The price of betrayal (Jack and Ashley) novel Chapter 69

Megan sneered, "Women are always the cause of fights between men, or so the saying goes. We might not even need to get our hands dirty before Mr. Baxter takes it upon himself to get rid of Nolan.

"But Audrey will end up becoming Mr. Baxter's object of affection. How annoying."

If Megan was irked by this, Jeanne was even more so. She admitted she was not half as brilliant as Megan, but to lose out to a meek and hopeless romantic like Audrey in the relationship department was insulting.

Jeanne pointed out, "Mr. Baxter might just have a fleeting crush on her, but it doesn't matter. We need him to like her if we want to get any fun out of tormenting Nolan. You know Audrey's been in love with Nolan for the longest time, and she's not the brightest tool in the shed.

"Maybe Mr. Baxter will take care of Nolan so that he can make a move on her. That'll be a sight to behold!"

Megan nodded at this. She cast another look in Nolan and Audrey's direction and scoffed derisively.

At that moment, Archie and Lincoln entered the banquet hall. The former noticed Nolan in the corner right away, but he could tell by the way Nolan kept his head down while conversing with Audrey that the latter wanted to lay low.

As such, Archie did not greet him and instead headed for the main table.

Megan was already beaming as she rose to her feet and approached Archie.

She extended a hand and said politely, "Mr. Baxter, Mr. Riley, congratulations. It's so good to hear that Mr. Baxter Senior has recovered. I hope you'll forgive me for not preparing a gift, given the short notice."

Archie laughed when he heard this. "Oh, don't worry about it, Ms. Turner. We're happy to have you here with us. I can ask for no better gift than to see you light up the place!"

Lincoln chuckled as he interjected, "Ms. Turner, is everything all right with Chase? Why isn't he here tonight?"

Chase worked for Lincoln, but in truth, the latter only offered him the position because of Megan. To him, Chase was no more than a plaything.

Megan let out a small laugh as she said, "Chase could have fought better. I'm sorry he embarrassed you, Mr. Riley. But don't worry. I'll take care of this. I shall call upon you for help if need be.

"Let's move on to more lighthearted topics, shall we? We don't want to ruin the celebration with all this talk of violence. Don't let me keep you, Mr. Baxter, Mr. Riley."

Archie nodded and said, "Alright, Ms. Turner. You can reach out to Lincoln at any time if you need his help. You're practically one of us now. There's no need for formalities."

Lincoln agreed. "I'm just a call away. No problem in Bellington is too big for me to solve."

With that, the two men left to greet the other guests as they made their way to the main table.

Megan narrowed her eyes as she watched them leave, her lips curling with an icy, triumphant smile. She had gotten exactly what she wanted.