Ashcroft stayed completely still behind Cruz.

But internally-He already knew exactly where this was going.

And he hated it.

The woman’s gaze softened faintly, as if the memory itself had pulled her somewhere else entirely.

“You kept asking me to stay longer,” she said quietly.

A heavy silence dropped across the room.

One of the nearby employees accidentally knocked over a pen.

Cruz’s expression didn’t shift even slightly.

But Monroe subtly turned his face away, covering the lower half of his mouth with his hand as if adjusting his cuff.

Not because he was shocked.

Because he was trying very hard not to laugh at the absolute disaster unfolding in front of them.

Hudson looked ready to develop a migraine.

Meanwhile, the real Ashcroft was mentally debating homicide.

Because this-

This was exactly why he hated women from places like the Velvet Room remembering him

afterward.

The woman looked at Cruz again, her confidence slowly returning now that she had everyone’s

attention.

“You even said you’d come back for me next time,” she added softly.

That nearly broke Cruz.

#00

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Chapter 210 Paid Fantasy

He was one sentence away from dragging the real Ashcroft into the nearest elevator shaft.

Instead, he slowly tilted his head.

Then smiled.

Coldly.

“You’re misunderstanding something.” His tone remained flat.

The woman frowned slightly.

Cruz stepped forward once.

+25 Points

“And that misunderstanding,” he continued smoothly, “is believing men like me say those thing

because we mean them.”

The words landed like ice water.

The woman’s expression froze.

Cruz didn’t stop.

“If I told you to stay longer,” he said casually, “it was because I didn’t feel like finding another

distraction that night.”

A few people visibly winced.

“But let’s not confuse convenience with affection.”

The last traces of color drained from her face.

“And coming back?” Cruz gave a faint scoff. “Please.”

His gaze lowered briefly toward her before returning to her eyes.

“You said it yourself,” he replied coolly. “I was drunk. Do I honestly look like the kind of man who

remembers every woman he’s slept with?”

Then his expression darkened completely.

“Let’s make something clear,” he said, his voice turning colder. “I was a customer. You were providing a service. I paid for your time that night. That’s how transactions work, isn’t it?”

The woman’s face stiffened.

“You do what you have to do to make a living. That’s your life, and frankly, it’s none of my business,” he said smoothly. “It only becomes my business when you suddenly decide to blur professional boundaries and create misunderstandings.”

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Chapter 210 Paid Fantasy

A faint scoff escaped him.

+25 Points

“You work in an industry built on selling attention, affection, and fantasy to wealthy men,” he continued calmly. “So what exactly made you think you’d be any different?”

His gaze sharpened slightly.

“Did you really convince yourself I’d develop feelings over a paid night?”

Another pause.

“Or is this what you do with all your clients after they leave?” he asked flatly. “Attach meaning to every transaction involving a man rich enough to impress you?”

Then came the final blow.

“Miss,” he said coldly, “don’t embarrass yourself any further.”

The silence that followed felt suffocating.

No one noticed the brief vibration from the tablet in James’ hand.

Not with the entire department focused on the tension unfolding in the middle of the floor.

Unbeknownst to everyone else, the real Damien-still standing behind Hudson’s borrowed identity

-had already quietly instructed James earlier to run a background check on the woman the

moment she was stopped.

And now-

The results had arrived.

James glanced at the screen once before stepping forward silently and handing the tablet over to

Hudson.

Hudson took it without a word.

His eyes scanned the screen once.

Then again.

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