Shatter His Hope

“Let him in.”

Olivia bowed her head and walked out of the office. Ella who was standing at the other side of Eve’s table quickly leaned forward and whispered.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I mean… we both know your past with Mr Hank. Are you sure you’ll be able to handle him in the same room?”

Eve scoffed. “You don’t know me enough, Ella? I didn’t take this position to let my silly emotions take over. This is all business, understood?”

“I trust you but I don’t trust the man.”

“I’m not sure anyone does. Maybe his plotting mother and wife-to-be.”

Before Ella could agree even more, the door of the office was pushed open, and loud and imposing footsteps reverberated around them.

“Mr Gray?” Ella blocked Eve’s view and lowered her head at Noah, clearly forcing a smile.

Ella passed her boss a last look before she stepped away from her view. She glared at Noah as she walked past him.

He was handsome. Too handsome to be their enemy. Dark hair, ocean-blue eyes, sharp and defined jaw bone. If he wasn’t their enemy, she might have been swooning over him now. But no, he’s the bastard who broke Eve’s heart.

Eve cleared her throat and raised a brow at the man before her who gazed at her in shock. Pointing to the leather chair at the other side of the table, she offered. “Take your seat.”

But she received no reply as he kept staring at her. “Mr Hank.”

“The fuck you’re doing here?”

“Are you sitting or not?”

“I’m not. Where is he.”

“Who?”

“I want your father. Where is he?”

Eve sighed, massaging her temples with her forefingers. Didn’t he see the news about her father circulating everywhere? She raised from her chair and crossed to his side so that they stood face to face with each other.

“I doubt you became dumber by the years. I’ll spell it out to you anyway. My father is sick and undergoing treatment and I am taking over this company in the meantime as his daughter. Now this makes me wonder, Mr Hank. Didn’t you see the news this morning or you came here to piss me off.”

Noah combed his fingers through his dark hair. He had been too busy to check the news as usual and fuck, he wished that he did. At least he would be prepared to face her.

“What is the news about?” He swallowed, forcing his eyes to look away from her body, from the beauty that she possessed. She looked different. Prettier, curvier, and healthier. It made him realize how much of a dick he was while she lived with him.

“What do you think? I’m not going to explain anything and if you really want this deal to commence I suggest that you give me as much respect as you would my father.” Her voice was laced with such an amount of venom that caused Noah’s eyes to widen. Surely, he could barely recognize the woman anymore. So different yet the same.

Turning her back to him, she walked back to her chair and sat on it like the boss that she was. In a greyish two-piece suit shirt and pants and a white corset around her waist, she looked like the perfect boss.

“You’ve changed, Eve.” He didn’t mean to say that aloud but well, he just did and she happened to hear it.

Eve chuckled. “No, I didn’t.”

“I can barely recognize you.” She didn’t speak like the Eve he knew a year ago. The Eve that worshiped the ground that he walked. The Eve that never talked back at him and was too shy to look into his eyes while speaking. Her smile? The Eve that he knew never smiled with bitterness. That Eve was genuine and perhaps the sweetest.

“I didn’t change. You just never knew me. Maybe if you had, you would have seen that.”

“That’s correct,” Noah agreed as he sat down on the chair opposite her. “That’s very correct. I’m not that surprised though. Considering what you did to Melissa a year ago, this is just part of you. I’m n…”

A snapping sound of an object cut him off and his gaze trailed downward to Eve’s hand.

She forced a laugh. “This pen is fucking fragile,” she tossed the broken pen into the waste bin, and with a fake smile plastered on her lips, she returned her gaze to Noah.

“How about we leave our past out of this? You’re here for the deal right? How about we talk of the deal instead of bringing bad memories that I don’t seem to remember.”

Her emotions were threatening to take over and noticing that, she looked away from him and started searching for files on the table.

“Here it is.” Finding the file, she looked through it, her eyes every word written on it. She frowned. The deal was going to benefit the Hank corporation the more. They were going to rise to the top once the deal commenced and from what she read, the Gray corporation was not getting that much out of the deal. It meant that they were simply doing the Hanks a favor and she wondered why on earth her father agreed to the deal.

She looked at other deal files on the table and noticed that most deals seemed to benefit the other party the more. “Goodness, father.” The man was way too generous in everything. It was supposed to be business but he turned it into charity.”

Suddenly, she stopped reading the files as she felt the burning gaze of Noah on her. Slowly, she raised her head to catch his eyes on her.

“How have you been?” He threw the question.

She blinked. “W…What?”

“I asked how you’ve been.”

Her mouth fell open in shock. It was the first time she’d heard him ask her such a question. Never for once in their three years of marriage had he asked about her well-being or even her day and the question made her think hard about the answer.

How has she been these past few months? Has she been happy? Had life been fair to her?

For answers, it was the best decision that she made. Leaving Noah and his toxic family. He made her realize just how much they hated her, how she meant nothing to him. The first few weeks and months of leaving were hell. Just having to think about it alone made her clench her fist. She’d passed through hell before getting here but if given a second chance, she would do this again and again.

And as for his question, it was too late to care.

With a sigh, she stared at him. “Is this a joke to you?”

“What is?”

“I asked not to mention the past.”

“Asking how you’ve been is not mentioning the past, Eve.”

“Don’t call me that.” Eve snapped, her voice rising. “It’s Genevieve to you so stop acting so informal with me. We’re strangers. Besides, it’s too late to ask if I’m fine or not. Let’s just get back to business.”

She saw his jaw clenched before he nodded and agreed. “If you say so then.”

She broke her gaze again and focused on the files. Thoroughly reading the contents of the papers on her desk. After a while, her eyes fell on him again. He was staring at her.

“What?”

He raised a brow.

“Why do you keep staring at me?”

“My eyes, not yours.”

“Here. This is the deal. Father mentioned reading it. We’ll have another meeting sometime again. Just leave.”

“This is the only meeting we’re going to have concerning this deal. Think of whatever you have to think of now. I’m a busy man.”

Genevieve scoffed.

“Being an ingrate is not the best thing right now. You know that, right? You should be grateful that I’m letting this deal go on. This is in my hands and I have the power to cancel or make it work. I suggest you drop your attitude.”

“That’s not how it works. I’m going to read this and we will settle everything now.”

“I made my decision already.” She slammed her hands and rose from the chair. She could already feel an impending headache just by being in the same room with him. He made her so furious and she was done having him in her space. “I’m letting you have this deal even after everything. You do know that if I inform my father of our past, this won’t work, you know that, right?”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Of course not. I’m just trying to point out the truth to you. I wonder what father would say when he hears our history and how you treated me.”

“Well, he’ll have to know your crime too.”

“Crime?” she smirked. “He’s my father. He’ll listen to no one but me.” She was denying nothing. She wasn’t going to explain whatever to anyone anymore. Either way, they won’t listen to her.

“Don’t you dare ruin it? This deal is important to me.”

“That’s more reason you should be humble right now. What is going to happen when I go to my father and tell him everything from the first day I met you till now? I might add a bit more story here and there.”

Without another word, Noah angrily stood up from the chair. He snatched the file, turned his back to her, and stormed out of the office.

Once he got into his car, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

“Find out everything Miss Gray has been into since a year ago. I’ll give you a day to do so.”

“Yes, boss.”

He needed to know everything about her and how she suddenly became Miss Gray in just a year. He was now overly interested in her life and maybe it was simply because he knew she had something on her sleeves. Before now, he didn’t really care about her and what she did. But now, he needed every single detail.

Meanwhile, back in Eve’s office, she slumped on the chair, threw her head back, and burst into laughter.

Ella rushed in. “What happened?”

“I threatened to tell Father about us. He became all black.”

“And the deal? When is it going to be signed?”

“Signed?”

“Yes. We plan on having an alliance with his company, right?”

“We planned but not anymore. I’m not signing shit.”

“What?”

“You heard me right. We’re not going to be business partners. I just want to keep him busy while I move over to my plans.”

“What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see. What I’m going to do, he for sure isn’t going to like it. I told you, I’m not back for peace.”

Ella stepped closer, a sly smirk that matched Eve’s on her face.

“Now I’m getting scared of you. You give me chills.”

“As it’s supposed to be. I know that the deal is important to him as he was to me so I’m going to give him hope. So much hope and then at the last minute, I’ll shatter it. I want him to feel all that I felt a year ago. He’s going to feel it all. Every single thing I passed through. It's time. I'm finally making a move. Watch out.”