Chapter 397 The Confrontation
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The woman was Serena Wynn, a junior associate at Wesley’s law firm who openly nursed a crush on Weston. Flanking her were two debutantes from Jexburgh, their diamonds winking with practiced superiority.
Those two regarded Laura as though they had purchased front–row seats to a farcical play and were merely waiting for the punch line.
The bull’s–eye of their thinly veiled hostility was unmistakable–Laura.
Quinn parted her lips, ready to fire back, but Laura caught her arm with a calm, almost playful smile. “If they’re itching for a quarrel, let me be the one they scratch at.”
Laura turned to Serena, her voice velvet over steel. “A filthy mind dredges only filth. Oh, Serena, have those soap–opera marathons convinced you that the powerful are there for the clinging, like designer handbags on sale?”
“You!” Serena’s eyes flared. “A tacky upstart like you must have used some shady trick just to secure an invitation tonight.”
Laura arched an eyebrow. “Shady tricks? Then you’re accusing Whitethorn Group’s three–bid system of being rigged. My firm supplies them, after all. Julius is here this evening. Why don’t you stroll over to him and repeat that charge? Let him decide whether darkness hides beneath the numbers.”
Serena’s cheeks blazed scarlet. As if anyone would dare ask Mr. Whitethorn about that.
Trying to salvage pride, she said, “I’m merely exercising reasonable doubt. Your little company becoming a Whitethorn supplier strains belief.”
Laura let out a low, chilly laugh. “Reasonable doubt? And you call yourself a lawyer, Ms. Wynn? On this alone, I could sue you for slander. I’m no expert in statutes, but Weston will walk me through the fine print.”
Color drained further from Serena’s face until it matched the rim of her wineglass–pale and
sour.
A new voice sliced through the tension. “Clarify what for you?”
Laura turned, following the sound to Weston. Given Serena’s presence, his appearance here was hardly surprising.
After all, Wesley’s firm handled recurring work for Whitethorn Group.
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Chapter 397 The Confrontation
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+10 Free Coins
Laura’s smile broadened. “Your colleague here suspects I bribed my way onto Whitethorn’s vendor list and that I’m prowling this party hoping to leapfrog into high society.”
Weston’s brows knitted; his gaze landed on Serena with unmistakable disapproval.
Serena’s blush deepened to painful crimson. She had never imagined Laura would unload every word in front of him.
“Funny, isn’t it? With a boyfriend like you, why would I covet another man?” Laura purred. She hooked a teasing finger beneath Weston’s chin, striking a pose designed to scandalize. “Or does your colleague think you rank beneath the men milling around tonight?”
Weston lifted his jaw a fraction, yet he did not remove Laura’s hand.
The famously ascetic planes of his face softened into something dangerously alluring. “So the only man you’ve set your sights on is me?”
A collective gasp rippled through the ballroom, champagne flutes freezing midway to painted lips.
Is this really Weston Windore, who steers clear of women?
Serena looked thunder–struck, as though lightning had splintered the marble at her feet. Even the two heiresses beside her shed their mockery, their expressions turning grave. Weston’s significance in Jexburgh’s upper echelons was common knowledge, and tonight he had not denied the woman calling herself his girlfriend.
Among the old–money dynasties, lawsuits had become as common as cocktail gossip; few great houses were spared a docket swollen with disputes.
In Jexburgh, four colossal law firms ruled that battlefield, yet every partner silently followed the Windore name. Weston, their scion, had never tasted defeat. Anyone reckless enough to stand against him could kiss future verdicts goodbye.
“Well? Is the question really that hard?” Weston asked, a lazy challenge curling in his voice as his gaze pinned Laura where she stood.
He remembered how brazenly she had teased him moments ago. Now the woman before him looked like a skittish doe caught in sudden headlights.
“Um… Since you’re currently my boyfriend, naturally, you’re the only man I have my sights on,” Laura said, her voice scraping out like a reluctant violin note.
Weston arched an eyebrow. So she believes that once our one–year pact expires, she can simply cast her net for other men.
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