Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 30

He frowned, forcing the thought down, and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

Just before dawn, he reached for another condom from the nightstand and went for another round.

Vera was groggy, but she didn't get mad when he woke her up. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and softly moaned in response.

When they finally got out of bed, Zachary took a shower. Instead of heading straight to the office, he checked his watch. It was only a little past seven. Figuring Audrina was probably still asleep, he decided to stop by her place first.

To his surprise, when he walked through the door as quietly as possible, Audrina was already eating breakfast.

He paused. "You're up early?"

Audrina took a bite of her sandwich and looked up. "Yeah. The Sutton Group anniversary is next week, isn't it?"

She swallowed her food, her voice soft and sweet. "I have to finish all my current assignments so I can trade shifts with Claire. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have time to attend. Grandfather will be there, and I definitely need to go see him."

Zachary gave a brief "Mm," unbuttoning his suit jacket as he took a seat at the dining table. The housekeeper brought over a cup of black coffee, and he took a sip.

Audrina asked casually, "Have you been super busy lately? Why didn't you come home last night?"

Her tone was sweet, entirely free of any accusatory edge, making it sound like she was simply concerned about him.

"Yeah. It's the end of the year, there's a lot going on." Zachary took another sip from his cup, his eyes drifting toward the window. "I was swamped until the early hours of the morning, so I just didn't come back. I made sure to stop by this morning just to see you."

Audrina lowered her long eyelashes, a faint smirk twitching at her lips.

Did Zachary even believe the garbage coming out of his own mouth?

He set his cup down and turned his attention back to her. "Did the interview go well yesterday?"

"Very well." Audrina smiled brightly, her eyes curving into crescents. "Mr. Hawthorne was incredibly cooperative, and the livestream was a massive success. Our director was ecstatic; he called it the biggest breakthrough of the year."

"That's good."

Looking at her radiant smile, Zachary suddenly felt like she was in a fantastic mood today. He stood up, walked around the table, and leaned down, intending to kiss her.

"Isn't that just because you've been so busy lately?" She tilted her head up to look at him, the smile still dancing in her eyes as she cooed, "I'm busy with work too. But once I get through this busy patch—"

She stood on her tiptoes, leaning close to his ear, dropping a heavy hint. "Once we're on the cruise, I'll make it up to you, okay? We can try something... different."

After she spoke, her lips brushed lightly against his cheek.

Hit with such a sweet, teasing promise, the fire in Zachary's chest vanished instantly.

"Alright." He squeezed her hand. "You go focus on your work. I'll have Porter drive you."

Audrina let go of his hand, turned back to grab her glass, and drank the rest of her milk. She set the empty glass in the sink, grabbed her bag, and changed her shoes.

"Have fun tonight," Zachary called out.

"I will!" She pushed the door open and tossed a bright smile over her shoulder.

The moment the door clicked shut, the smile on Audrina's face completely vanished.