Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 67

As soon as Audrina got home, she headed straight for the bathroom to wash off her makeup.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she wiped away the last traces of eyeliner and let out a cold scoff.

Zachary's sudden ambush today was way too calculated.

A man who barely ever came home wouldn't just randomly decide to pick her up from work.

So what exactly was he suspicious of?

Was she overplaying her part lately?

Audrina couldn't quite figure it out.

Still, as long as he had no actual proof, his suspicions meant nothing...

When she stepped out of the shower, she noticed Zachary wasn't in the bedroom, but the light in his study was on.

She popped her head through the doorway. "Darling, the holidays are in two days. Don't forget we need to go back early to see Waldo."

He smiled back at her. "Will do. You go ahead and sleep first; I've got a little work to finish up."

"Alright."

She agreed sweetly and softly closed the door.

The instant the door clicked shut, the smiles vanished from both of their faces simultaneously.

Zachary sat in his study for another half hour before picking up his phone and making a call.

"Look into who Audrina has been meeting with recently and everywhere she's been."

"Yeah. If it's too hard to dig up, then put someone on her. Follow her everywhere."

...

The day before New Year's Eve, the traffic on the streets of Kingshire had dwindled significantly.

The usually gridlocked intersections were practically empty.

Most of the street stalls in the alleys had their metal shutters pulled down, with 'Closed for the Holidays' signs plastered across them.

The entire city seemed to have hit the pause button.

Recently, the Sinclair family and Hawthorne Group had started doing some business together.

Scott Sinclair had never actually dreamed of marrying into the Hawthorne family, but Franco and Eleanor were driving themselves crazy trying to get Sebastian settled down.

When the older generation got to talking, it just clicked. They figured, why not let them test the waters?

Audrina opened her mouth, managing to squeeze out a few words. "Did you guys... hit it off?"

If they actually ended up together...

She bit her lower lip, feeling a sudden surge of tension.

Thankfully, Willow looked completely relieved. "Are you kidding me? Not a chance!"

"Besides, he's so dull. Being married to a guy like that would be agonizingly boring. I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life!"

Audrina's expression was a little complicated, but she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God this wasn't going to turn into some melodramatic nightmare...

She lowered her eyes and took another sip of water.

Willow was practically overflowing with complaints. "We only sat together for a few minutes, and I barely dared to breathe, let alone speak. He just sat there, wearing those glasses, and it felt exactly like talking to a strict high school principal. It was terrifying!"