My Million Dollar Boyfriend

Chapter 31

"So, what's the deal with that Noah guy?" Soraya asked, making Claude choke on his food.

"Who?" Tiana asked as Florence gave Claude his glass of water. "And what the hell is wrong with you, boy?"

Claude cleared his throat and thanked Florence. "Nothing," he replied and coughed again. He looked at Soraya who was snickering at him and narrowed his eyes. "What did the twins tell you?"

Soraya looked at Claude uninterested in the topic. "Something about Florence cheating on you with Noah or some shit," she said with a monotone voice.

Tiana whipped her head to Florence as Maurice lifted his head to pay more attention to the conversation. "What? What happened?" Tiana asked, looking concerned at Claude and Florence.

"It's a huge misunderstanding. I'm not cheating on Claude with anyone, the internet likes to come up with the craziest stories," he explained, letting out a wry chuckle.

"You two seem rather close in that photo though," Jasmine muttered as Claude shot a glare at her.

"He's been a little... annoying and touchy these past days and I'm still not sure why," Florence answered awkwardly.

"You better set that man straight before he does some dumb shit," Tiana warned Florence but meant it more to Claude. "People like that won't give up until they're satisfied. Kick his ass if it's needed," she added.

Florence chuckled and smiled at her. "I'll think about it," he said. "I still need to talk to him when I've got some spare time..."

"Or you could let Claude do the talking for you," Sara suggested as Claude smirked at Florence.

"I'd rather not," Florence grimaced, ignoring Claude's betrayed face. "He tends to say some questionable things when he gets heated."

"That's not true!" Claude shouted as the rest kept quiet and silently laughed to themselves.

"He knows you too well," Soraya said to Claude.

After they finished eating, they went to the living room while Tiana was preparing dessert. Florence watched Claude bickering with his sisters as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He grabbed it and sighed when he saw that he got a message from Noah. Right when Florence opened the chat, he received a call from Noah which startled him.

Claude turned his head to Florence with a raised brow. "Who's calling you?" he asked.

"It's Adrian," he lied as a wave of regret hit him.

Claude furrowed his eyebrows. "Adrian? Didn't you say that he was too busy on his business trip to call?" he asked.

"He must have heard the news," he replied. "Maybe he wants to talk to me about it."

Claude thought back to Adrian's brother complex and nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"I'll be back soon."

"Don't take too long," Claude smiled as Florence dodged him when he went for a kiss. He pushed Soraya away when he heard her laugh next to him.

Florence answered the phone as he shut the door of the hallway. "Good evening, Florence speaking," he said.

"And here I thought that you'd decline my call," Noah chuckled. "How are you? Have you done something interesting today?"

"Cut the shit, Noah," Florence said, dropping his polite act. "I know you're behind that picture and the cause of all this drama. Just, please don't comment on it to fuel the fire. I'm too tired to deal with all this right now."

Noah looked confused at his phone and put it back against his ear. "I actually called to ask you about that," he replied, brushing his hair out of his face, "I thought that you might have known who did it."

"Sure..." Florence replied, still skeptical about him.

"I swear it wasn't me! I don't want to look more of an asshole to you than I already seem," he said as Florence blinked out of surprise. "And about what happened... sorry about that. I was desperately trying to show you I'm not just a jerk, but I made everything worse instead."

"Doesn't seem like he's lying," Florence thought as Noah continued talking. "Do you have any idea who could've done it then?"

"It could be anyone who was on set yesterday," Noah replied. "But my team is looking into it right now. I'll keep you updated when we find something."

"Thank you," Florence smiled.

"I'll text you if anything else happens. Goodnight, Florence," he said back and ended the call.

Florence sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. As he tried to open the door, Claude waited for him to finish his call. "C-Claude?!"

"Who were you talking to?" he asked with a dubious expression. "It wasn't Adrian, was it?" Florence kept quiet as Claude put his hand on Florence's shoulder. "I won't be mad if you tell me, Flory. I only want to know who."

"It was Noah," Florence answered. "But he only said that he was sorry for yesterday and that he's also looking into who posted the pic," he added quickly.

"Why did you lie to me then?"

Florence averted his eyes from Claude's hurt face as he played with his fingers. "I didn't want to make you worry," he whispered, meeting Claude's gaze. "A-And I didn't want your sisters to start acting crazy if they knew that he called me."

"I guess," Claude mumbled and pulled Florence into a hug. "Did he say anything stupid so I can beat him up?"

Florence shook his head against his chest and felt his head grow hot. "He didn't," he replied.

Claude cupped Florence's cheeks and forced his head up. "You sure?" he asked as he squished Florence's cheeks.

Florence shut his eyes and lightly kissed his cheek. "I'm sure," he said, lowering his head so he didn't show Claude his beet-red face. Florence squirmed out of Claude's arms and slipped back into the living room. "Do you want some help with the desserts, Tiana?"

Claude followed Florence to the kitchen and kept teasing Florence until Tiana forced him to shut up. They were watching an idol show the twins were obsessed with as Florence received a message again. He turned his screen on and read that Noah wants to meet up tomorrow at a cafe he doesn't know of.

"What does he want now?" Claude grumbled as he peeked over to read what Florence was typing. "Wait, you're going? Without me?!"

"Going where?" Soraya asked, turning her attention back on them.

"It ain't your problem, Sora," Claude hissed as Soraya glared at him. "And tell that bitch for me that I'm also going. I can't leave you alone with that rat."

Florence scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You're acting like I'm still a teenager," he said. "I know how to handle Noah, so don't worry."

"Noah? HANDLE HIM?!" Jasmine screamed as Sara gasped.

Florence smiled wearily at Claude. "Are we going home soon?" he asked. "We still have to search for a good car to buy."

A/N my beta reader was busy with her essay so here we are one day later! She also scammed me cause we were supposed to play genshin after she read it but she got distracted by the TV and told me after that she had to wake up early tomorrow... eh I'll try tomorrow again I guess. I hope that you guys still enjoy the story. I'll be farming for Thoma once again and don't kill mice

-Jerry Da Mouse