The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 340

Before Nova could object, Holden had closed the door behind them, his body blocking her exit. “You almost ruined my plans tonight, and you made me very angry,” he said with a slight smile. “I’m staying here tonight.” It wasn’t a request. He walked past her toward the bedroom without even taking off his shoes. He didn’t know what he was doing, only that he enjoyed tormenting her. Her apartment was small and old, but for some reason, he always slept soundly here.

“Mr. Covington, do you have some kind of fetish for slumming it? If you like it here so much, you can rent it from me, and I’ll go stay at your place.” Despite her annoyance, she took a pair of disposable slippers from the shoe cabinet and tossed them to him.

“I’d like that,” he said, sitting on the sofa, “but I doubt you could get past security.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “At your standards, a night here should cost at least a thousand, right?”

He didn’t argue. He took a card from his wallet. “There’s a hundred thousand on this. No pin.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She despised him, but she didn’t despise his money. She took the card without hesitation. “Thank you, Mr. Covington. Next time you decide to stay, I’ll get a hotel room.”

“That won’t be necessary. I sleep better when you’re here.”

“I don’t dare.”

Before coming home, Nova and Wisteria had gone back to the office and discovered the truth: the Covington Group was about to sign a deal with Gallop Inc., and Brianna was their representative. The signing was scheduled for the next morning. It was surprising that Gallop Inc. would choose someone with no recent work experience, but it also gave Ramona an idea.

“Can you get access to the project data?” she had asked Nova. Brianna’s expertise was in data analysis; that would be her role in this new project.

Nova’s thoughts returned to the present. To get the data, she needed to get it from Holden. She knew he always kept his current project files on his phone. The proposal for the Gallop Inc. deal was right there, in his pocket.