Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Pencil skirt. Check.

Enough make up so I didn’t look dead. Check.

All the preparations for the company growth meeting done. Check.

After avoiding returning back to reality, I had no choice but to catch the earliest flight back to attend this meeting held at the company. I had managed to hide away in my quaint apartment in Canada for almost a month before I received this email a week ago from Lucy informing me about this meeting. It was not one to be missed and neither could I attend it remotely.

This meeting was important. It determined the growth of the business and also the standing of the bet which I was still determined to emerge victorious.

It was not a meeting for investors and I had not been expecting any of the investors to be there but that was changed at the last minutes as I got in to my office to gather my things for the meeting. Lucy entered my office after knocking once on the slightly ajar door.

“I’m just dropping by to inform you of a slight change in plans.” She mentioned hesitantly testing the waters before she spoke.

I looked up from the papers that I had been organising. “The meeting better not be cancelled.” I said with a narrowed glare but she shrugged it off.

“No, that is still on but Mr Crawford will be sitting in on the me at her blankly.

I blinked a few times looking

Why? Why was he attending the meeting when he had no business being here. This meeting was for the company team and myself and no external persons.

I waited for Lucy to correct herself but she didn’t. instead she just looked at me for some sort of

response.

“What? Why?” I blurted out, my disapproval to this change of plan audible enough for her to frown and not understand why I was so opposed to it.

“B- Because he is the companies biggest and most vital investor. Apparently we do not have much say in the matter unless we wish to cause detriment to ourselves.” She warned me with tightly pressed l*ps.

“I know but how on earth did he even get to know about his meeting?!” I demanded to know but she scowled.

“I haven’t the slightest of clue but I don’t see what the big deal is if he is a part of the meeting. He probably won’t say a word and will sit as a bystander and nothing more. She said rationally but she did not know Dante like I did.

I knew that he was not to be trusted and in the past month that I had been away, I had sealed my heart and mind from him knowing that he was no good and I could not trust a word he said. It was a pity that he was such a vital investor or else he’d be out of my life in ever possible aspect.

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“It just took me by surprise that he would be attending. Nothing more.” I said with a tight smile looking down at the folder.

“Guess he has free time now that his engagement has been broken off.” I did a double take as she said not, my ears rejecting what I had just heard.

What are you talking about, Lucy?” I questioned her and she looked at me like I had been living

beneath a rock.

“How do you not know about this?!” She asked in baffled surprised before closing the door behind her. “No one truly knows what happened between him and his fiance but news broke out shortly after their engagement that they have split. There has been no further explanation and, quite frankly, no one is brave enough to ask Mr Crawford about the real reason it had come to an end.” She straightened her posture then relaxed her expression like she hasn’t just dropped the hottest piece of gossip.

“I guess I had better things to worry about.” I said pursing my l*ps. “Either way, his personal life is none of any of our concern.” I said but more as a reminder to myself than to Lucy.

Dante had fooled me once before about Pheobe’s standing in his life and I was done with him, Pheobe or not. I’d given him too many chances and he messed up each time.

“Of course. She agreed but very half heartedly.

I inhaled deeply before checking my watch and saw that it was nearly time for the meeting. I gathered the folder and left my office trying not to think about Dante sitting amongst us during the meeting.

I didn’t want him there for many reasons but the main one being that I wanted to know before him what the companies progress had been. If it was unfavourable for me then I could buy myself more time and fix it until I reigned in enough growth that Dante would lose the bet but if it worked to my benefit then I wanted to have a grand ‘in your face’ moment. His presence denied me of that.

When I arrived at the boardroom, I noticed that every one had already been seated and, by the look of it, had been awaiting my attendance. I frowned thinking that there was no way that I could have been late and checked my watch again only to discover that my watch had died on me.

Nevertheless, I held my chin high and my shoulders squared as I took the remaining seat at the end of the large table trying not to pay attention to the unmissable man to my left.

The meeting had commenced and was conducted by Jenna, our head of analysis, who steered us through the figures and highs and lows before her counterpart had taken over to go on.

I waited with bated breaths for the verdict to be delivered about whether or not the company had reached the percentage of growth that I was expecting.

“Now since the changes that occured to the company, we have managed to boost progress by an impressive 10 percent although-”

“That can’t be correct.” I blurted out without thinking.

10 percent was too little and I knew that that figure was wrong. The team had missed some thing

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but that was not a point to being up now considering that I did not want to embarass my team in

front of Dante.

“I apologize. What I mean to say is that I would like for this percentage to be closely looked at again and re–evaluated. Our company has been on the rocks for a short while but with the efforts put in my all of us and the changes made, I merely think that we should look in to that percentage to be sure.” I suggested a little more carefully trying not to sound condescending and rude because that was not my intention at all.

Jenna frowned but nodded anyways withholding her comments as did Josh, her counter part. Both of them shared a glance before sharing a small nod of agreement.

“We will give the figures a look over once again in case there is a chance that we missed some thing. Josh said politely but the air in the room had tensed after such an unexpected interruption.

The meeting was concluded shortly after and I made haste to leave not wanting to be cornered or be put in to any position what so ever to interact with Dante and some thing told me that he had not just come here for the meeting.

The entire time that I had been seated in that board room, I felt his heavy eyes fixed on me watching my every move and watching me closely to the extent that I began to feel self conscious for the breaths that I had been taking.

I rushed in to my office and shut the door informing Lucy that I was not accepting any one in my office as I wished to bit be disturbed. She nodded and didn’t seem to care much as she type on her computer.

But, surely enough, less than ten minutes later my office door was pushed open with out so much. of a knock before Dante stormed in like he owned the damn building.

“Mr Crawford, you can’t go in… Her words trailed off when she realised she was a little too late to stop him but I didn’t think that she had the power to because he was determined.

Determined, pissed off, yet unreadable.

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