My sthomach begins to turn the closer we get to the industrial district of the city.I can understand that Malachi ignoring me has struck more than a nerve in just me alone, but going out of my way to get him to notice me feels like a bit of a stretch doesn’t it?I can’t even blame Bridget for this because i am the one who began moping about this in first place.I thought my phone would be blowing up with calls by the end of the first day. I did ask my father not to get the media involved, so maybe that’s a reason i haven’t heard from the man who kept me captive in a hospital for days.I know i am lying to myself though. Malachi has heard of this.Theree’s no way he wouldn’t have. I’ll just have to make peace with the fact that he does’t care, and that is funny, because i had thought he would.I don’t know why i expected him to.I just thought he would. Trust Malachi to retain his pride and composure though. Maybe it’s time i startd having some.“He won’t be in the meeting.”The words
I enter the room full of big men in their expensive suits.The audience is slightly differrent from what i have become used to. Usually i’d be facing a table of middle aged men, but that isn’t the case here.I’m facing a slew of men much like Malachi, or Tieran.Bridget curses under her breath, because the intel we just received was correct, which means what is coming next is also known to us, and it’s a shame really.Skye always manages to ruin the nicest things.I take my seat and Bridget takes hers. I insisted on her being in this meeting with me because i thought i would have to face Malachi somehow.I didn’t want to do it alone.This isn’t Malachi, but it’s close enough.“You’re late.”Cerebrus Thorne. Owner and founder of CB distribution. Acting CEO of the company too. He’s intimidatiingly handsome, but i know someone who’s gone under the knife when i see one and he has, more than once. Enough that it’s noticable.“We were held back a bit. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
The meeting threatens to go on without a hitch.I can tell that there is a lot of dissent at that, because everyon has a sour look on their faces. CB distributions is something Cerebrus made from a coalition of like minded people, and those are the people seated at this meeting todayFrom the lot of them, i only know about a handful, but that isn’t the bone of contention here. The bone of contention is that the company has one CEO, and it’s that perso i should be here to impress.I try to distribute my efforts but it’s clear i’m mainly focused on one person. As usual, i end my pitch with the benefits, because it’s all about the benefits“If you grant us your trade channels along east europe and the coasts of Russia, we will in turn give CB disrtribution a three percent stake in the company’s holdings. Right now we’re a business that’s eestimated at about a million dollars. Investment from prominent figures are already assured.We just need to figue out a distribution channel, and you
I’ve always thought the classification of men as animals who want one thing was a stretchOf course up until an hour ago, I didn’t need something from a man i had met a couple of times enough to stay in his office and listen to him tell me to barter myself out to him for a trade deal Cerebrus smirks as he looks at me and asks, “What do you say, Antonia?”I should chuck this marble figurine on his table at him, but my better judgement advises against it.Nobody ever said busines would be easy, and sometimes these are the things we have to do to see what we love lift off the groundI’m not hinting at selling my bodI’m hinting at the truthful fact, that in a world of men, some of them will always see a woman a meat. Fair game. Especially in busines. In the business world, a woman’s body is always on the table.It’s just one of those bargaining chips no one speaks about“Don’t you have a wife Cerebrus?”He does. We’ve had dinner with her. He fills his glass of wine and responds smugly
Tieran’s povI park my car haphazardly in the compound and head straight for the mansion itself. There is only one thing on my mind.One thing i came here to achieve.I need names. I need to know the people that hurt her, and then i need to find a way to tell her to forget about them so she doesn’t see what i do to them.Bridget is waiting by the door and she does something that threatens to infuriate me even further. She holds me back.Her hand latches onto my arm like a vice and the grip is firm. Unmovable.I take a moment to look at her, because i haven’t since that night, and i find myself staring longer than i intend to. Just like Antonia, Bridget also has soft features, but there’s a ruggedness about her features that makes it hard to look away from her.They look like siblings, but also polar opposites. An exotic smelling scent wafts into my nose and i know it’s coming from her. It smells pleasant, but the expression on her face is not pleasant.Bridget sounds as hard as a rock
I’ve stopped crying by the time Bridget comes back.I can tell that she’s annoyed by my actions. I don’t know why i’m reacting this way, maybe i’m just hurt and feeling pretty bad, but it’s no reason for me to shut my friend out. She’s been with me through thick and thin. She at leat deserves to know what happened.A feeling of weakness surrounds me as i think back on what did.How do i tel her whatt happened to me without looking weak and pitiful in her eyes? I know Bridget to be one of the strongest people i’ve ever met. If this happened to her, she wouldn’ bat an eye. In fact, it would fill her with even more drive to prove those who said bad things against her wrong.I feel that. It’s like an ache in my bones, the need to make Tristan and Cerebrus eat their words. I have to do that.But something about being spoken to harshly has always had an effect on me, and maybe i haven’t grown out of that too.I thought working and living with Malachi had helped me develop a thick skin, but
The meeting threatens to go on without a hitch.I can tell that there is a lot of dissent at that, because everyon has a sour look on their faces. CB distributions is something Cerebrus made from a coalition of like minded people, and those are the people seated at this meeting todayFrom the lot of them, i only know about a handful, but that isn’t the bone of contention here. The bone of contention is that the company has one CEO, and it’s that perso i should be here to impress.I try to distribute my efforts but it’s clear i’m mainly focused on one person. As usual, i end my pitch with the benefits, because it’s all about the benefits“If you grant us your trade channels along east europe and the coasts of Russia, we will in turn give CB disrtribution a three percent stake in the company’s holdings. Right now we’re a business that’s eestimated at about a million dollars. Investment from prominent figures are already assured.We just need to figue out a distribution channel, and you
Antonia’s pov. My boss and husband Malachi Finn chats excitedly with his first love in the office. I stand outside, and through the glass door, I can see a warm smile on his face. It’s a smile I've never seen before. I know the right thing to do as a competent secretary would be to leave, but as his wife, every bone in my body screams at me to go in there and tell them to stop it. I know I can't. For the three years we’ve been married, Malachi has never treated me like his wife. He’s only ever seen me as a secretary. He’ll talk to me while we’re at work because I plan the company calendar, handle negotiations with his clients, and make sure he’s ready for every presentation he needs to be ready for, but at home, he ignores me. Laughter comes in from Malachi’s office again and my heart throbs with a strange kind of pain at the sound of his laughter. It’s rich, and silky. I dart a peek towards his office once more and my eyes fall on Skye Rogers. I stare at her because everyth