Ch-12

 Eliaz’s POV 

      A yawn bubbled at the back of my throat, but I struggled to keep it in. It was one thing to present, or pretend to be present, and it was another thing to fail while totally at it. While pretending was hard and absolutely not worth it, I would always pick that over being called out for what someone else termed inefficiency. 

“Mr Deutchmond?” Someone's gruff voice called out to me. I blinked back till all I could see again was my screen. “Is anything the problem?” 

“Not at all.” I shook my head, before adjusting my tie. “My apologies, I zoned out a bit. Please continue.” 

“I'm not sure that's the right thing to do.” I bit back a groan. My eyes flickered shut before popping open again, and just as I feared, Mr Dumont’s angry face was staring at me. “Are you even interested in this collaboration?” 

No. I wanted to let out, but for the sake of my company and my sanity, I kept mute. 

“Yes Mr Dumont.” I nodded.. “I'm more than interested in partnering with you.”

While that wasn't exactly the truth, it didn't mean it was a lie either. I didn't want to work with him. I needed to, or else the loss of that contract those nights ago wouldn't be the only thing I would be mourning. 

Everyone who was everyone in the business world knew who Mr Dumont was. He was a hot headed, pessimistic piece of crap that saw himself and his company as the best there was. It just had to be in his favour, that his automobile faction was the biggest in the state. 

Thanks to Dumont’s character, only two types of people willingly worked with him. Those who needed a long ladder to financial stability, and those who wielded some sort of upper hand , no matter how small. 

At this point, it was pretty easy to figure out the group I belonged to. The former. 

If I had my way, I would gather every piece of information I had against him before compelling his hands. Since that was nowhere near possible, I had chosen the best and only option available, to grovel.

“So what's the problem!” Even the video call screen and miles away from me did nothing to quell his anger. “I sense an energy that you no longer want to work with me.” 

“I doubt that's my fault,sir.” I cleared my throat. “I think there's been a break in transmission somewhere . Hello?” 

“I can hear you quite well.” He scowled, red patches hinting at the side of his face. “The network connection is fine.” 

“If you could just hold on….” Three knocks from the front door drowned the rest of my words. “Who is it?!”

“I'm sorry sir.” A panicked petite woman rushed into my office. At first glance, I had no idea who she was, but the moment she spoke, it hit me. “Someone is here to see you.” 

“Didn't I tell you I was in a meeting?” I roared, completely forgetting about Dumont. “What did I tell you just forty five minutes ago?”

“That you didn't need any disturbances…” she stuttered 

“And?” I cut her off. “Don't you think this is a disturbance? I'm in the middle of a meeting for heaven's sake!”

“I informed her, I promise you sir.” She was on the verge of tears. “But she just wouldn't budge. I had to rush down here, just so she wouldn't come in herself.” 

“Who is she?” I muted the laptop. “I want her details and….”

“That won't be necessary, dear.” The emphasis on the endearment gave it all away. Even before she fully walked into my office, I already knew who she was. “I don't think you need your wife's details.”

“Cynthia.” I hissed. “What the hell are you doing here?” 

“I had to figure something out.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “You weren't responding to my calls or texts and …”

“I'm in a meeting!” I hissed, enunciating each word as loudly as I could. “Cynthia, what is wrong with you?”

“I'm not leaving till I get what I want.” She huffed. I watched with wide eyes as she made herself comfortable in the empty seat in front of me. 

“Um, Mr Dumont?” I called out sheepishly, after unmuting him. “Could we please schedule this meeting for a later time? An emergency just came up and …”

“That won't be necessary.” He spat and I flinched. “The deal is over.” 

I parted my lips to speak, but before I could get any more words out the screen went dead. 

“Are you happy now!” I glared at Cynthia. “That was one of the only potential Investors we had managed to make headway with. Do you know how much time and blood it cost me? If you had the tiniest bit of…..”

“None of this matters and you know it.” She rolled her eyes. “If we had won the contest, he would be calling us, and not the other way around.” 

“Well, you saw how that turned out.” Somewhere in between Mr Dumont and Cynthia, my assistant had walked out and I let out a sigh of relief. “Why are you here?”

“We need to Investigate.” Cynthia got down to business. “isn't it weird that Alora just showed up out of the blue, and with so much money too. Where did she get it from?” 

The thought had crossed my mind, but I had other things to worry about. 

“It's none of our business….”

“That's where you're wrong.” She cut in again. “It's all of our business and I'm going to investigate.”

“Don't.” I hissed. “you're only going to make things worse for us. Didn't you see….” 

“I didn't come here to seek your approval.” She was on her feet in an instant. “I only came to tell you. Since you're not man enough to do it, I'll do what's right.” 

“Cynthia, you'll do no such thing.” I hissed. “Get back here.” 

“Goodbye Eliaz.” Cynthia was already at the door. “I'll come back to you when I find out what I need.” 

Before I could utter another word, Cynthia slammed the door shut. Silence settled in my office, and even after I had settled down, only the thought of how Cynthia was about to ruin us crossed my mind. 

Shit. I was in deep trouble.