THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 61

Julian felt a surprising sense of calm settle over him after hearing Dalton's words.

Dalton was right.

Apex was on its last legs now—not even worth worrying about.

Besides, they still had Caitlin working as a mole inside Apex.

What was there to be afraid of?

With that thought, Julian glanced up at Dalton. "Message her on WhatsApp for me. I blocked her ages ago."

After the divorce, Julian hadn't wasted a second deleting Caitlin from his contacts. He couldn't stand the thought of her pestering him.

"No problem." Dalton nodded and pulled out his phone.

Back when Caitlin worked at The Chandler Group, she'd made sure to add every single person in Julian's circle on WhatsApp.

Nobody ever really respected her as the so-called Mrs. Chandler, but that didn't stop her from trying too hard to please everyone around Julian. She always seemed so desperate, more like a hanger-on than the wife of a CEO.

Dalton scrolled through his contacts, found Caitlin's profile picture, and opened the chat window.

They'd hardly ever spoken since adding each other—Dalton had never thought much of Caitlin, seeing her as a country girl way out of her depth. He'd even muted her updates just to keep her out of sight.

He never imagined the day would come when he'd reach out to her first.

If it weren't for the Apex acquisition—and Caitlin spying for Julian inside the company—nothing short of a miracle would've made Dalton contact someone like her.

He typed quickly:

*"Got a minute? Let's talk about what's going on at Apex."*

He hit send.

But the next moment, Dalton blinked at his screen in confusion.

A big red exclamation mark had popped up.

Julian caught the look on Dalton's face. "What did Caitlin say?"

Dalton scratched his head. "Uh… I think… she might have deleted me?"

"What?" Julian's expression darkened.

What was Caitlin playing at?

She'd deleted Dalton?

Dalton tried to reason it out. "Maybe it was an accident. I'll just call her directly."

Caitlin had always been head over heels for Julian—why would she cut off his right-hand man?

It had to be a mistake.

Dalton switched to his contacts and dialed her number.

And he certainly wasn't getting back together with her.

Dalton grinned and gave Julian a thumbs up. "Brilliant. Seriously, Julian, that's exactly how you deal with a shameless girl like Caitlin. How long do you think before she comes running back? I say three days. No, two! She'll be begging you to take her back within two days, I guarantee it!"

"Two days?" Julian shot Dalton a scornful look. "You give her too much credit. If I'm right, she'll reach out before the night's over. Just have her send over what's happening at Apex when she does—I'm not meeting with her, period."

Caitlin wanted to use Apex as leverage to get him back?

Not a chance.

Dalton nodded. "Got it, Julian. I understand."

**

That evening.

Dalton sat at the dining table, flipping through his phone as he picked at his dinner.

His mother, noticing how distracted he looked, couldn't hide her excitement. "Dalton, are you seeing someone?"

"No, Mom."

She rolled her eyes. "So if you're not dating, why are you glued to your phone all night?"

The way Dalton kept checking his messages, it was obvious he was hoping for a reply from some girl he liked.

She narrowed her eyes, a knowing smile creeping onto her face. "Oh, I get it! There is someone, isn't there? Are you trying to win her over? Do you want any advice from your mother?"