Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 19

Audrina tilted her chin up slightly, almost wanting to laugh at his absurd question.

They had been engaged for three years, and putting aside the fact that they barely saw each other, Zachary was always pathetically quick and entirely selfish in bed.

But instead, she purred, "Oh, it feels amazing."

Sebastian went dead silent. His eyes dropped from her gaze to her lips, then flicked away. His jaw clenched for a fraction of a second, his throat bobbing slightly as he forced every ounce of his volatile emotion down into the dark, suffocating depths of his eyes.

Audrina finished slipping her documents back into her bag and stood up. "Mr. Hawthorne, I believe that covers everything for today. I'll bring my production team over next Tuesday to finalize the details."

Sebastian walked her to the door. Ignoring her previous comment entirely, he said, "If you actually wanted to find me after that night, you could have done so the very next day."

Audrina pulled the door open, her eyes curving into a devastatingly sweet smile. "You're absolutely right. If I really wanted to, I have plenty of ways to track you down. But the truth is, I just genuinely didn't have your number."

"Give me your phone," Sebastian demanded, his tone leaving zero room for argument.

Audrina didn't play hard to get. She simply unlocked her phone and handed it to him.

The man tapped the screen a few times and handed it back.

She glanced at the screen, smiled, and left the office without another word.

Walking out of the Everest building, she slid into a waiting taxi.

Her phone buzzed. Sebastian sent her two messages.

[Next time, don't coax him into calling me.]

[If you want to see me, just say it.]

Staring at the messages, Audrina smirked. She didn't bother replying and casually swiped left, deleting the entire conversation thread.

There was another unread message, this one from Claire.

[Audrina, don't stress yourself out too much if you can't book him today. Just be prepared when you get back. Mr. Ladd is in a horrific mood.]

Audrina let out a short, cynical laugh, locked her screen, and tossed the phone into her purse.

...

Meanwhile, back at Kingshire Financial News.

Inside the pantry, several colleagues stood around gripping their coffee mugs, practically pressing their ears against the door to eavesdrop on Roland's office.

"...Who does she think she is?! A total rookie waltzing into Everest Law Group without an appointment!"

Roland's furious shouts practically rattled the doorframes.

"Does she think Sebastian Hawthorne is some local mall cop you can just walk up to?!"

Claire stood dutifully in front of his desk, her head bowed, fighting desperately to suppress the triumphant smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Trying to climb the ladder by sucking up to Roland? In her dreams!

...

Half an hour later.

The moment Audrina stepped into the office, she instantly felt the suffocating tension in the room. Everyone was staring at her, but the second she met their gazes, they snapped their heads down to their keyboards.

Claire stood up from her desk and walked over, a sickeningly sympathetic smile plastered across her face. "Audrina, you're back. How did it go? Hey, it's totally fine if you couldn't get the interview, it's just that Mr. Ladd is..."

Audrina matched her smile perfectly. "It actually went incredibly smoothly."

Claire froze entirely.

Smoothly? What the hell did that mean?

Her eyes darted desperately over Audrina, searching for any microscopic sign that she was faking it. But Audrina's expression was utterly relaxed, radiant even—like she had genuinely just pulled off a miracle.

"So... did you actually get to see Mr. Hawthorne?" Claire choked out, her voice trembling slightly.

"I did."

Claire's brain completely short-circuited. She had gone to Everest four separate times and hadn't even been allowed to look at his assistant!