Treating Mr. Billionaire

~ 36 ~

"It was great having this discussion with you, son." Collins Walter's eyes crinkled as he smiled at Jayden, seating himself behind the long mahogany desk between them. His face looked relaxed as he leaned back against his chair, crossing his arms on the desk as he watched the younger man intently.

Jayden acknowledged the compliment with a polite nod, although they both knew there was nothing sincere in the man's words. He brought out his hands to close his laptop, and Collin's following question caused his eyes to shift frontwards, gazing deeply into the other man's eyes.

"There was a time a rumor about you was all over the internet. Did you hear of it? I am pretty sure the bits of it are still surfacing."

Jayden remained quiet, giving no reply with his grip on the gadget becoming tighter. The question wasn't unexpected; however, his silence made Collins raise his brows like someone greatly intrigued.

"I am sure you did." Collins continued, moving forward to rest his arms on the edge of the desk. "Why don't you make a press conference regarding the rumors? That will be the fastest way to clearing them, you know, son." He advised, his voice smooth and cunny like he was.

Jayden's hands dropped and his fists tightened under the table. His stare did not break away from the man's face, wishing to destroy every part of him by any means necessary. "As you said, they are rumors about me. So, I don't think it matters to anyone else if I care about them or not." He replied, his adam's apple bobbing as he tried to contain the annoyance building in his chest.

Collins stared at him silently, observing him closely before he spoke again. "This is not only about you, son. What do you think the company image is to the people that think the successor is mentally unstable?" He asked, raising his hand to rub the bridge of his nose. "I was only giving--"

The loud smacking of Jayden's laptop closing interrupted him, causing Collins to raise his brows. He looked up at the younger man who was staring at the man with such intensity, his jaw clenched tightly.

"With all due respect, I will not take it lightly the next time you bring this up. Because you are my father's best friend doesn't mean you are a friend to me also. I only see you as a business partner. So, I hope there will be no crossing of lines between us." Jayden warned, standing up abruptly from his seat. "And for goodness sake, I am not your son." He added with a low growl, making Collins blink repeatedly.

With that, Jayden turned around and began walking away without looking back. The door closed behind him without even the slightest sound, leaving Collins staring at its entrance as he heaved a large breath of air out of his lungs.

***

"That old bag..." Jayden spat under his breath, his hands adjusting his tie furiously as he walked through the empty corridors. His anger had been brewing ever since his meeting with Collins.

He knew there was a deeper meaning in between the man's words, only that Collins couldn't lay them out directly. Given that Mr. Walter had never been good at hiding his greedy wish to have his own son as the company successor, it wasn't hard to guess that the man was advising him to consider stepping down due to the rumors speculating on his sanity.

He paused in front of the doors leading to his office, taking his time to let the anger dissipate, before pressing the button that opened the door. He entered the room, closing the door behind him, and was already in search of the woman he left in the office just earlier.

His gaze shifted around the spacious room when he realized she was nowhere to be seen until he noticed the figure lying on the floor with her legs folded. "Miss. Patterson?" he questioned, approaching her slowly with caution, wondering what she was doing on the ground.