Pride and Promises ✔

Chapter 10

Back to Evelyn

I ended the call and finally sat down on my chair with a small sigh. It was almost 3 PM now and I hadn't eaten anything apart from a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin Leah had brought when she arrived which was around six hours ago.

I had a meeting with my team regarding the changes with advertising strategies and additional resources required for the company. The meeting was tiresome to say the least and when it finally ended, I had a video conference scheduled with an investor from Italy. He was not fluent in English at all and his thick accent made it difficult to catch a word he said. Fortunately, I'd learnt Italian and had been to Italy several times so we were finally able to come up to a common ground although my Italian was barely passable.

And now I was just a second away from chewing my nails out as I wait for Leah to bring me the papers that required my signature. She was supposed to bring them ten minutes ago since I was about to take the day off after closing that deal. I was just contemplating leaving it for tomorrow when a knock came from my office door.

Without looking up from the file I was currently looking at, I motioned for Leah to come inside. "Thank God you've finally arrived, Leah! How long does it take to print a few pages of paper? I'm literally starving right now. I feel like I could have eaten you up had you taken a second longer!" I rubbed my temples which were throbbing at the moment. "Now don't just stand here! Bring me the file so that I can sign it and get going." I added as I sensed no movement from her.

"'Well, I might taste different from your assistant but I'll let you eat me up anytime. I'm sure I would taste much better." A deep, husky voice spoke from the door which was definitely not Leah.

Startled, I looked up and almost dropped my pen when I saw Adrian standing at the door with his hands in his pant pockets, a smirk forming in his mouth and amusement all over his face. I narrowed my eyes at him as he entered my office and casually sat himself in the seat in front of my desk.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Stone." I said sarcastically and raised my eyebrows when he smirked at my obvious annoyance. "May I ask what you're doing here in my office?" I asked trying my best to appear somewhat civil as my hunger meter was rising dangerously high which was a warning red signal that I was about to lose my cool and lash out on the first person or thing in front of me. And I did not want it to be Adrian, no matter how annoying he was. Because I didn't want to appear anything except unprofessional to him and a certain memory from last week's party was still stuck in a tiny part of my mind.

For a moment Adrian had an odd expression on his face and his eyes seemed a little too familiar to me but immediately I shook my head and everything was normal again including his expression as if I was just imagining it. Maybe my hunger meter playing games with me.

Adrian looked around my office as he answered, "Well, I'm here to check up on the works and see if you're having any problem. This company shares my name in some way so I gotta ensure that my reputation is still intact after all." He shrugged like he was just talking about how his neighbour's great grandmother died of age instead of not so subtly insulting my company and its capability.

That was the last straw. My hunger meter blew out and my anger went up to a whole new level as I stood up from my seat and glared at him. "What do you mean 'ensure your reputation is intact'? Are you trying to say that Eva's does not match up to your reputation? If it is so then by all means terminate the contract. We are not a charity case for you. Let me remind you, Eva's has been one of the most successful company and the fastest to rise to such a height even before you came along. We'll have no problem if you end it all up because it's our hardwork and dedication that has made us successful, not your well reputed company and it was you who initiated the proposal not the other way round. So you have no right to degrade me and my company that way."