Claire decided to skip heading to her penthouse and told Matthew to drive to Cryptonic instead. As they arrived, Matthew helped Claire walk while she limped and was barefoot. Her employees turned their heads to see their boss, concerned looks on their faces.
“Are you okay, Ms. Claire?” one of them asked.
Claire nodded and smiled, trying to reassure them. “I’m fine, thank you.”
One employee stepped forward and offered, “Would you like a wheelchair? It might be easier for both of you.”
Claire smiled gratefully. “Thank you, that would help a lot.”
Matthew took the wheelchair and helped Claire into it. He then pushed her towards the lift and pressed the button for Claire’s floor. They headed straight to Matthew’s office since all the surveillance videos were there. Matthew placed her wheelchair next to his chair and sat down beside her. “Where’s the video?” Claire asked, her voice steady but filled with anticipation.
Matthew quickly navigated through his computer and pulled up the surveillance videos from two different internet café locations. He started playing the first video. Claire leaned in, her eyes fixed on the screen.
As she watched the footage, she muttered to herself, “Oh, it’s an internet café.”
Matthew nodded, glancing at her. “Yes, that’s why it hasn’t been easy to track them down. They move around a lot.”
Claire watched the video a few more times before turning to Matthew. “I don’t see anything weird either. Did I track the wrong location? And why does the second location only have one angle for the surveillance camera?” Matthew explained, “The first location is in the city and clean. The second location is completely different. It’s dirty and far from the city. But both places have a lot of customers going in and out.”
Claire thought for a while. “Maybe the location isn’t wrong. Maybe we’re right, but we just don’t know who the people are.”
Matthew nodded. “That could be.”
Claire then said, “If the person decides to post about me again, immediately trace it.”
Matthew nodded again. “Got it.”
Claire then asked, “Matthew, can you come to a meeting with Alexander Harris?”
Matthew raised his eyebrow. “What for?”
“I already met with Alex,” Claire explained. “We agreed to hold a press conference to address this news. If we ignore it, it could damage the company. Since you’re wiser than me, that’s why I need you to come with me.” Matthew nodded again, a serious look on his face. “I’ll accompany you, Claire, anywhere you go.”
Meanwhile, Alex was in his office, scrolling through YouTube since he had finished all his work for the day. Suddenly, he saw a thumbnail of Claire and clicked on it. The video showed Claire and Adrian leaving a restaurant. Claire was being pushed by the paparazzi, causing her to fall.
Alex watched in growing anger as Adrian yelled at the paparazzi and then lifted Claire in a bridal style to help her leave. Alex clenched his fist in annoyance, hating how Adrian was involved with Claire and how he had to be the one to pick her up. He cursed the paparazzi under his breath for hurting Claire.
Alex reached for his phone and dialed Claire’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. He started to worry, getting up from his chair. He thought about heading to Claire’s penthouse but stopped in his tracks. If he went to her place, the paparazzi would likely follow, making Claire uncomfortable and possibly causing her to resent him even more than she already did.
With a frustrated sigh, Alex sat back
down on his couch. He didn’t want to make things worse for Claire, who was already hurt because of the paparazzi. The last thing he wanted was to see her hurt more. Deciding against going to her place, Alex résolved to spam her phone with texts and calls.
After sending the text, he dialed her number again, only to be met with the same voicemail message. He tried to calm himself, telling himself that Claire was probably just busy. But the nagging worry wouldn’t go away.
Alex sent another text: “Claire, if you’re okay, just let me know.”
Minutes ticked by with no response. He leaned back on the couch, staring at his phone, hoping it would buzz with a message from Claire. His mind wandered back to their last conversation. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. “Come on Claire, answer your phone. Ho hard can it be to just answer it?” Alex muttered to himself.
As he sat there, his phone buzzed, but it was just an email notification. He sighed and decided to call her one more time. The phone rang, but again, it went to voicemail.
Claire was still at headquarters, deep
in discussion with Matthew about the upcoming press conference. The stakes were high, and she needed everything to go perfectly. She knew Alex had been calling her nonstop, so she set her phone on silent to avoid distractions. However, she hadn’t realized just how many times Alex had tried to reach her.
As Claire reviewed the surveillance video once more, Matthew glanced at her phone. He saw the numerous missed calls and texts from Alex.
“Looks like Alex has been spamming your phone,” Matthew commented, raising an eyebrow.
Claire sighed, picked up her phone, and saw the barrage of notifications. Reluctantly, she decided to answer his call. She didn’t want Alex to ruin her phone with his constant attempts to reach her. “Why is Alex calling you nonstop?” Matthew asked, curiosity evident in his voice.
Claire shrugged, her expression indifferent. “I don’t know.”
She placed the phone in her ear, and within seconds, Alex’s voice came through, filled with worry. “Claire! How are you? I saw the news about your fall.”
Claire frowned. She didn’t like talking about it, but it seemed the paparazzi had decided to humiliate her yet again.
“I’m fine,” she said flatly, devoid of emotion. “It was nothing. So, you can stop calling and texting me. It’s bothering me.”
Alex, on the other end, scrunched his brows. He never quite understood Claire’s emotions but chose to ignore it for now. “I was just worried. It looked bad in the pictures. Are you sure you’re, okay?” “I’m sure,” Claire replied, her tone still icy. “It was just a stumble. Nothing serious.”
Matthew watched the exchange, his interest piqued. “What’s going on, Claire? Why is he so worked up?”
Claire covered the phone with her hand and whispered, “He saw some news about me falling. It’s nothing. Just the media making a big deal out of nothing.”
“Anyway, Alex, I will contact you about our next meeting to discuss the press conference. Are you still up for it?”
Alex cleared his throat as he take notice that Claire switched the subject. “Yeah. I’m still up for it. I will wait for your message.”
The call ended and Alex stared at his
nded a
phone. He doesn’t understand how Claire hate her so much. He knows
his action
towards her back then as
far from what his grandfather told him to, and he regret it but Alex is trying to make things right.
However, it seems that Claire only want their relationship just as business partners, nothing more.
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