Pride and Promises ✔

Chapter 6

I sat on my desk, rubbing my head as I thought once again if accepting the deal with The Stones Inc. would be a good idea. It was Monday today and I'd spent the majority of last night going through every detail of the contract, afraid that one little mistake from me and the company I built through my hardships will be down to ashes.

I stayed with Allie for the weekend as she was upset about her now ex-boyfriend. We didn't do much, just hang around watching movies and Allie pretending that she was alright even though it was clear that she wasn't. I'd never seen Allie this upset before and it just ignited that rage in me towards that good-for-nothing scum.

Jake came over on Sunday to check up on Allie and apologise about his "parents-sharer" as he described Mike although Allie repeatedly assured him there was no need. Other than that, my weekend was as normal as it could be with a best friend in her recent breakup phase, an out-of-touch until-last week-but-still-a-good-friend and the weight of a make-or-break deal in my head.

I sighed. My head was throbbing from lack of sleep and as if that wasn't enough, my hand still hurt like hell. Guess it was for the best I didn't go for another punch after all.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't hear Leah walk in to my office until she tapped my desk. Scowling, I looked up to find her smiling innocently at me and... was she blushing?

"Good morning, Ms. White. Mr. Stone is here with his secretary and his lawyer. Shall I let them in?" Leah asked. Well, that explained the blush. I looked at the time and saw it was exactly 10 am in the morning. I asked Leah to let them in and call my lawyer to my office. I was pulling out the documents and closing my current files when they walked in.

The first one to enter was the lawyer of The Stones Inc., I didn't exactly remember his name since I was busy cursing his boss in my head the last time I met him. But now that I saw him clearly, I could see that he definitely had the looks. He had a light brown hair and ocean green eyes that held a kind of warmth and friendliness.

Then the next to enter was who I assumed to be the secretary. And she was beautiful. She was maybe a couple of inch shorter than me, with soft blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair straightened to perfection.

Finally entered their boss. He was in another black suit and I'd never seen anyone better looking. His intense eyes automatically connected to mine and I nearly lost my breath under his intense gaze. Keyword being nearly. I didn't fully lose my breath which made me feel a bit proud of my respiratory system.

I cleared my throat and politely asked them to have their seats while we discussed the deal. With lots of thinking and pondering over the pros and cons, I'd finally decided to accept the deal. The expression of Mr. Stone said that he was not a bit surprised or anything. His look said that he had known all along that I'd accept it. The big-headed devil.

After all terms and conditions were laid out and both of our companies' lawyers had verified the documents, it was official that Eva's and The Stones Inc. would be business partners. Well, at least our production and marketing department anyway. But I'd made it very clear that while our companies may be related, all the decisions regarding our individual companies would be made by the owner of the company independently. That being said, Mr. Stone didn't have any right to interfere in my decisions regarding Eva's and vice versa. Once that was clear, we both signed the contract.

The lawyer of The Stones Inc., whose name I earlier learned to be Nathan after a small episode of embarrassment from my part as I had to ask his name again, got up and held his hand out to me, smiling kindly.