She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother Chapter 541: Naomi Shaw
Previously on She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother...
A rare flicker of shock crossed Alex’s face as he looked at the woman standing before him.
It was the woman from downstairs. The lawyer.
Barely twenty minutes ago, she had been sitting on the quiet ground floor, holding a file, playing the role of a modest, reserved corporate attorney. She had looked harmless... checking her watch, softly scolding her partner for speaking too loud, and blending completely into the background of a quiet evening.
That innocent, professional mask was completely gone. Now, she looked like an entirely different creature.
The dark corporate blazer had been discarded, draped loosely over one slender forearm. What she wore underneath wasn’t something meant for an office. The deep crimson dress hugged every curve of her body like a second skin, cut low enough at the neckline to reveal a tempting stretch of pale skin, with a high slit running along her thigh. It was bold, seductive, and intensely provocative... as if she had stripped away her professional uniform and slipped into this just for him.
She held a glass of dark liquor in one hand, the ice cubes clinking lazily as she twirled it between manicured fingers.
Her lips were curved into a faint, mischievous smirk, and her eyes, vibrant, sharp, and dripping with playful amusement... looked straight into his.
’What is this woman up to?’ Alex wondered. Of all the people in this hotel, she was the last person he expected to approach him like this.
And Alex was certain about what he had seen downstairs. Back on the ground floor, she had been wearing a plain formal shirt and tailored pants beneath that blazer. There was no way this revealing crimson dress had been hidden underneath that outfit.
That meant in the brief twenty minutes since he walked upstairs, she had deliberately slipped away, changed her entire wardrobe, and come up here tracking him down.
’Lilith,’ Alex called inwardly. ’Scan her.’
A faint blue panel flickered into view before his eyes.
[SCAN COMPLETE]
[Name: Naomi Shaw]
[Identity: Corporate Attorney / Private Mercenary]
[Realm: Late Stage — Enhanced Realm]
[Affiliation: Independent / Contracted Operative]
Alex’s gaze flicked over the lines, his expression remaining perfectly still.
’A mercenary? And at the Late Enhanced Realm? Did that old man arrange this?’
The thought crossed his mind for a brief second, but Alex quickly dismissed it.
It made no sense. Why would a man of that level go through all this trouble... for a buyer he hadn’t even met yet? To an Ascended cultivator, an unproven newcomer wasn’t worth that kind of theatrical setup.
Which left another, far more likely possibility. She wasn’t Raymond’s person at all.
Seeing him pause in thought, the woman tilted her head with a slow, knowing smirk. A mischievous glimmer danced in her dark eyes, but she didn’t give him time to dwell on it.
With a slow, fluid step, she closed the remaining distance, stepping right into his personal space without the slightest hesitation. A warm wave of vanilla and sweet perfume washed over him, subtle but impossible to miss.
"Where did your thoughts wander off to?" she asked, her voice silky and light. "Or am I really pretty enough to make the most handsome man in the room get lost in my beauty?"
She let out a soft, melodic laugh, the sound playful and deliberately teasing against the steady pulse of the lounge’s bass.
Alex didn’t flinch or retreat. Instead, he let his shoulders relax, resting one elbow easily against the dark marble counter as an effortless, appreciative smile touched his face. He didn’t avoid her gaze; his eyes dipped for a deliberate second... tracing the provocative cut of the crimson dress... before rising straight back to meet her dark, sparkling eyes.
"You really are pretty," Alex said, his tone smooth and untroubled. "There’s no doubt about that."
He had no intention of calling her out. Cornering a Late Stage Enhanced mercenary right here in the open would only put her on guard and send a warning straight back to whichever rival family had planted her.
It was far better to play along.
If she wanted to believe her looks and perfume were enough to lead him around by the nose, he would let her think she held every card. Once she believed she had him dancing in her palm, she would drop her guard... and hand him the exact intelligence he needed.
A flicker of genuine satisfaction lit up her eyes. Her smirk deepened, clearly thrilled by the compliment... especially after watching him turn down every other woman who had tried to catch his attention earlier.
"I’m flattered," she purred, the amused smirk on her painted lips softening into something distinctly sultry. "At least you consider me pretty enough to stand beside you... unlike those poor souls you turned away so mercilessly a few moments ago."
She cast a fleeting, dismissive glance over her bare shoulder toward the plush booths where the other women had retreated, then turned her full, undivided attention back to him.
"They didn’t stand a chance, did they?" she murmured, taking a slow, teasing sip from her glass. Her dark eyes sparkled with quiet triumph over the rim. "Though I suppose a man with your tastes wouldn’t settle for cheap distractions."
Alex shifted on the leather barstool, turning to face her fully. Instead of leaning back, he leaned forward just enough to invade a fraction of her personal space, matching her boldness with a display of quiet, effortless confidence.
"True," Alex murmured, an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Though watching a quiet corporate lawyer ditch her briefcase and husband for a dress like that... it makes me wonder what kind of business you’re really in."
He kept his gaze locked on her, testing her reaction the second the word husband left his mouth.
An ordinary woman caught stepping out would have stiffened or looked away. A real corporate attorney trying to protect her reputation would have stumbled over an excuse.
She did neither.
The mention of her husband didn’t bother her in the slightest. Her expression didn’t waver, and not a single flicker of guilt or panic touched her features. If anything, the amused curl of her lips only deepened, as if the entire concept of that marriage was nothing more than a convenient fiction she barely cared to acknowledge.
"What do you think?" she murmured, her voice dripping with lazy amusement.
Instead of retreating, she let her gaze linger shamelessly over him.
Her dark eyes ran openly across his broad shoulders, the clean cut of his jaw, and the quiet, relaxed confidence in his posture. Downstairs, she had only caught glimpses of him through the glass, but standing this close, the sheer presence he carried made her pulse kick up a beat. Men like him were rare... especially among the stuffy, arrogant corporate types she was usually sent to deal with.
She was genuinely impressed, and she wasn’t bothering to hide it.
She set her glass down with a soft, delicate clink on the marble. Leaning in, she rested both elbows against the counter, bridging the remaining inches between them.
"I’m Naomi," she whispered, her voice dropping into a husky, confidential purr.
