Coffee, Brownies and the Ruthless CEO (MxM)| FILLING THE VOID series, BOOK 1

42. Chapter - Schemes

VICTOR's POV

The breakfast I had on the way to work wasn't a good idea. My head was pounding, and I was sure I would throw up at any moment now. Unexpectedly, it wasn't because I was hungover.

Yesterday, when my meeting with Oliver finally finished, leaving me in a sour mood, I couldn't fall asleep. I ended up wandering around the city until early morning, angry at everyone and no one in particular. I couldn't believe I agreed to the ridiculous conditions Oliver came up with. I couldn't believe I sat through two hours of our discussion with the smug bastard sitting right next to him, throwing arrogant stares my way from the moment they arrived. He was showing off. He was marking his territory in front of me. And it drove me crazy.

My mind was full of these nonsense thoughts swirling around, and I couldn't possibly fall asleep even if I wanted to. Thus, I ended up here, at work, with a terrible headache and black bags under my eyes that had to be visible from miles away. And as if it wasn't enough, I was swamped with work that would take hours to finish. With the speed the employees here were going through all of the necessary contracts and invoices, I wasn't surprised our Boston office was going through rough times.

"Mr. McNemara," a soft voice of the secretary woke me up from a daze. Just thinking about all the work in front of me made my head spin twice as much. To top it off, my father was supposed to stop by because he had some business to discuss with me. He was seriously an expert in choosing the worst time for his visits. Not that any of his visits were desired, but there were more suitable times than today. That much was for sure.

"Yes?"

"Your ten o'clock is waiting in the conference room," she said, looking at me with sympathetic eyes, disappearing when I nodded at her after a second of confused silence.

I completely forgot I had to deal with one of our business partners this morning, and I wasn't looking forward to it at all. It was one of the most annoying women I had ever met. Almost as ruthless as me when it came to business, Teresa Millan was a nightmare for every businessman out there. And the pest she always dragged with her, her younger brother Anthony, wasn't any better.

Grabbing the folder with materials prepared for our discussion, I went right to the wolf's den. This day was going to be way longer than I had ever imagined.

***

I was exhausted. It was already nine in the evening, and I was finally back home from work. At times like this, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to work somewhere else, where I didn't have so many responsibilities, and where I had regular working hours. I wouldn't have the money I had now, so it was out of the question, but I couldn't help the thoughts. The what-if situations haunted me too often to my liking.

Sitting down in an armchair, l leaned back and closed my eyes for a second. I was still in the hotel room, not really having enough courage to move into the big house on my own. Especially now when I felt like any hope to get Oliver back was slipping right through my fingers.

Our conversation from the previous day kept on repeating in my mind, and I couldn't get rid of the picture of Oliver and his boyfriend leaving the café, hand in hand. I hated the feelings swirling inside of me whenever I thought about them together. The way they looked at each other, the way Oliver smiled at the bastard. He never looked at me like that, not even in the past, when everything was still okay between us.

Getting him back suddenly seemed like a dream that was as unrealistic as walking on water. But I had to keep trying. From the moment I found out I had a son, I couldn't stop thinking about the family I could've had if I wasn't such an idiot. It would be perfect. Oliver, Matt and I, living in a family house with a big garden and happiness surrounding us all around. There was nothing I wanted more at the moment, but the bastard living with Ollie was in the way, and I found myself wondering about the best way to destroy him.