I prepare for the meeting that would hold the next day, the event that would seal my new partnership with Damien and establish my dominance over him. I wanted him to know that the survival of his company would depend solely on me, and how wonderful it would be to see him crash and burn.
However, our earlier encounter ate at me, it made me anxious and uneasy. There had been something off about Damien, it was so blatantly obvious yet I couldn't place my finger on the change. He seemed more charismatic and easy going, the Damien I knew in the past was cold and calculating, he never failed to destroy anything he thought would be a hindrance to him, whether in the present or future. Surely, Damien must know that it would only be a matter of time before the media came to know of my return, and then he would be put in the spotlight once more. Was he not afraid that I might expose his true nature? If I didn't know better I would think that he hadn't been pretending about not recognizing me earlier. This was not how I had expected things to turn out. Our meeting went a lot more calmly than I had expected. But that doesn't matter....I was back for a purpose and I don't give a fuck whether or not Damien cared about me or not. Only I know that his Company was facing some issues, it might go bankrupt if it doesn't land a business deal soon, and I was going to be the one to give him the false hope of being safe, then I would personally see the end of Damien's Company and everything else he cared for. As I was going through some paperwork, the door of my office was pushed open roughly and a familiar figure stepped through. The man who walked into my office had messy blond hair and captivating blue eyes. He was very good looking and was dressed in designer clothes, the glint of gold chain and diamond wristwatch was enough to tell that he was someone who had money. " Emelia " The man called my name disdainfully . Emmett was Winter's younger brother, and just like the rest of my husband's family, he wasn't very fond of me. He thought of me as a gold digger who had only married his brother for the money. He worked in the Showbiz and was already an A-list actor despite his young age. He had accumulated a massive wealth of his own, but I suspected he still wanted to get his hands on his brother's money. " Still as selfish and Shameless as always I see " " What do you want now Emmett " " Would you like to tell me why My brother's wife was seen in the embrace of another man?" " What are you talking about?" I asked in Confusion. Emmett dug into his pocket and threw a couple of crumpled photos on my desk. I was shocked to see that they were images of me and Damien back at the hospital. Damien was holding onto my wrist with a seductive smile on his lips, my face was turned away so the disgusted expression I had wasn't seen. Whoever had taken the photos had done it with malicious intent, obviously to frame me. I was speechless on seeing this. Who could have done such a thing? I wasn't even aware that the Media knew of my arrival already. This whole thing was not going according to my plans at all, it was frustrating " These photos are everywhere, do you have any idea what people are saying?" " I swear Emmett, this isn't what it seems like" " It seems to me that you are hooking up with your Ex right outside the hospital where your husband is admitted. That's what everybody else thinks as well. Honestly, I don't know why my mother ever allowed you into our family, you're more trouble than you are worth Emelia!" " Emmett...please you have to believe me.." " I don't care what you plan to do. '' Emmett spat venomously , he took a menacing step forward and I shrank back in my seat. It was strange how intimidating the 22 year old could be. I knew he didn't like me from the start, but now it seems that I was the most hated person in his life. " Just keep my family's name out of it. I will not have you disgracing us " Emmett storms out of the office. I was left reeling from what had happened, I had never seen him that angry before, not even on the day I had married his unconscious brother. This was obviously more serious than I thought, if the media already knew of my return then I didn't have the element of surprise anymore, they probably already knew of my marriage, I needed to be more careful. * * * I couldn't sleep that night, no matter how hard I tried. It seemed every time I closed my eyes I got recollections of my past relationship with Damien. How had I been stupid to fall for a man like that. And it was even worse how hard my heart pounded in my chest when I saw him, a part of me was still swooning on how handsome he looked. There had been no disdain in his eyes when he saw me. " Get over yourself Emelia " I whispered into my pillow " He still hates you as much as you hate him. He just got better at hiding it " The Morning after was spent with me sorting out everything I would need for the meeting. By 9:30, I was seated with my board of directors in the Company's large conference room. The meeting was supposed to start by 8:30, despite the fact that I had chosen to come stylishly late, therefore making Damien wait for me, but it turned out that I would still be the one who kept waiting. It's been an hour already and Damien hadn't arrived, even though the rest of his crew were present. " This is a slap to the face!" One of my Directors said, the disdain evident in his voice " Damien West still has to be arrogant even though we all know that his Company needs this deal more than we do " " He is always like this. It is why the West Corp is going bankrupt " Another said The members of Damien's crew were visibly embarrassed by this and most of them wished they hadn't even come to the board meeting at all. Just when I was about to call the whole thing off, the door of the office swung open and Damien West swaggart into the room in a manner that was very much unprofessional. He was dressed in worn jeans and a large T-shirt, his hair was messy, in fact his whole appearance was dishevelled, much like someone who had just gotten out of bed " My apologies everyone " He says casually, not looking sorry at all. He made eye contact with me and smirked " I Overslept "Ashton's POV' Emelia Carter huh....or should I call her Emelia Walker now. It would be suitable since she was now married into the Walker family, a multi-billionaire family that owned one if the greatest entertainment business in the world 'And to think someone like her had once been married to the likes of my brother, it was still hard for me to believe. Damien had not only abused the woman, but he had shattered her heart to pieces when he had taken her sister as a lover, then went on to illegally harvest her organ to save his mistress. This was indeed a tragic villain story. I understand why Emelia had decided to marry someone else just to have enough power to get revenge. It was the one explanation why she was back here and demanding to do business with my company, a company I had taken from Damien.I sighed as I read through Emelia's files. As amusing as I found all this, I can't dismiss the fact that my brother's Ex was now a threat to me. If I wasn't careful she might be able
Emelia wasn't impressed by my tardiness, the glare she sent my way was enough to give away, yet for some reason she didn't bother bringing it up. She was the boss here, she held all the cards, yet she was being understanding enough to take my excuse. I knew immediately that she had something up her sleeve. This woman hated me ( or my brother ) with all her being and she would never do anything without purpose. " Shall we begin, Mr West? " She gave me a mocking smirk as her assistant presented me with some documents. I only read through the first half of the contract before I felt anger burning inside me. " She wants me to sign away half my stock shares to you?" " It is for your own good. Your Company is already going under, and it might not survive the few months that would come. I can not invest in a Company I have no assurance would last long enough to produce any profits. So giving me half the Company entails that I will take better care of it than you ever could with your res
I hated Damien more than ever. He had not only reminded me of how badly he had treated me in the past, but he had done it in front of my employees, those people who already hated me and wanted to see me fall. I was sure the gossip would spread by tomorrow morning, I couldn't imagine being in the office with people who talked badly behind my back." Are you sure you wish to keep him here?" I was brought out of my thoughts by Winter's nurse. I had brought the woman from the hospital along with my husband to properly take care of him. Now that I was in charge of Walker Corp, I hardly had time to look after Winter, he needed professional aid, and I trusted Emily enough to bring him home." I trust you would be able to provide him any medical assistance he would need " I told her while taking a seat beside Winter. I ran my hands through his soft black hair " I feel safer having him here with me than at the hospital "" I understand Mrs Walker. I will do my best "She gave me a smile before
Emmett doesn't seem convinced. He rises from his seat slowly and closes the distance between us with a few steps. He was standing too close for my comfort, but I didn't want to think he intimidated me by stepping back " You know, Valet has an awful resemblance to you. If you really want me to do this, you might as well take her place and perform the kissing scene with me "I was frozen at Emmett's words. He used the opportunity to run his hand across my arm in an intimate manner that had me flinching back. I was almost tempted to ask him why he was acting like this, but knowing him, he was probably doing it to rile me up or to create a scene. We were already getting looks from some of the crew members that lounged around the area. " That won't be possible " I told him simplyHis gaze narrowed at me in displeasure. " You don't want to do it?"" In case you've forgotten, I am not only your boss, but your brother's wife. "" But my brother isn't here, how would he know?"I was running ou
Damien's approach had drawn the attention of almost every person in the room. Well, I wouldn't blame them for looking, after knowing the nasty nature of our past relationship, they must have all expected that we would avoid each other, especially after those pictures of us were leaked to the media. The only saving grace about this whole thing was that the paparazzi hadn't been allowed inside the event hall or it would have been messier than this." Mr West " Emmett was the first to break the awkward silence. " It seems you have some interest in my sister in-law "" Whatever interest I have, it's of no concern of yours " Damien said without looking at him, his gaze still remained fixed on me, he was taking in my appearance shamelessly, I was sure everyone had noticed as well.Emmett sure noticed and he wasn't very pleased with Damien ogling me. His arm tightened around me almost possessively. I was a bit confused at both of their behaviours, why were they giving me so much attention?"
My thoughts were cut short when someone cleared their voice. As I turned to look at Sasha who had walked up to us, I found myself yanking my hand away. A feeling of self disgust threatening to overwhelm me. What the fuck is wrong with me? Had I just been tempted to make out with Damien? My Ex husband Damien? The man who had made my life a complete misery five years ago? Damien didn't seem very pleased by the interruption either. He was probably not happy at having his manipulation being cut short." I heard you were back in town " Sasha said, she glanced warily at Damien, I could swear I saw fear in her eyes as she quickly turned them to me. " I didn't dare believe you would wish to speak to me, but mom and dad have been very worried about you. They asked me to come here in hopes of meeting you "" How very kind of them " The memory of my parents only further soured my mood. I remembered my dad blaming me for my failed marriage and my mother begging me to forgive Sasha. " Send them my
A kissDamien West was kissing me. It was something I had dreamt about when I was younger, to feel his lips against mine. But I had no hope of it ever happening because Damien had made it clear on the day of our wedding that he had no interest in getting intimate with me. And yet here we were, pressed together and making out so passionately. His tongue had slipped into my mouth and was sucking against my tongue sweetly, I could taste the wine we had shared half an hour prior.His arm found the curve of my waist and pulled me closer to him, if that was even possible. At this point I wasn't even sure I could ever get over what a damn good kisser Damien was, he made my entire body go weak and only the pleasure of his touch registered to me.' Of course he is good at kissing ' The dark part of my mind which wasn't high on Damien's touch said ' He must have kissed a lot of women 'And that was the reality wasn't it? Damien was nothing more than a playboy, he had happily kept that reputatio
I didn't feel like facing the paparazzi again, so I asked one of the staff to show me a back exit. I waited briefly outside before my driver arrived and took me home. The moment I arrived at the mansion, I rushed upstairs to Winter's room. My arrival had startled the nurse." Mrs Walker?" Agatha rose from her seat, she watched me warily " Are you alright dear?"" I'm fine, don't worry about me " I gave her a smile which seemed forced even to me. I gestured over Winter's restful form on the bed " I just got back, I wanted to check on Winter first "" Do you wish to clean up first?"" No...I...this won't take long "Agatha must have sensed my emotional stress. It seemed like she wanted to say something more but decided against it. " I'll give you some privacy " She said as she took the book she had been reading and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.I walked slowly to Winter's bed and slid to my knees beside him. I laid my face on the soft bedding and felt the tears ru