From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 202: A Recruiting Attempt

Anne finally understood what was going on.

Afterward, Riley had Harvey drive her to a clinic in the next town over, while Anne and the others stayed behind to handle the cleanup under Aiden's instructions.

Harvey took the wheel. The ride was quiet—too quiet, the kind that feels heavy and awkward.

Riley leaned back in the passenger seat, eyes half-closed as if resting, but the faint tightness around her mouth gave away the discomfort she was holding in.

They made it to the neighboring town in no time.

Harvey turned down a couple of streets before pulling up in front of a small private clinic. The place looked tidy and well-kept.

"Ms. Harper, we're here," he said, parking and coming around to open her door.

"Yeah," Riley replied. She opened her eyes, alert and clear again, no trace of drowsiness left.

When she tried putting weight on her right foot, a sharp sting shot through her ankle. She couldn't hold back a soft hiss of pain.

"Let me help you," Harvey offered immediately, reaching out to support her arm.

But Riley shifted slightly, avoiding his hand. She steadied herself against the car door and took a small hopping step to balance. "I'm alright, thanks."

Harvey withdrew his hand, an awkward stiffness settling over him. Something dark flickered behind his eyes, quick and unreadable.

The doctor on duty was an older man with reading glasses perched low on his nose. He examined Riley's ankle carefully, pressing gently in a few places before leaning back. "Nothing serious—just a mild sprain. I'll rub some anti-inflammatory gel on it, apply a medicated patch, and wrap it up. Try to stay off it as much as you can for a few days. It should heal up fine."

The diagnosis was pretty much what Riley had expected.

She thanked him and sat back in the chair, letting him work.

Just as the doctor was prepping the gel, Riley's phone buzzed—Aiden was calling.

She answered, tone even. "Mr. Quinn."

Aiden's voice came through, warm and lightly amused. "Nice work back there, Riley. I just got off the phone with Anne. You really stepped in and saved the day."

His praise was direct, the kind that would make most people feel pretty good about themselves.

But Riley just replied mildly, "You're too kind, Mr. Quinn. It wasn't a big deal. The situation in the village turned out to be more complicated than we thought. I hope you'll follow through carefully so we don't run into another surprise like that again."

She didn't take any credit. Instead, she calmly handed responsibility back to him, subtly pointing out where Quinn Group's initial groundwork had fallen short.

There was a short pause on the line before Aiden chuckled. "You really don't cut anyone any slack, do you? Don't worry—I'm not that careless. I won't make the same mistake twice. I've already set the next steps in motion."

Then he shifted gears casually, like he was just making conversation. "By the way, I heard you've already left Ashford Group. And the only reason you came back to help with our project was to keep things stable for Sophia?"

Riley felt a slight tension creep in.

Aiden really did get his information fast.

It looked like the news about her and Ashford Group was already making the rounds.

Before she could reply, Aiden made his move.

"Since you're available now, how would you feel about coming to work for me once the Cedar Creek project wraps up?

"I'll make sure you're bumped up at least two levels, and I'll double whatever Ashford Group was paying you."

For most people in the industry, an offer like that would be hard to turn down.

Riley was caught a little off guard.

She hadn't expected Aiden to openly try to recruit her while his company was still in partnership with Ashford.

It was a strong show of confidence in her skills—and a quiet challenge to Ashford at the same time.

Too bad he was asking the wrong person.

To Riley, both Ashford Group and Quinn Group were just stops along the way—stepping stones on her path back to the Harper family.

She was never short on options.

Her brief silence must have sounded like hesitation to Aiden.

But when she finally spoke again, her tone had cooled.

"No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, Mr. Quinn, but I don't think Quinn Group can afford me."

Another pause on Aiden's end.

He clearly hadn't expected her to shut him down so plainly.

"Can't afford you?" he repeated slowly, as if tasting the words. Then he let out a low, thoughtful laugh.

This Riley was even more interesting than he'd thought.

Truth be told, he'd only called to feel her out.

"Alright, that was forward of me," he conceded smoothly. "Then let's focus on a good partnership going forward. Take care of that ankle."

With that, he ended the call.

Riley set her phone down, her expression unreadable.

What she didn't notice was that throughout the call, Harvey had been listening—or pretending not to. He'd been scrolling through his phone, but he'd caught most of her conversation with Aiden.

So this woman already had an exit strategy lined up.

All that effort today wasn't for Ashford Group at all—it was a performance for Aiden, a way to drive up her value for the next role.