The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 358

He was getting dangerously close, but Suzie forced herself to hold her ground, keeping her expression perfectly stony.

Jamie stopped just inches away from her. "Is this the attitude you bring to a business negotiation?"

"You have no intention of negotiating," Suzie fired back, her voice glacial. "And just for the record, I have absolutely nothing personal to discuss with you. If you aren't going to look at the file... well, Mr. Baylor, you aren't the only one capable of playing dirty."

Jamie's brow furrowed slightly. "You think I'm framing Hayden Wycliffe?"

"Am I wrong?"

A low chuckle escaped his lips. "If I were going to frame someone, it wouldn't be this sloppy. Do you really think I'd make a move without absolute certainty?"

Suzie's stomach plummeted. She was sharp, and she had survived her fair share of corporate warfare, but going head-to-head with Jamie Baylor was an entirely different league.

She fell silent, waiting for him to reveal his hand.

"I'm not looking at your proof," Jamie said softly.

"Why?"

"Because it's fake." His gaze rested on her face, entirely relaxed, his tone deceptively gentle. He pulled out the chair next to hers. "Sit down."

He hadn't even glanced at the paperwork, yet he knew it was forged. The "proof" was just some temporary documentation Hayden had used to get the kids enrolled in kindergarten. Suzie hadn't even been sure it held legal weight.

He leaned back, his tone conversational. "Letting a woman fight his battles for him... Hayden Wycliffe isn't half the man I thought he was."

Watching his unbothered, almost domestic behavior was making Suzie's chest tight with anxiety. She had prepared for a screaming match. She had prepared for him to be vicious, to ruthlessly tear her arguments apart. She had mentally braced herself for the worst.

But this? She hadn't prepared for this.

She took a breath to steady herself. "What exactly is the point of this trap you've set, Jamie? Just say it."

Jamie's fingers tapped rhythmically against the table. He looked perfectly at ease. "Hayden committed fraud in the contract. Filing a lawsuit is a standard legal procedure to protect our assets. It's not a trap."