Chapter 44
Shelby walked up to Brandon and pulled the same old trick again-she twisted her ankle like she was about to fall.
She knew it was a clumsy move, and Brandon could see right through it. But she counted on him not calling her out. Tonight, his eyes carried the hunger of a man dying of thirst who had just spotted water.
Sure enough, Brandon’s hand gripped her waist and pulled her in. Shelby stumbled forward on purpose and fell straight into his arms. Their bodies pressed tight with no space between them.
She looked up at him, her voice dripping with temptation. “Brandon, today was my first kiss-”
Brandon’s tone was slow and detached. “Shelby, that was just a game we lost.”
“How can you say that?” Shelby put on her wounded act, her voice sweet and pitiful. “You should’ve realized by now that I never saw you as family.
“From the first moment I met you, I fell for you. I love your eyes, your nose, your mouth. Every day, I care about every bit of your happiness and sadness.
“I love you so much that it’s driving me crazy. I couldn’t stand watching you marry Matilda, so I ran overseas. It was Ruth who told me Matilda wasn’t good for you, so I came back—”
She looped her arms around his neck. Her eyes dropped to his Adam’s apple, and she kissed it hard.
Brandon’s body stiffened, and his grip on her slim waist tightened.
But even then, he showed no real reaction.
Tears welled in Shelby’s eyes. She beat his chest lightly with her fists and whispered, “Everything Matilda can give you, I can give too. Why won’t you want me?
“You’ve already seen my body, and you kissed me in front of everyone. What else am I supposed to do? Is it because of what happened when I was twelve, when those men cornered me in that alley-
14
Before she could finish, Brandon grabbed her chin and lowered his head, sealing her lips with his.
Right now, he only wanted to satisfy his body, and she happened to say she loved him and was willing. That was enough for
him.
By then, Tully and Lola had already gone to bed. The night-shift servants knew exactly what they should ignore.
Brandon scooped Shelby up by the waist and carried her to the car. He hit a button, and the seats reclined as the AC blew cold against their faces.
When he pressed down on her, Shelby trembled. Tonight, everything she had been waiting for was finally happening.
Matilda felt like her drinking tolerance had gotten better. Three glasses of red wine only left her a little tipsy.
Since she was in sportswear, she had a black canvas bag slung across her shoulder. She walked slowly toward the elevators, both hands holding the strap.
A shadow fell across her path. She looked up to see Allen standing between the two elevators.
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distance.
The door opened, and she stepped inside. Footsteps followed her in.
She moved to the corner, keeping her distance on purpose.
Allen’s brow tightened slightly as he handed her a medal. “Jolene asked me to give this to you.”
Matilda saw what it was, took it with both hands, and said politely, “Thank you.”
Silence hung heavy. Allen tried to fill it. “You’ve been drinking, huh?”
“Yeah, just a little.” She nodded.
Maple Heights had only five floors. When the elevator reached the fourth floor, Matilda walked toward the exit, but a wave of dizziness hit, and she swayed.
“Careful.” Allen caught her hand, his eyes flashing with concern.
She felt the heat of his grip and looked down.
His hand completely wrapped around hers. There were calluses at the base of his thumb, and his fingertips were rough.
She had always thought surgeons wouldn’t have calluses like that. Only now did she realize they came from archery.
Matilda bit her lip lightly and forced her voice to stay calm. “Thank you, Dr. Saunders. I can handle myself.”
She pulled her hand free, missing the hurt that flickered across Allen’s face.
“At school today, you called me Allen.” His tone carried quiet disappointment.
“That was in the moment. But now it’s back to proper form. Goodbye.” With that, she walked out of the elevator.
Allen couldn’t stop himself from following her a couple of steps.
At five in the morning, the rain hadn’t come. Matilda got up, went for a run, listened to the news, but skipped breakfast at the cafeteria.
When she got to the office, she went straight to Rufus. She asked him to find a way to get Coreline Eternity into the semiconductor expo in Itera City, which was nine days away.
Since Lurith Tech was on the edge of bankruptcy and restructuring, they weren’t on the exhibitor list.
Rufus stroked his beard. “I’ll reach out to Mr. Curtis and let him handle it.”
He meant Martin Curtis, the executive assistant at Horton Group headquarters-a man close to the top of Horton Group, infamous for corruption but also for the untouchable power of his position.
Matilda didn’t care about his reputation. As long as he got things done, he was useful.
By noon, Martin had handled everything.
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Chapter 44
Matilda called a staff meeting. “Showcasing new products and new tech is the key to this expo. I’ll pick a few existing products for upgrades. Also, we need to invite top media outlets for interviews to boost the company’s exposure-”
Faye raised her hand. “Ms. Warren, since you’ve never been on the ground level, you might not know-reporters in Itera City only care about big names and money. Especially that one famous male reporter-he’s also very-”
She didn’t finish. Being harassed wasn’t something she wanted to spell out in front of everyone.
Brigham added, “Last year, I begged media outlets just to get a shot of our machines, and they ignored me completely.”
Matilda listened to all the complaints and said calmly, “Then we’ll try again this year.”
Faye’s voice dropped. “Can we send someone else?”
She clearly didn’t want to face that sleazy reporter again. His reputation for connections and womanizing was well known.
Matilda glanced around the room, but everyone kept their heads down. She said, “If none of you will go, then I’ll go.”
After the meeting, Faye wanted to warn her to be careful of the male reporter, but the receptionist came in first. She told Matilda that Zack was looking for her.
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