She raised her chin as she measured me up as an opponent before huffing her snobbish nose at me. She then raised her brow then spun around with her four-inch Prada pumps, striding towards the office of His Lord Almighty. The insipid fool had me blocked? The nerve! What made him so bloody sure I was going to come here and demand to see him? Arrogant arse.
Seething, I had ideas that ranged from scratching his eyes out to gripping his balls through my nails until they were black and blue. Inflicting physical harm had never been attractive to me, but right this instant, my thoughts lingered on some colorful ideas.
Tapping my foot on the shiny marbled flooring, I was impatiently waiting the she-devil’s return. If Reiss had more excuses to throw me out—hell, he could even go as far as bringing security in to escort me—I wouldn’t be going anywhere. I’d return every day and exhaust all of my resources to get to him. This was vital for my sanity—for my existence—.
The sudden sound of high heels clicking against the floor brought me back to my senses as I glanced towards the smug-looking secretary.
“Well? Is he going to see me or order security to kick me out?”
She didn’t stop until she reached her desk and then took a seat before giving me an insufferable expression. “You can wait for twenty minutes since he’s on a very important call, then you may see him in his office.”
Well, that went quite easy, didn’t it?
Releasing a breath, I made a curt nod, looking more dignified as I straightened out my top before murmuring, “Thank you. I shall take a seat whilst waiting.”
She barely gave me a nod of acknowledgement before resuming her work, carrying on as if I didn’t exist.
My attempt at occupying myself with reading materials with celebrity and lifestyle magazines didn’t do much to ebb the explosive feeling I had in my chest. I was wired with too much frustration from being lied to. It had built an emotional ball inside me, and I wouldn’t let up until I had all of this out of my chest.
Time went by at a snail’s pace as I waited for the minutes to hit the twentieth mark. And, when it finally did, I didn’t even wait for the ill begotten queen to notify me it was all right to move forward. I basically zoomed out of the receiving area and immediately headed straight to the other wing where Reiss’s office was located. My memory served fresh as I recalled my recent visit. It didn’t take me long until I reached his door, not bothering to knock as my hand gripped the handle and pushed the heavy, polished oak door open.
Immediately, I found him sitting behind his desk, still engrossed in a phone conversation. I entered his domain with loud commotion so he knew I was here, glaring at him. He chose to completely ignore me and pretended I wasn’t breathing the same air.
“Don’t be rubbish, of course I do.” He was grinning from ear to ear, pleased. “You’re perfect. I’ll see you tonight. Same time, yeah?” He paused, presumably because his chit was spouting something arousing to his senses, before he added, “Splendid. I look forward to it.”
I watched his face light up from speaking to her, aghast at witnessing him flirt his way with another woman on the phone. I felt small and irrelevant. —I knew it was a her not a him on the other end because he was not the kind to mess about on the other side of the field.
Adding more salt to my injury, I came to realize that what had occurred between us might not have meant anything other than his usual fucks. I had been partially convinced that, though he spouted hate and extreme loathing, a part of him would still remember the golden days and how magical it had been between us. However, as the seconds ticked away, I was starting to think otherwise.
Well, if that was the case, then I wouldn’t let him see how much it affected me, because that would only make him feel superior, knowing he had accomplished what he had sought out to do—hurt me the deepest he possibly could.
None of this mattered any longer, anyhow. I was here to confront him about the lies he had strung along for years. It wouldn’t even surprise me if he watched me suffer from afar, flourishing and basking in my own tormented misery, while he built his company and did what he had been determined to do—becoming powerfully rich.
My sights deadlocked on him just as he lifted his gaze to finally meet mine, seeming unfazed.
“You’re not one to pay heed with warnings, are you, Ava? You better have a very good reason to seek me out this time. I meant what I told you the other night; I don’t ever want to see you again.” He casually leaned back against his chair before bringing his legs up on the side of his desk, resting atop of each other while he lazily gazed at me. “I hope that brings my point across loud and clear?”
“You lied to me!” I flung my accusation in the air before I marched towards his desk, giving him a pointed look. “My father—how did you convince him to do such a thing to me?” My knuckles were white as I dug my nails inside my palms, feeling as powerless as a hopeless pawn in a world full of selfish men who had agendas only to benefit their causes.
“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? Besides, I haven’t lied to you.” He shrugged, looking bored. “Maybe you should take this temper tantrum to your father. You know … since this is a family affair, after all.”
His obvious nonchalance made me ground my teeth together. I had expected more reaction than this apparent boredom. How dare he make light of this when I felt like my world just went crashing to smithereens? Everything I had thought and believed my father was all became a blur in a matter of seconds.
“I’m surprised you’re even here. I’d think your father would be the one to tell you—” He paused, eyeing me suspiciously before frowning. “If it wasn’t your father, then who told you?”
His manner seemed downright disrespectful, his voice laced with sarcasm and suspicion, like I was highly contaminated, and whatever I did or say wouldn’t redeem me in his eyes. It was all there, blatantly written on his scornful albeit handsome face. His eyes felt like they were skinning me raw, as if he was taking me apart, piece by piece so I would be defenseless and cower like I was supposed to have done after he had disdainfully treated me like I was some cheap tart.
One would expect I would be numb from it all. Needless to say, his evident contempt simply magnified the ache that was gutting me alive.
“I just barely found out …” I trailed off, feeling parched due to the fact that I couldn’t seem to cohesively think when he was giving me an intense expression, as if deep in thought. Licking my lips, I started to take a small gasp of air to loosen the tightened feeling around my chest. I felt as if he was suffocating me by merely existing. “Ashton … Uh, Ashton flew in this morning and told me about it. Then I immediately came here to confront you.”