Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 5

The corridor lights were slightly brighter, allowing her to get a clear look at the man standing in front of her.

He was at least six-foot-two, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and perfect proportions. His face belonged on a high-fashion runway—strikingly handsome with an aggressive edge, though the glasses slightly softened his intensity.

The top button of his black dress shirt was undone, revealing the smooth, sexy lines of his throat in a way that screamed restrained desire.

He had his head slightly bowed as he spoke on the phone. Yet his gaze remained firmly planted on her face.

When he hung up, he stepped up to Audrina, his thin lips curving upward. "Did you have something to say to me in private, Ms. Monroe?"

She pulled out her phone, opened the anonymous email, and held the screen right up to Sebastian's face. Cutting straight to the chase, she said, "You sent the email. So a month ago, you really did invite me. That wasn't a joke."

She didn't phrase it as a question; she stated it as a fact.

Sebastian merely glanced at her phone. "What makes you say that?"

Audrina leaned back against the wall, tilting her head up at him. "I came back today without telling a soul. The second I walked into that room, everyone's face dropped. Zachary has looked pissed all night, annoyed that I ruined his fun. And the pure panic on Vera's face the moment she saw me—you can't fake that. So she definitely wasn't the one who sent it."

"But you, Mr. Hawthorne—the very first look you gave me when I walked in, it was like you knew I'd be here. And—"

She paused. The man looked incredibly amused, waiting for her to continue.

"Today is your birthday. I'm guessing you invited Zachary a month ago. So, the only person here who could lock down his exact schedule in an email sent a month in advance is you."

Her logic was flawless.

Sebastian neither confirmed nor denied it; he merely raised an eyebrow.

Audrina took that as a silent admission. "So, why send me an email to expose all this? This is the first time we've met. It's not like we have any history."

She said it as a joke, but the man's gaze grew noticeably darker.

"You don't mess with a friend's girl," she said, flashing the engagement ring on her ring finger. "I'm getting married soon."

Sebastian cut straight to the truth. "Didn't you come back to break off the engagement? You could always hire me as your attorney to help you get compensation."

Audrina looked at him with genuine confusion.

A founding partner of Everest Law Group, one of the top law firms globally, was willing to be her attorney? Was he joking?

But right in front of him, she slipped the engagement ring off her finger. "But I heard you don't take civil suits personally."

Sebastian just replied, "Depends on the person."