At a turn in the hallway just a short distance from where Lake was, there were two familiar faces staring at each other in silent agreement.
Relief was written on Bella’s face, she had finally come to a suitable but mostly harmless way to separate Lake from Davian, and while she was thinking about how to implement her new plan, Clint had walked up to her.
Although they were both tagged as heirs to their parents’ fortunes by the general public, Clint never acknowledged her, so it was startling to have the Alpha approach her first.
Bella had quickly smoothed out her dress, delicate ringed hands in her hair as she looked up at him through her lashes.
"Cut it out," Clint had coldly cut off her priming.
Call it desperation but Bella was no longer hooked up on Davian, he was just the only option available to her.
She was viewed as rich, beautiful, and successful, so she scared off most men. It didn’t matter much, however, because very few men would be able to fix her issues.
Clint Ryder could however, the Alpha was filthy rich and had shares in practically every business in Haines but those calculating eyes held nothing but disdain for her.
"...I see you’ve been staring at Mafia King Davian this entire time," He went right on, inviting himself to her table.
Isabella watched the handsome heir steal her drink and empty the glass of white wine. "And how would you know that if you hadn’t been staring at me as well?"
Clint didn’t let her words get to him, signaling a waiter for another drink. "I can help you get what you want."
Isabella’s expression turned frosty. "What do you think I want?"
Clint was unamused, "Everyone knows, heiress. I want Lake away from Davian, and you want the Mafia King, with have similar interests."
Isabella studied him curiously, "You’re interested in Lake?"
The Alpha’s pale blue eyes shuttered, "That’s none of your business."
Isabella quickly backed away, she honestly had nothing left to lose. "Do you have a plan?"
"I don’t." Clint was quick to admit.
"I have a bit of a plan, it might not amount to anything. I was thinking of hiring someone to claim to be the father of Lake’s child..."
Clint frowned, "Isn’t it Davian’s?"
Isabella’s shrewd eyes narrowed, "Davian never hooks up with anyone, I have my doubts."
Clint was unimpressed, "Lake wouldn’t lie about that."
"You sound pretty close to him." Isabella bit back.
Clint waved a hand to dispel the budding argument, "I’ll do it."
"What?" Isabella spluttered, "You’ll do what?"
"I’ll claim the baby is mine," Clint said in measured tones, "We just need discordance, then we can capitalize on that."
Isabella couldn’t refute that, this was the closest she had gotten to making progress with getting Davian. And seeing as Clint had some measure of a relationship with Lake, it gave some authenticity to their claims.
And that was how they ended up here, stalking Lake.
"Why are we following Lake?" Isabella whispered, furious.
She had thought that the plan was to wait for an opening for when Davian was all by himself, and then they would swoop in.
"Do you think Davian would take our word over Lake’s?" Clint asked calmly, keeping a sharp eye on the direction Lake had walked off in - the Omega should be returning any time soon.
Isabella opened her mouth to speak and then closed it, bitter because she knew Clint was right.
"So what’s your plan? Did you actually fuck Lake?"
Clint’s expression darkened, "For an heiress, you’ve got a real foul mouth."
"It’s a yes or no answer, Clint." She said dryly, not about to be sidetracked.
"Does it change anything?" Clint muttered, elusive about giving an answer.
Isabella looked at him in disbelief, "Of course, it fucking does-"
"Shut it, Lake’s coming." Clint cut her off.
Isabella’s dark eyes spat fire but she swallowed back her cutting words, readying herself to play her role.
She stepped out of the corner just as Lake approached, the male Omega’s guards immediately going up at the sight of her.
"Bella Blackburn," He murmured, " Do you need something?"
Isabella barely ever got the chance to properly study Lake because she was always livid whenever she came across him. Despite his plain looks, the Omega had a grace that ticked her off all the more.
She couldn’t figure out what powerful Alphas like Davian and Clint saw in him despite that.
"Yes actually," Isabella plastered an ingratiating smile on her face, "I heard a little tip."
Lake frowned now, wondering what Bella was up to. He had thought she had given up when she stopped stalking him but it seemed he had been mistaken.
He said nothing and waited for her to keep speaking, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Is that baby really Davian’s?" She leaned closer to whisper, her voice filled with malice.
Although Lake was one hundred percent sure, his heart skipped a beat. He took a step back, "I hope you didn’t pay for that tip." He forced himself to say calmly, about to go around the heiress and continue on his way.
Another person stepped in his way when he did this, startling Lake. "Clint? What are you doing here?"
"Taking matters into my own hands," The Alpha said gently, "I told you I’d help you."
Lake fought the urge to massage his temples, "I told you, I’m not in danger- Don’t do anything rash."
"On the contrary, I’ve put a lot of thought into this." Clint continued in that gentle tone. "I’ll take responsibility for the baby."
For the first time, Lake was genuinely upset with him. "No, you won’t."
"It’s mine after all," Clint continued with confidence.
"No, it’s not!" Lake refuted, raising his voice in frustration. "I need you to stop what you’re trying to do."
Clint just held out a hand, "You know who the father of the baby is but Davian doesn’t," He doubled down. "I’ll take care of you and the baby-"
"You’ll what?" A new person joined the conversation.