The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride novel Chapter 1403

Chloe had just walked out of the conference room when she suddenly came to a halt. She spun around a few times on the spot, then abruptly turned to look at the man trailing behind her.
Axel was quick on his feet. Upon seeing Chloe's action, he also instinctively spun around, but all he saw was the empty conference room door.
“Axel!”
Chloe called out to him. Axel turned around, looking at Chloe's impassive face, and he gave a small smile.
“Something you need, Director Chloe?”
Chloe pursed her lips. "Hold off on the Alonso Corporation for now. Wait until their stock drops to the lowest point."
Axel raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say you weren't interested in the Alonso Corporation?"
"Do you think I'm that stupid? To just ignore such a big business opportunity."
Her words were tinged with anger, and Axel was taken aback for a moment. But soon, he started laughing again. "I didn't know you were like this, Chloe."
Seeing the executives coming out of the conference room one after another, Chloe furrowed her brow and turned to keep walking.
Axel, watching her slender figure, couldn't help but laugh. He knew what she was thinking. Many people were secretly buying back shares of Alonso Corporation. They were all guessing what Chloe's next move would be. If she suddenly announced she wasn't planning to acquire Alonso Corporation, the news would discourage many from keeping their hopes up about the company.
No hope, and no competition for her.
She wanted to have the whole pie to herself. This woman was sly. But, she had character, didn't she?
People behind Axel were watching him stand there, lost in thought, and thought he was a fool.
“Axel, give it up. Director Chloe is already married.”
“Yeah, to Mr. Harper of the Harper Group.”
“They're very much in love.”
These people had worked on countless cases with Axel and knew him well. They had no reservations in their speech. Their words felt like a jab to his heart.
Axel pushed them away. "I haven't even started pursuing her, and you all are already discouraging me. Are you looking for trouble?"
“Axel, we just don't want to see you get hurt.”
Axel looked at Chloe's retreating figure, then ran his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat. “Who's more handsome, me or Damon?”
Everyone burst into laughter.
“Get out of my way!”
Everyone was given a kick by him. Seeing Chloe's figure about to disappear, he quickly chased after her.
“Chloe…”
Chloe completely ignored Axel, who was following closely behind her. As soon as the elevator doors opened, she walked out swiftly.
“Chloe, it's almost lunchtime. Would you like to have lunch with me?”
“Sorry, I'm not hungry right now.”
“Then are you thirsty? Can I buy you a coffee?”
“No need, I prefer drinking plain water.”
“Wait a moment, I'll get some water.”
She left the building and saw the bright sunshine outside. Before she could take a deep breath, Chloe saw a black car parked at the entrance of Peck Innovations. The car looked very low-key; its color and shape were not prominent. Except for the identical plates at the front and back, it wasn't conspicuous at all.
Then, the car door opened, and a man dressed in a fancy dark suit with a handsome face and a cold expression stepped out. His tall and upright figure stood next to the car, making the seemingly low-key car immediately look high-end and domineering.
In just a few short seconds, Axel saw Chloe, who had just been cold to him, look surprised as her eyes went from surprised to bright, and then her whole face became lively and radiant.
Then, she stepped down the stairs and walked quickly towards the man.
At that moment, Axel felt like he was just dumped. It was over before it even started.
He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, a scream rising in his heart--
Oh no! This damned love!
Chloe walked up to Damon, looked up, and smiled at him. "What brings you here?"
Damon's lips tightened slightly, making him look a bit sharp. His dark eyes looked past Chloe straight at the man trailing behind her.
Axel, whose heart just got broken, felt a slight numbness in his body when he saw the man's gaze. He looked at Damon and forced a smile. "Hello, Mr. Harper." His smile and voice sounded very fake, very insincere.
Damon frowned slightly and pulled Chloe into his arms. His simple action revealed his dominance and assertiveness.
Chloe leaned against him, hearing his deep voice asking, "Who's this guy who looks like he's just been dumped by a woman?"
Damon’s summary was spot on. Yes, he was right, Axel had just gotten dumped. But hearing it from a "love rival" felt weird.
Chloe looked at Axel in confusion, how would she know that Axel was just dumped? Weren't they just in a meeting?
Or was he dumped right before the meeting? Wait, who said he was dumped?
Chloe didn't know where Damon's conclusion came from, but she knew he was referring to Axel.
“He is….”
“Never mind, he's not important, no need to introduce him.”
Could you be any more harsh?
At that moment, Bryson also came out of the building pushing Yasmine. “Aren't we supposed to be heading to Y Country, why are you dilly-dallying?”
“We still have time, I came to pick up Chloe for lunch, do you want to join us?”
Yasmine glanced at him. “Then let's find a place first.”
“Okay.”
This kind of family gathering wasn't appropriate for Axel to stick around. He made an excuse and left. Looked like he was going to have a big drink tonight, to mourn his dead love.
In a secluded villa, two people were having a secret conversation.
“Sir, there are too many people around that woman, we don't have a chance to act. There are always people guarding her closely on the plane, there's no chance to get close to her.”
The man referred to as 'sir' pondered for a while, then murmured, “The plane at one o'clock in the afternoon…”
“Yes!”
Then they fell back into a long silence.
After a bit, the man suddenly let out a light chuckle, saying,
"If we can't lay a finger on Chloe, let's switch the target. As long as we give her a good enough reason to stick around. There are plenty of ways to stop her from going to that state banquet."
The other person paused, asking with confusion, "You mean, sir..."