Chapter 23
Rhysand:
48%
I walked into my office, just returning from an urgent meeting that I had to be at, my gaze fell on my phone which I had forgotten on my way out.
“Clear out the important transactions with the company. Try and reach out to Mr. Blackwood about the project again, hopefully he accepts it this time and we can start working on it.” my assistant, Roman nodded as he walked behind me into
the office.
I rubbed a palm on my forehead, “Focus more on trying to secure the deal with Mr. Blackwood. We need the project work to be finalized before the end of summer, so we can start the structuring by the beginning of winter.”
“Alright, will do.” Roman nodded in understanding.
I reached out for my phone on the table and picked it up, swiping through the numerous messages I’ve received in just fourty minutes that I was away, before finally clicking on Evelynne’s message.
My brows furrowed when I noticed that the message has gotten a response already. Last I recall, I left the office before she texted, so when did I respond to her last message with an ‘Okay?
My eyes lingered on the text, trying to remember if I did reply, but the moment I noticed that the response wasn’t in capital letters, a curse escaped from my lips.
Fucking Xavier.
“Who came to my office when I was out?” I turned to Roman who was still jotting a few things down, he glanced up in thought at my question.
“I saw Xavier inside when I came in to get a file,” he responded.
Of course it was the bleeding eejit.
With a nod, I walked over to the chair and sat on it, getting ready to continue the work I had in hand since Evelynne wouldn’t be here anytime soon.
“About the project with Mr. Blackwood, Roman scrolled through his tab and stared at it with a deep frown, “It doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to get him to sign it anytime soon.”
“Why’s that?” my brows rose in question.
Roman cleared his throat, glancing up, “The old man haven’t been on work for a long time, nor have he been signing new projects, but…” he trailed, voice dying low as if he was considering his next words.
“I know about that already which is one of the reasons I’ve been patient for close to six months now, so but what?” My patience dwindled low.
Mr. Blackwood was a worthy business collaborator that we’ve been trying to get his signature on a current infrastructural project for months now. But despite efforts, he still isn’t pleased with our project yet. We’ve amended the project file, numerous number of times, trying to appease the old man, but still he keeps rejecting them.
I doubt I’ve ever been this frustrated with any collaborator since I became CEO of the company.
What infuriated me more was the fact that he wasn’t just anyone we could cajole into things he wasn’t interested in. Money
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didn’t work on him, bribes didn’t either and he cared less about a person’s status or power.
He would only accept it if he finds it appeasing to him enough, nothing else can convince him to.
སོ ཌྜེ, 48%©
And the worst of it all was that he was grandfather’s friend. When I talked to my old man about the project, his words were:
“Keep trying. You should be able to amend things to the right way and appease him.” And then he fucking laughed it off.
I bet they’re having a good time together watching me stress this long for a single project.
Roman fixed his glasses to the bridge of his nose, and with a slight hesitation, he opened up, “He signed a project for a company recently.”
I stared at Roman, waiting for him to go one, “With which company?”
“It’s a rival company,” he hesitated again and I knew at that point that something was off.
“Which company, Roman?” a frustrated breath escaped my lips.
“Slanebrook’s,” he finally said and the office turned silent for a while.
Hearing the familiar company name had me furrowing my brows before it dawned on me that it was one of the companies under that man–or rather, father.
Realizing that my father might have done this to piss me off, increased my anger more.
“When did Mr. Blackwood sign a project with them?” I closed my eyes shut, trying to shimmer my anger down.
“Two weeks ago.” Roman stated.
I rubbed a palm on my forehead, before placing my elbows to the table and resting my head on my hands, “Okay. Go amend the project again. We’ll send them to him next week.”
“Alright.”
“Finalize all the schedules and send them to my email.” I stood up from the office chair, walking over to where water was placed by the side of my table and picked a bottled water before pouring it in a glass cup, “That’s all. You can leave.”
Roman left his brief jottings from the meeting on my table before he turned and left the office.
My eyes lingered on the neat water on the glass cup, before I poured it down my throat, shutting my eyes in frustration.
It was clear he would try to ruin my plans once again.
I grew up in a home where much was expected of me. I was worked to the bones to shape me into the perfect heir. That was all I was to my father, an heir.
While he had expected much from me, I on the other hand never expected anything from him.
Power and status was all he cared about, every single thing he did was to increase either the latter or the former.
An image of my mother coiled onto the hospital bed flashed into my memory. I tapped on the table, trying to wave off the unpleasing memory from my mind. A couple of minutes later, it stopped.
Silence enveloped the office, and the only sound was from my fingers tapping the table, continuously.
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Chapter 23
The quietness was shattered by a sudden knock on the door. My gaze ficked over to the door, and I muttered, “Come in”
The door was slowly opened, before a lady’s head peeked inside with a tit. My eyes koded on Evelynne’s as she glanced around the office before finally sealing her eyes on me.
Before I got the chance to tell her how strict I could be with politeness, the immediately stepped in
Tm sorry for arriving late; she shut the door behind her, “again” Her lips quirked up as she added.
She was staring at everywhere but my eyes, and I took it as a chance to glance down at what she wore.
I couldn’t help but notice the way her cargo pants hugged her curves, accentuating her hips. The white top she wore glowed against her skin, highlighting the delicate slope of her neck, my eyes lingered on her smooth neck before lowering down to admire how her top clung to her body.
It’s okay. Let’s just start with what you came here for? My voice came out strained more than I had intended.
“Alright then,” she walked into the office.
I felt my breath catch in my throat as I struggled to maintain my composure, my mind raced with thoughts of how she would look if she were mine, if I could claim her finally,
“By the way, I’m sorry again, she apologized, a tiny bit of red burned at her cheeks, perhaps cause of embarrassment. Her hair fell in loose waves down her back, and her lips curved into a subtle smile, as she apologized.
My tongue slide across my teeth, a subtle, involuntary movement. Clearing my throat, I forced my gaze away, focusing on the beige wall of my office.
A sigh escaped from my lips when I realized I was indeed fucked beyond measure and couldn’t resist the urge buried deep in my chest because of the mate bond.
Dax seemed to have noticed her presence also, cause he gnawed and clawed, urging me to step closer to Evelynne, but I knew better.
I walked over to my chair and sat on it, “Take a seat,” she nodded before walking over to the chair opposite me, with the tabler being the only barrier between us.
‘T’ll like us to make a contract file,” she cleared her throat and said soon as she was settled on the chair.
My eyes narrowed at her, “I made it clear already that we don’t need one.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line, before buring it in and releasing them again, my eyes lowered down to how her lips came out pink and soft.
Pink and soft, I mentally recited before shutting my eyes and glancing back up to her eyes.
Fuck, a curse escaped my lips when I noticed she was glancing back at me and might have noticed my stare.
“Well, you might not need one, but I do. A contract with my rules, and your rules. Your offer, my offer. Your signature, my signature,” she explained.
“Why do you need one?” I asked suspiciously, wondering why she brought this up again after we’ve discussed it yesterday
that it isn’t needed.
“So, no one can break a rule and go free.” She sat upright, seeming more firm about her decision, perhaps cause she noticed
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I was staring at her lips, “I want to make this more formal between us. We are benefitting from each other in the deal terms only”
“There’s no need for one, my decision is final, so go on ahead with the main point for today.” I waved her off, like I would to anyone who thought different from I did, or anyone lower than me.
Her gaze on me sharpened, “Your decision is overruled. I’ve made my point clear, and we are making a contract of this,” her tone left no room for my opinion as she gestured a finger toward me and then herself with slender fingers.
I narrowed my eyes at her, realizing she was the first person to overrule my decision without me snapping at her words the moment she let them out.
“We aren’t getting one, Ms. Milton.” I waved her off once again.
“We are getting one Mr. Thorne.” She said in a firm tone and I rose a brow in her direction at how she called my surname.
“We aren’t” I expected her to not say anything after hearing the firmness in my tone, and I never expected her to ignore it.
“We are,” she crossed her arms over her chest.
“What exactly is your reason for being adamant about creating a contract for this?” my eyes narrowed at her.
“Because I need it. And that should be enough reason.” Evelynne said firmly, not moving her eyes from me.
My mind pondered on it for a while, before I finally released a sigh, “I’ll have my assistant prepare it,” soon as the words were out of my lips, her expression toned down and a smile threatened to pull her lips up.
“Thank you.” Her voice was lower than before.
My eyes lingered on her face for a while, before I stared down at the pen which I had picked subconsciously as it dangled in my fingers.
Just two years and we’ll be done with this.
I’ll be out of her life, and she’ll be far away from mine. Enough distance to keep my attraction for her at bay.
She would help me with all the information I needed, I would help her with hers. She won’t break a rule, and I certainly won’t either.
Her rule was very simple.
No physical touch, except when necessary.
I won’t touch her.
I won’t.
But heavens damn me if I do.
