Chapter 24
A policeman slipped a paper out of the signed forms and handed it over to the man who took it from him discreetly and left the station immediately without a word or gesture.
****
Before Eloise went to take her bath, she received a package from Antonio who said nothing but,“ Get ready for work.”
Upon tearing the package open, she found a corporate dress of a black pencil skirt, cream shirt, black kitten heels, and a black designer bag. It was a simple corporate dress, but she knew they were very expensive just by the touch of the fabric.
Checking further into the package were new pairs of underwear. Her heart skipped and her brow furrowed.
‘ He didn't buy this by himself, did he?’ she asked inwardly as her face flushed, ‘ of course not, there's no way he would, not someone as stoic and arrogant as him,’ she’d said in her mind.
…
Antonio stood by the car, checking the time on his wristwatch again before exhaling.
While waiting for her, he reached for his phone in his suit pocket to reply to messages when he heard the clicking sound of her heels, causing him to look up and his gaze fell on her.
His fingers paused above the screen, his lips parted slightly.
The sight was familiar, this was not the woman he saw at the restaurant, the woman whose eyes held the vulnerability she tried to hide behind her armor, or the woman with secrets behind her tiny smile after a little vengeance.
Rather, this was the woman who reminded him exactly who she was. A CEO. His business rival.
He glanced at her from head to toe, from her silky, flawless skin that glorified the beauty of her dress, to her elegance woven with each step she took towards him. He couldn't type anything as he stared at her features, striking, yet refined.
“ I'm ready,” she said as she approached him.
“ Get in,” he replied curtly, already sliding into the driver's seat.
Eloise twitched her lips to the side. She wasn't expecting him to compliment her, but his words got on her nerves, ‘ is he a one-word person? Always cold and annoying,’ she frowned as she said in her mind before walking to the other side of the car, opening the door, and getting in.
Eloise appreciated the silent drive, they said nothing to each other, giving her the little space she needed to think.
This was a mission, a mission to get back everything she lost. Her stomach coiled as if she were stepping off a ledge blindfolded. She relaxed her head against the window and let her mind drift away.
‘ Would I be recognized at his place of work? What if it gets to the media that the former CEO of Penafort is working as an assistant at the Stratmore group, of all companies,’ she sighed, ‘ why didn't I think of this through? Will this go smoothly with just being his assistant and getting my company in four months?.’
Antonio frowned upon hearing her heavy sigh the second time. He glanced at her to see her face twisted in worry, but he said nothing.
‘ What's she worrying about so much that she kept sighing like that? Is it perhaps about her ex?’ he asked in his mind.
‘ Or should I get a nose cover? So I won't be recognized, or should I wait…,’
“ We're here,” his words interrupted her thought as he parked before the company.
She alighted with him and watched him give a valet the car key before striding into the building and she followed.
She saw the employees bowing down in respect as he walked past them, she could see their admiration and respect for him as she trailed behind before she started feeling their gaze shifting to her.
Eloise never knew there'd come a day she'd badly wanted to hear gossip about her. She wanted to know if she had been recognized or not.
Her palms felt sweaty as she saw the employees stepping away from the elevator as they bowed and greeted him but all he responded with was a nod.
‘ Can't he reply properly?’ she said in her mind when she began to hear whispers that were a little bit audible for her to hear.
‘ Who's she?’
Eloise overhead, a female whispered as she stood beside Antonio waiting for the elevator door to open.
‘ Is she the new employee?’ another employee whispered to another,
‘ I guess so, but why is she arriving with the boss, and standing next to him?.’
Eloise had no idea what they meant by that, but her mind heaved in relief upon realizing she wasn't recognized, so there wouldn't be a need for a nose mask.
The elevator dinged and opened and she stepped inside along with Antonio. She stood still at a corner, waiting for the rest of the employees to get in, but they all stood and bowed slightly as they bid the boss.
“ Ain't you getting in?” she asked, surprising them. The door started closing, and she made to pause it when Antonio grabbed her hand; the door closed just then, giving the employees no chance to see Antonio hold her hand.
“ What are you doing?”
“ Why did you stop me, they didn't get in,”
“ They can't get in,”
“ Why?” she asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.
He let go of her wrist and tucked his hand into his pocket,
“ I don't like being clouded.”
Her jaw dropped, and she let out a scoff as she turned to him, “ what?!,” she eyed him, “ they waited for God knows how long to get on this,”
“ So? Was I supposed to get in line?”
“ You were not supposed to get in line, what I'm saying is …,”
“Is you should mind your business,” he cut in coldly, “ it's like you're forgetting. As long as you're in this building, you are nothing but my assistant; I won't take any lectures or emotional outbursts from you. So do your job right,”
Eloise tightened her lips as she glared at him, slowly clenching her fist.
On a usual day, she'd have flared back at him to not tell her what to do. But the truth remains that as long as she's in the building, she becomes his personal assistant. His employee.
“ I should start learning not to question my arrogant boss, and I hope our almighty boss can forgive us for telling him to have a little bit of humane in him,”
“ What do you say?!,” he turned sharply at her, his eyes glaring in disbelief and his teeth gritting.
No one had ever spoken to him that way and before he could fume, the elevator dinged open and she flashed him a cheeky smile and bowed,
“ Kindly step out of the elevator, sir.”
Chapter 25
‘ God help me! I hope I don't murder this guy before I get back my company,’ Eloise pleaded in her mind with her blood boiling as she trailed behind him onto the last floor of the building.
Busy gritting her teeth, and clenching her fist, she couldn't pay attention to the glances she was getting from the employees on that floor. The building was quiet, except for the soft rustle of papers mingled with the steady clack of keyboard keys that could be heard.
“ Good morning, sir,” a sweet tiny voice of a female distracted Eloise from being upset as she looked up to see a pretty lady with brown hair and neatly dressed, smiling sweetly at him.
This would be the first person she'd see smiling at Antonio.
“ Morning Mary.”
Eloise's eyes widened.
‘ oh really? So he knows how to reply to greetings, quite amazing,’ she eyed him as she said in her mind.
She kept glaring at him even after he turned to her and he scoffed, astounded.
‘ She's got some nerves, huh?’ he gritted his teeth as he said in his mind.
“ Mary, this is Eloise, my personal assistant, and this is Mary, my secretary.”
Before Eloise could greet her, Mary's voice interrupted.
“ Personal assistant? I didn't know you needed one, I would have arranged it for you,” she said looking surprised as she glanced at Eloise from head to toe and back at him,
“ That's not necessary, arrange a desk for her, one closer to my office so that if I call her,” he said and glared at her, “ she'd arrived in front of me in five seconds,”
“ Yes sir,” Mary nodded and immediately exited the desk.
‘ Five seconds? This man is ridiculous,’ Eloise fumed in her mind.
“ Follow me,” he ordered and walked to his office.
She scowled at him and followed. As soon as they got inside, they were greeted by a masculine voice, deep and rigid.
“ Good morning,”
“ Morning,” Antonio replied and took his off suit, hanging it on the cloth valet.
“ This is Oliver, my business partner, the second boss here,” Antonio introduced not looking at any of them as he loosened the upper button of his shirt.
“ And his best friend,” Oliver completed by himself.
“ Good morning,” Eloise greeted, her gaze briefly drinking in his features. His height is similar to Antonio's, with his brown eyes and faded undercut, unlike Antonio's classic side part haircut.
‘ He's a very good-looking man,’ Eloise said in her mind; they had similarities except that Oliver seemed more like a free, friendly type with his sleeves rolled up to his elbow and one of his hands tucked in his pocket.
Oliver looked at Eloise closely, and just before Antonio could finish his introduction, he interjected.
“ You look familiar.”
Eloise's heart skipped. She shifted her gaze and her heart started pounding.
“ You're…,” he gasped as he realized, “ Eloise Stewart.”
Her stomach coiled. She dropped her head trying to remain composed.
“ It's so nice meeting you.”
Oliver cooed cheerfully and extended his hand for a handshake, which she slightly took.
“ So you'll be working here from now.”
She looked at Oliver and back at Antonio, who was now sitting down, giving him the ‘ he knows? ‘ look.
“ He knows, and you can rest assured he's not going to say anything to anyone,” Antonio said, reading through her gaze.
Eloise’s mind eased up. She heaved a sigh and smiled back at Oliver.
“ It's nice meeting you too,” she said and withdrew her hand.
“ Please, if there's anything you need help with, you can always come to me, my office is on this floor…,”
“ That won't be necessary,” Antonio interrupted, “ she'd be meeting Mary if there's anything she needs,”
“ Do you mind if I at least thank him?” she cut in, her smile sugary-sweet but her eyes gleaming with anger, “ he's at least showing kindness, unlike someone I know, so please? sir?”
Oliver's jaw dropped. He looked from Eloise to Antonio, who was shooting her a dagger glare.
‘Did she just talk to him like that?’ Oliver asked in his mind, shocked.
“ Someone, you know? And who's that?”
“ Oh I'm not sure you would know him,” she said smiling and added, “ he's a very cold moron, annoying brat, arrogant dude, he has no manners, inhumane, pervert, so full of himself, no sense of humor….”
Antonio’s knuckles were so white, his grey eyes blazed as he let her go on and on knowing she was referring to him, before he coldly cut her short,
“ I didn't ask you.”
She paused. Threw off guard.
“ You talk too much,” he added in a tone that didn't sound offended or angry but irritated.
Now it was Eloise's turn to have white knuckles and clenched jaw.
‘ oh heaven, open the gate, I'm about to commit my first murder,’ she gritted in her mind.
Oliver, who was taken by utmost surprise by what he just witnessed, chuckled nervously.
“ Hahahaha, that was funny; he seems like one hell of a guy,” he tried to ease the tension, not knowing who to look at.
Their glare was icy enough to freeze the room. Oliver's eyes darted around looking for what to say, his heart beating fast and his head shaking unstably on his neck.
No one has ever looked Antonio in the eyes and talked to him like that, and no one has ever stirred his emotions, be it anger or happiness enough to show on his face. But today, he saw it. The anger was visible in his facial expression, but he didn't know if that was a good thing or if he should give Eloise one hell of a warning.
Just then, they heard a knock on the door and Oliver let out a deep breath as if he's been holding it in.
“ Come on,” he permitted and Mary strode in.
“ The desk is ready, sir,” she said, smiling, not noticing the tension in the room.
“ Good,” Antonio averted his gaze and switched on his system, “ take her away and show her around. Also, take her through my schedules, what she needs to do, and when she needs to do them,”
“ Yes sir,” Mary nodded and turned to Eloise, her smile immediately vanishing like it was never there. She frowned her face, hating to see that there was going to be a woman closer to him now, and the fact that Eloise looked so beautiful got on her nerves, “ kindly follow me,” she said, almost in between her teeth, and walked out.
Eloise noticed the change in her tone, but she brushed it off and followed her, but not without glaring at Antonio one more time, which he didn't miss.
He scoffed the moment she was out of the room. His blood was boiling.
“ Antonio,” Oliver called in awe,
“ Don't,” he stopped him, “ She's the most infuriating creature I've ever known.”
Chapter 26
Eloise’s eyes scanned the files, absorbing Antonio's schedules and the long list of duties she'd now be responsible for as his assistant. She groaned inwardly with the thought of the duties, yet, determination flashed across her eyes.
This was nothing compared to the rage she carried, the pain buried deep, or the struggles she had endured.
Her eyes flashed across a date on the calendar as she moved to input dates, times, and places for his appointments. The date oddly strikes out. There was something about it that felt oddly familiar like it was trying to remind her of something.
‘25th of May, 2025’
“Did something happen on this day?” she thought hard as she narrowed her gaze.
“Hey,” Mary called from her desk, her voice cut through her thoughts.
“Hm?” Eloise blinked, snapping out of it,
“Mr. Antonio is supposed to have a meeting now; shouldn't you be on your way to inform him about it?” she asked rhetorically, eyeing her.
“Oh–right,” she stood up quickly and gathered the files together before hurrying to his office, but he'd stepped out before she arrived.
“I have a meeting now right?” he asked for confirmation,
“Yes,” she replied but received a frown from him which jolted her senses.
Oh, he's now her boss.
“Sir,” she added and he looked away, heading to the boardroom without saying any other word.
Eloise scoffed through her nose, rolling her eyes as she trailed behind him, completely unaware of the scowling expression she was receiving from Mary.
“I wonder what he sees in her to make her his assistant, she isn't even that bright,” Mary mumbled under her breath.
The moment Antonio entered the boardroom, the meeting commenced.
Eloise could feel the tension that clung to the air from the way the employees sat, stiff and silent, their eyes flicking nervously to the intimidating man at the head of the table. Antonio's terrifying, cold demeanor tells that the employees do not seek his approval; they fear his disapproval.
The presentation soon came to an end and they all turned to him for his response.
Antonio's tone dominated the room as he spoke in response.
“Eloise.”
Her heart skipped so hard as she unexpectedly heard her name being called by him. She looked up to see everyone turning their gaze to her.
Every time his eyes occasionally flicked to her, he'd see her staring at her note, which she was diligently taking.
“What do you think of this approach?” His tone clipped.
She returned her gaze back to her note on the table, not speaking.
Antonio’s brow furrowed as his gaze flicked to her scribbling, ‘was she even paying attention?’ he asked in his mind.
She looked up from her notes, not at him, but at others seated at the table.
“I think it's reckless,” she said softly, her voice calm but firm, “ you're making assumptions about how the market will react. That's a gamble.”
Antonio's pulse quickened, the calm mask of control cracking just for a second.
Others at the table gasped a little as her statement went against his response to the presentation. Then a thick silence followed as they awaited his reply to what she said.
“And you would know better?” he asked, leaning forward slightly as he narrowed his gaze at her.
His teeth slowly gritted with his fingers curling.
“I would know better not to put all my eggs in one basket,” she said leaning forward as well, not batting an eye as she looked at him, “Predicting demand like that assumes you can control what people want.”
“We have the data,” he countered, low and sharp.
“Data doesn’t account for unpredictability. Wants changes. You can’t control everything.”
A heavy silence followed. The air got heavy with the weight of her words, hinting more at a personal statement. The employees shifted in their seats.
Antonio didn’t move. His eyes stayed on her, hard and unreadable. Eloise’s finger curled when she saw something flickered in his eyes. It was brief but she could almost swear she saw it, something different, something raw and vulnerable.
No, that couldn't be. Someone as cold and aloof as Antonio couldn't possibly be capable of that, he's probably thinking of ways to make her pay for going against him.
‘So why not just finish what I started, I'm not scared of you,’ she said in her mind and smirked.
“Maybe it's time to loosen the reins,” she added.
Antonio stiffened slightly, something tightening in his chest. He sat back slowly, a smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth.
“Loosen the reins, huh?” he says, his voice now tinged with a darker edge. “Interesting advice…Tell me, what else do you think I should loosen?”
Eloise’s pulse quickened, she hadn't seen that turn coming. That wasn't the reaction she expected. No fury, no reprimand. Just that smirk, controlled, amused, and a mischievous gaze that causes her palm to sweat.
"I think you should loosen your grip on the way you see the world," she replied,
“I see the world for what it is,” he replied smoothly, “ Transactional. You don’t wait for demand—you create it. You guide the market by being irreplaceable. And you have control over being unique.”
Without waiting for her reply, he turned to the others who seemed to have faded into the background, “ We're done here,” he said, standing up.
He walked out, and only then did the room begin to breathe again.
Eloise walked out of the room next. She could still feel the lingering tension from the meeting, and the way others had stared at her like she'd just signed her own death sentence.
‘How would I live with this type of man for four months?’ she asked in her mind, rethinking the deal again when a voice, deep and sharp, called her.
“Eloise.”
She froze instantly and swallowed hard.
She'd never felt a chilly rush run down her spine just by hearing the voice of someone before.
She turned around slowly and saw him by his office door with his hands in his pockets, eyes unreadable. Without saying anything, he stepped back into his office, closing the door behind him.
The gesture was pretty clear to her. She held onto her note tighter and walked into the office.
Eloise jumped slightly and gasped as she hadn't expected him to be just some steps away from the door. She stepped away from the door after closing it behind her.
‘What now?’ she asked in her mind.
Slowly, with his hand still tucked into his pocket, he began to circle her, like a panther deciding whether to pounce or play. While Eloise’s eyes followed him with a furrowed brow.
He knew she had a daring personality, challenging and fierce right from when she was a CEO, but he'd never encountered any of it physically. No one has ever dared to speak against him, not in private, nor in public.
But here she was, stepping through his lane of 'don't' with no fear in her eyes.
Finally, he spoke.
“You think that was impressive?” His voice was low, but each word carried a chill, “ speaking against me in front of my employees,”
“I wasn't trying to impress anyone,” she replied, not flinching,
“No?” He stopped in front of her, his body close, too close. “Then what were you doing? Trying to prove you have teeth?”
She held his gaze. “Trying to do my job.”
He stepped even closer causing her to step back till her back hit the door.
She exhaled and tilted her head slightly to keep his eyes. He was tall, controlled, and extremely calm, making it more difficult for her to tell what was going through his mind.
“You don’t get to go against me. Not in public. Not in private.” His voice dropped an octave. “Ever again.”
Her breath caught, but she didn’t back away. “Are you threatening me?”
“Oh no sweetheart, I don’t threaten,” he said with a smirk, “ I make promises.”
He pressed his palm against the door, beside her head, trapping her between himself and the door.
He leaned closer causing her to inhale sharply. She thinned her lips as she looked away from his piercing eyes and his lips that were inches away from hers.
“Stop getting on my nerves little fox, if we want our time together to be less troublesome,” he murmured,
“I wasn't trying to look for trouble, you asked for my opinion and I gave it,”
“Then why does your statement on control seem so personal?”
“Maybe it's guilty conscience,” she said, looking back into his eyes that immediately felt like a mistake.
They held her captive right away. Her eyes flickered as she stared into them. She nearly admitted they were too beautiful for a man like him.
“Hm?”
“Stop trying to control me; I'm not an object,” her voice came out almost like a whisper, “ and I won't lie just to please you.”
His eyes narrowed at her, “ No you won't. I don't need a puppet,” he leaned closer and she caught the scent of his cologne –expensive, clean, and dangerous, “ but you need to learn the difference between honesty and defiance,”
“And if I don't?”
“I don't think it's something you'd like me teaching you, sweetheart.” his voice became hoarse.
She swallowed, her eyes darting through his, as if in search of something.
She averted her gaze and stepped away from the door, putting a distance between them and finally breathing in an air that felt fresh and not heated.
“I don't want trouble also, Mr. Antonio, just like you don't like me getting on your nerves, I'd also appreciate you not getting on mine.”
Antonio's jaw flexed, and his hand balled into a fist at his side just for a second. A slow, dangerous smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Just as he made to reply, the door opened and Oliver walked in.
Chapter 27
‘ Are these two attempting to murder each other?’ Oliver asked in his mind as soon as he stepped into the office. He felt like he had just stepped into an overheated oven.
He tried to mask his concern with a chuckle, “ Haha, Miss Eloise, you're here.”
She looked from Antonio to him and a tiny smile crept onto her lips.
“ Mr. Oliver,” she bowed a little,
“ No, no, please, Oliver,” he waves the ‘ Mr ‘ off.
“ I'm sorry, but you're my boss,” she insisted.
Antonio rolled his eyes from the two and went to take his seat behind his desk.
“ But I insist, just call me Oliver,”
“ But…,”
“ Okay, when it's just the two of us,” he quickly interrupted.
Antonio raised a brow at him.
Eloise blinked her eyes twice, giving him a gaze that made him quickly retract his sentence, immediately clearing the statement.
“ I mean, when people are not there, and to make it fair, I can just call you Eloise, what do you think?” he flashed her a sweet, friendly smile.
Eloise returned the smile, appreciating his friendliness.
“ It's fine”
His smile broadened.
Antonio glared at the two of them, watching them smile at each other and his lips slowly twitched to the side.
“ Ain't you here to tell me something?” he threw at Oliver who quickly turned to him,
“ Oh yes. I came to inform you that, there will be some delay in the data analysis report since we fired the analyst yesterday.”
‘ Fired’ the word tugged at Eloise.
“ No problem, just ensure we have one ready by next week. One that's capable,” Antonio emphasized.
“ Sure.”
Antonio turned to Eloise to ask her about his next schedule when he saw her frozen on the spot with her eyes glued to the ground as if searching for something. And then suddenly, she headed for the door and exited the room hurriedly without saying a word to any of them.
Oliver saw the way she hurried out and turned to Antonio, giving him a questioning glance, which he shrugged at before turning back to his laptop. But his eyes briefly drifted to the door, and he wondered what was going on with her.
Eloise quickly went to grab her cell phone from her bag.
‘ oh God, it's today,’ she said in her mind as she remembered which day the date was trying to remind her of.
‘ Today's the 25th,’ she said worriedly in her mind as she grabbed her phone before hurrying to somewhere private, ignoring the look of curiosity she was getting from Mary.
Eloise stood in the corridor with no one in sight. She clutched her phone to her chest with her face contorted with worries.
‘ If it's as the article says, it should be happening today. But things have changed; they are not happening accordingly anymore.’
Eloise's mind grew more worried by the passing second. The day was the day Laera got fired. She remembered how she stood by her at the hospital, and if things were truly going to be repeating themselves, then this might be her chance to right her wrongs.
She took in a deep breath and switched on her phone. The moment her phone came on, she received hundreds of missed calls and messages from Mason and Tamara, which was quite expected.
Her heart skipped when she also saw some from Laera, and she immediately returned the call.
After two rings, she heard the loud, worried voice of Laera said over the phone.
“ Oh my God! Are you planning to give me a heart attack?!,” she yelled over the phone, surprising Eloise a little,
“ Hi? Sorry, I missed your call,”
“ I was worried about you girl, I've been trying to reach you since the drama that happened at the office,”
“ I'm sorry, didn't mean to go off the hook,” she said, her tone low and apologetic,
“ You owe me lots of apologies, but first of all, are you alright?.”
Eloise tried to smile, but it collapsed, and the second of silence gave Laera an answer.
“ Where are you?”
“ I'm fine, Laera,” she replied, trying to stop her from worrying about her as she was worried too, “ I should be asking you that. Are you alright?”
“ Oh well, I'm not, 'cause your cheating husband, if I'm allowed to put it that way, just fired me.”
Eloise exhaled. She shut her eyes briefly and bit her lips. It's indeed happening again.
“ Did he tell you why?”
“ No reason,” Laera voiced, her voice laced with anger and irritation.
“ None at all?”
“ He was ridiculously pointing to a mistake that wasn't there and said I'm incapable of doing my job, like can you imagine?” she scoffed angrily.
“ I'm so sorry about that, Laera, this is all my fault,”
“ You have no fucking idea how much I want to rip all his hair off his head, like goshhhh,” she grunted loudly over the phone, “ my blood has been boiling since I heard about him cheating on you. That shameless nitwit.”
Eloise smiled, she could feel her intense anger towards Mason from the phone.
“ Laera, um, if you don't mind, can we meet?”
“ We sure have to, I need to know you're doing well cause I'm so worried about you right now,”
“ Don't worry about me, I'm doing fine. Would you be free tonight?”
“ Sure,”
“How about we meet at Crave District restaurant then?”
“ By what time?”
“ By…7?,”
“ Cool by me, can't wait to meet and plan ways to murder this bastard.”
Eloise chuckled, “Thanks dear, see you soon,”
“ Take good care of yourself, okay?”
“ Sure, and you too,”
“ Okay then, bye,”
“ Bye,” Eloise replied and the call hung up.
She heaved a sigh as soon as the call dropped and placed the tip of her cell phone against her lip. Her mind thinking hard on what to do.
With things repeating themselves, does that mean she could also be dying again?
A chilly rush ran through her veins and her stomach twisted as the thought settled on her mind.
‘ No, no,’ she shook her head, tightening her fist around her phone, ‘ this is a second chance, things might be repeating itself but things are also changing. I'm not going to die, not over him, and not over her either. I'm going to get back everything I lost, and I'm going to live,’ she said in her mind with her lips tightened.
“ Now, I need to focus on Laera,” she muttered to herself, remembering how she didn't do anything when Laera got fired, and how Laera went out of reach since then.
‘ How should I repay her…,’ she was still thinking when she remembered Oliver talking about a vacant position. She immediately hurried back, the sounds of her heels echoed as she made her way to his office, where he was, with his head buried in his laptop.
He glanced up when he heard the sound of his door opening.
“ Mr. Antonio.”
She called as she stood before him.
‘ What am I doing here? Shouldn't I have gone to Oliver? Will he even give me an audience?’
“ What do you want?” his stern voice asked, not looking away from his laptop.
“ I overheard Mr. Oliver talked about a vacant job earlier,” Eloise began with no choice, “ May I ask if if it's still vacant?”
“ Yeah?.”
Eloise swallowed, not knowing what to do with the cold responses.
“ I have a friend who's very good at what she does, she's not only skilled but also industrious, honest, and…,”
“ I guess there's no more need for an interview then,”
“ Huh?”
“ Have her submit her resumè before Monday.”
Eloise’s mouth hung open. Is that a good thing or bad? She hadn't expected him to react that way, or accept that quickly, but she also wasn't sure if it meant Laera would be getting the job either.
“ Okay, thank you,” she said with a not-so-sure smile and slowly walked out of the office.
Antonio glanced up from his laptop and watched her exit the room before sending an email to Oliver.
‘ There might no longer be a need to conduct job interviews ‘
Chapter 28
It was visiting hour at Wolf River prison, sadness, relief, and joy clung to the air as some inmates had families, relatives, and friends visiting. While some felt anger upon seeing individuals they don't wish to see.
Seated in one of the visitation rooms is a woman who seems to be in her late twenties. Her face looked less pale thanks to the red lipstick and her neatly combed shoulder-length hair.
She looked up as she heard the heavy clang of the cell door opening. She saw a guard lead her husband into the room, and her lips pressed together as tears welled up in her eyes.
“ You've got ten minutes,” the guard said curtly behind him but his heart was so overwhelmed with relief, joy, and appreciation.
He smiled upon seeing her and quickly went to take his seat, hating the gate barrier between them.
“ Hey baby,” he called.
Her heart broke when he called her that. She clenched her fist against the leather bag sitting on her lap.
The chains around his wrists that clinked with every movement caused her heart to sink.
“ Michael,” she called, her voice almost inaudible, “ how have you been?” she sniffled,
“ I'm good,” he replied, trying to maintain the smile on his face.
Her swollen eyes, full of worries, made his fist clenched. He hated to have been the cause of this look on her.
“ How's Evan?” he asked about their three-year-old son.
She nodded, not looking at him, “ he's fine,”
“ And you?.”
She raised her gaze at him, “ And me? Look at me Michael, do I look fine?”
His face dropped, knowing the answer to that.
“ How can I be fine when you're there, Michael,” she added, feeling the need to plead with him again, “ drunk driving, huh?” She looked at him. Her eyes glanced over at the tattoos on his body. She knew her husband to be a rough man, not typically a law-abiding person, but she knew there were some things he wouldn't do.
“ How long do I have to keep pleading with you, hm? Michael? I know you well enough, you'd never mistakenly take a car key when drunk, not to talk of driving. And since when did you own a truck? You didn't just even drunk drive,” she sobbed, “ you killed three people.”
Michael pressed his lips together, his fist curled into a fist as he felt a pang in his chest.
“ Can't you just tell me the truth?” she pleaded, “ did someone put you to this?.”
He shook his head, trying to force a smile that kept failing, “ No one put me to it, baby; it was a mistake; it was an accident.”
She felt a heavy stab in her chest as he said that. She looked at him and could tell he was lying. She'd been together with her husband for more than five years, and she could tell when he was trying to hide something.
She wanted nothing, but for him to confess who made him do it so he would receive a lighter sentence so they'd have a hope of him being with them again.
A tear dropped down her cheek; her fist clenched so hard as she felt more anger brewing inside of her.
“ So it was all coincidence huh? A few days after the doctor said to bring three hundred thousand dollars for Evan's surgery, you drunk drove and killed three people, and an anonymous person paid for the surgery. All coincidence huh?”
“ I'm sorry, babe, I'm so sorry for all this, but It may be a good Samaritan, a God sent.”
He hated that he had to lie to her, his jaw slightly clenched as he watched her cry, but he had to do it. For the goodness of his family.
Her knuckles tightened as his statement caused her to glare at him.
‘ how could he keep lying to me, how could he?.’
“ One minute left,” the guard tapped his watch.
“ Good Samaritan, huh? Will there be a good Samaritan again, cause the doctor said, Evan would need one more surgery, five hundred thousand dollars,” she lied.
She didn't know why she lied, maybe because of how much anger she felt towards him, how she wished to punish him in her own way for putting their family in such a situation.
Michael's face dropped immediately, he shifted in his seat as he placed his palm against the gate. His eyes got clouded with fear and worry.
What has he done?
“ How's he? Is his condition critical? What does the doctor say? Why does he need another surgery?”
She felt another stab against her chest. Her shoulder slumped as her heart sank further. She hates to see him that worried, and a feeling of guilt wrapped around her chest.
“ Ten minutes gone,” the guard announced and made to get him out of the room.
“ Tell me, baby, what did the doctor say? When did he say it'll be needed?” he asked, pulling away as the guard dragged him out of the room, and the last thing he saw was his wife's hand dropping while she cried bitterly.
The sight of which shred his heart into pieces.
*********
| STRATMORE COOPERATION |
“ As you can see, I always deliver,” Oliver said proudly as he handed over the result of the project Richard refused to accept which Hemsworth has now accepted.
Antonio glanced over it and gave him a thumbs up with a tiny smile on his lips.
Oliver giggled as he swirled around on the swivel chair before Antonio when his mind flashed across someone.
“ And yes, where's Eloise? Haven't seen her at all this evening,”
“ Yeah, she stepped out,” he replied not looking up from the report he was still reading.
Oliver stopped swirling and leaned towards the desk with his hand resting on it.
“ I hope you can now see what I was telling you about .”
Antonio looked up from the report; his brow was a little wrinkled as he threw him a ‘ not getting you’ look.
“ This is exactly what I was worried about. Marrying her, and making her your assistant isn't much of a good idea. How would you guys get along well when you're always at each other's neck,”
“ So? What about that gets you worried ?”
“ “Because I swear, one of you might end up killing the other before any of your plans even take off. She's feisty, Antonio, she'd challenge you, she'd…,”
“ Isn't that what makes this interesting,” Antonio cut in, dropping the file on the table and relaxing back into his swivel chair.
“ Huh?” Oliver scoffed, “What about this is interesting ?”
Antonio’s mouth twitched into a tiny smile, “ Do you remember the last time I truly took a liking to something?.”
Not expecting the question, Oliver blinked and tilted his head, rifling through memories.
“I don't know,” he said slowly. “But I do know you like money so…”
His voice stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened. “You like her?”
Antonio gave him a look that landed somewhere between a glare and a smirk. He didn’t answer right away. Instead, his eyes drifted to a distant point in the room, like he wasn’t really seeing it.
Then, almost under his breath, he said, “It’s the look in her eyes.”
Oliver leaned back, confused. “What?”
“The fire,” Antonio murmured, his finger tapping the desk once, almost reverently.
“When she’s angry, when she’s pushed, there’s something alive in her. Something wild.”
He paused a strange glint in his eyes now.
“She doesn’t just look at me like she hates me, she looks at me like she’s daring me. Like she wants me to break. And the worst part? I don’t want to win. I want to see what she’ll do when I push back.”
Oliver's jaw dropped. He stared at Antonio, stunned.
Antonio let out a quiet laugh, low and dark, “ She's a fire wrapped in silk. Every time she glared at me, it felt like I was standing too close to something dangerous. Isn't that interesting?.”
“Interesting?” Oliver repeated, baffled. “That’s not interesting, that’s borderline suicidal.”
Antonio only smiled wider.
She’d been glaring at him since she sat across him at the same table, since she signed the deal and wore his shirt.
And then her actions that sometimes surprised him, her reactions that sometimes caught him off guard.
Oliver stared deeply at him, with his lips parted and his brow furrowed. He could tell from Antonio's smiles and the way he was blinking his eyes that he seemed to be having fun.
He couldn’t name it, but something in Antonio had shifted—and Oliver could feel it.
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Table of Contents
×1
Chapter 1
2_3
Chapter 2–3
4_8
Chapter 4–8
9_13
Chapter 9–13
14_18
Chapter 14–18
19_23
Chapter 19–23
24_28
Chapter 24–28
29_33
Chapter 29–33
34_38
Chapter 34–38
39_43
Chapter 39–43
44_48
Chapter 44–48
49_53
Chapter 49–53
54_58
Chapter 54–58
59_63
Chapter 59–63
64_68
Chapter 64–68
69_73
Chapter 69–73
74_78
Chapter 74–78
79_83
Chapter 79–83
84_88
Chapter 84–88
89_93
Chapter 89–93
94_98
Chapter 94–98
99_103
Chapter 99–103
104_108
Chapter 104–108
109_113
Chapter 109–113
114_118
Chapter 114–118
119_123
Chapter 119–123
124_128
Chapter 124–128
129_133
Chapter 129–133
134_138
Chapter 134–138
139_143
Chapter 139–143
144_148
Chapter 144–148
149_153
Chapter 149–153
154_158
Chapter 154–158
159_163
Chapter 159–163
164_168
Chapter 164–168
169_173
Chapter 169–173
174_178
Chapter 174–178
179_183
Chapter 179–183
184_188
Chapter 184–188
189_193
Chapter 189–193
194_198
Chapter 194–198
199_201
Chapter 199–201