"Lyle, does Octavia know you're out here bothering Claire?"
Yolande knew for a fact that Lyle had sneaked out here on his own.
If Octavia had any idea, she would have stopped him immediately.
Good lord, did Lyle seriously believe he had a shot with Claire?
Lyle had tried to make a move on Yolande once before, but she had managed to dodge his advances and shut him down.
Who would have guessed he would recycle the exact same tactics to prey on Claire?
At the mention of his aunt, Lyle's mood soured considerably.
The simple reason was that Ophelia had explicitly forbidden him from pursuing Claire.
She had even ordered him to stay far away from her.
As far as he was concerned, his aunt was a total sellout.
Back when he wanted her to set him up with Yolande, she had refused.
Now he wanted an introduction to Claire, and she refused again. Was her husband's family really so elite that her own flesh and blood wasn't good enough for their girls?
Ophelia genuinely believed she treated her side of the family well, blissfully unaware that they felt constantly shortchanged.
Their greed had only swelled over the years.
Now the entire Dean Family harbored resentment toward Ophelia, furious that she wasn't securing enough perks for them.
The beloved nephew she had doted on as a child had morphed into a complete ingrate.
"Of course she knows!" Lyle lied smoothly, without missing a beat.
Yolande stayed quiet, but Claire didn't buy it for a second. "Is that so? Then I'll call and ask her right now."
The moment the words left Claire's mouth, she saw Lyle physically tense up—a dead giveaway that he was full of it.
"Mr. Dean, please step aside. We're going to get dinner."
Claire was exhausted by the entire charade.
She could only hope Lyle would take the hint and back off.
A flash of annoyance crossed Lyle's eyes, quickly masked by a sleazy grin. "Come on, bumping into each other is fate! Let me treat you two gorgeous ladies to dinner."
"I heard there's a fantastic hotpot place nearby. Claire, didn't you grow up in Apex?"
"Don't you folks out there love spicy food?"
The restaurant Claire and net Claire and Yolande
were heading to was likely the
same spot he was talking abo
Gontent
It had just opened that semester and was notoriously packed with long waiting lines.
Claire and Yolande had already secured a reservation through Yelp.
They had timed their walk perfectly, only to run into this absolute nuisance.
"No thanks," Claire rejected him flatly. "We don't want to eat with you."
Lyle had never encountered a girl who turned him down so brutally.
It only fueled his arrogant desire to conquer her.
"Oh, come on, Claire, don't be so formal. We're practically family."
"Family doesn't act like this.
Refusing to share a simple meala et
You're really making me look
here."
Seeing that he wasn't going to let it go, Claire pulled out her phone and dialed Norris.
"Norris, Lyle is at the campus gate and wants to treat you to dinner. Are you free?" The sheer panic that hit Lyle was immediate.
The moment Norris heard Lyle's name, he knew exactly what the weasel was trying
to do.
"Hand him the phone," Norris
bbed his coat and headed
his brow deeply furroweget
for the door
A fellow professor spotted him and waved. "Heading out early today, Norris?"
Norris tapped his phone, signaling that an urgent matter had come up.
The professor nodded understandingly and let him be.
Back outside, Claire held the phone out to Lyle.
Just the thought of Norris sent a shiver down Lyle's spine.
Swallowing hard, he took the phone.
"Norris," Lyle squeaked, his voice practically trembling.
He looked like he was ready to bow down right there on the sidewalk.
It was a complete 180 from the sleazy, confident smirk he had been giving the girls.
"Lyle. Wait for me at the gate."