?Chapter 378:


    “Mr. Briggs, if you’re trying to use me of something, just say it. I’m frencing, that’s all. A little side hustlepletely separate from Neb. I’d never do anything to hurt thepany. You know that.”


    She figured he was just being protective ofpany interests—until he took it a step further.


    “Seems like you’re prettyfortable with Shaun. Didn’t you once swear you weren’t in a hurry to date again? Or did meeting him change your mind?” The mocking edge in his voice made her throat tighten. She swallowed hard.


    “Mr. Briggs, you’re engaged. I don’t think I need your permission to see someone, even if I were dating. Which I’m not, by the way. Mr. Smith and I are strictly professional. Not that it’s anything like… whatever you and Ms. Lawson have going on.”


    William raised his brows slightly, matching her tone without blinking. “And what exactly do you think is going on between me and Ms. Lawson?”


    Ste hadn’t anticipated that he’d want her to spell things out so directly. Caught off guard, she looked away and pressed her lips into a tight line. “Just forget I said anything,” she muttered.


    What else could it possibly be between them? A business deal dressed up as a marriage, a partnership built on mutual benefit—how much of it was real, and how much was just driven by personal gain? Everything felt mixed up, like a knot too tight to untangle. Did he even understand what they’d be?


    Unlike their confusing rtionship, her connection with Shaun was clean and simple. They were partners on paper, maybe friendly at best, but there were no blurred lines—no messy emotions.


    A few seconds of silence passed in the car before William finally asked, “If this really is about Shaun’s project, why didn’t hee along himself?”


    Without missing a beat, Ste fired back, “And I don’t see Miss Lawson sitting next to you, do I?”


    William paused at her reply, then turned slightly to study her profile. “Ms. Russell, should I take your attitude right now as… jealousy?”


    Ste’s temper red the instant he said it. “Jealous? Don’t be absurd!” she snapped. If someone overheard that nonsense and told Willow, she’d end up being misunderstood—again—for no reason!


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    “You’re the one who keeps bringing her up,” she huffed. “If anyone’s obsessed, it sounds more like you are.”


    She rolled her eyes in frustration. “Not everyone shares your way of thinking, Mr. Briggs.”


    As the car rolled back into the city, passing a hospital on the way, William suddenly asked, “You didn’t get hurt back at the warehouse, did you?” Ste shook her head in response.


    William let out a quiet sigh, visibly relieved, as the hospital disappeared from the rearview. “Good. You just managed to trip the rm while snooping around.”


    Ste gawked at him, nearly choking on her disbelief. “I beg your pardon? That wasn’t me! If anything, it was probably you! I hardly touched a thing!” There was no logic to an rm being set off by a pile of papers. She was sure she hadn’t activated anything.


    “If that idiotic rm hadn’t gone off, I could’ve actually uncovered something useful,” she muttered, clearly annoyed.


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