Bartlett furrowed his brows, then shrugged and grinned. âAlright! Crank up the heater, it is. Ellinor, donât forget to find me when youâre done with your meeting.â
Ellinor nodded. âIf youâre still around by then, Mr. Rex.â
Bartlett pressed his lips together. âRest assured, Iâll definitely be here.â
With that, Bartlett was escorted out of the office by Ellinorâs secretary.
The office quieted down, and Ellinor wasted no time in firing up her computer to get some work done before the meeting.
The collaboration with Rex Enterprises was unanimously approved by the board of directors. It wasnât solely Ellinorâs decision.
Though she wasnât fond of Bartlett, she was grateful for the times heâd gone out of his way to help her.
She just couldnât reciprocate the feelings he held for her.
So, when Bartlett suggested a joint venture with the Blanchet Corporation to develop the Blue River Estates business district, Ellinor agreed to propose the idea to the shareholders. Whether they approved was out of her hands.
Of course, this was also because the land owned by Rex Enterprises was indeed prime real estate.
Developing it jointly was a worthy investment.
However, Ellinor hadnât anticipated that this negotiation would give Bartlett a legitimate reason to pester her.
She should have seen this coming.
After Bartlett left, Ellinor stopped dwelling on him, finished up her work, stood up to grab some files from her secretary, and headed to the conference room for the meeting.
When Ellinor emerged from the meeting, it was almost time for lunch. The meeting had lasted a full two hours.
She wanted to return to her office for a well-deserved rest, but her secretary reminded her that Bartlett was waiting for her in the reception room.
Ellinorâs eyebrows knitted together. âHeâs still here?â
The secretary nodded. âYes, Mr. Rex hasnât left the reception room since he entered.â
A hint of irritation crossed Ellinorâs face. âDidnât you turn on the heater for him?â
âWe did, and itâs set to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet Mr. Rex hasnât left the reception room.â
What?
He still hadnât left, even in this sweltering heat?
On a hot day like this, any normal person wouldâve been driven away.
Was he so comfortable in the heat that he was willing to pass out?
Something didnât seem right. With that, Ellinor headed towards the reception room.
As she pushed open the reception room door, a wave of heat washed over her, covering her in a sheen of sweat.
How could anyone stand this?
She stepped in and looked around for Bartlett. She didnât see him and thought he mustâve been driven away by the heat.
She sighed in relief after knowing that he was gone.
Just as she was about to leave, a warm figure suddenly jumped out and lunged at her.
Ellinor didnât have time to react before she was pinned against the wall by the warm figure.
WHAM!