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Overthe last few months,Ihave been wooing her biggest client.Poppyknew we approached him and offered to undercutAmbaniCorpfees with a massive price reduction.Thenew rate wouldn’t be worth taking him on as a client, soIknew she couldn’t match the price.
Theclient was biding his time, waiting for his contract to expire before jumping ship.Thehit of losing her biggest client wasn’t one she’d be willing to entertain, andIknew she was working on ways to keep him.I’dprovide her with a solution in the name of a merger and share the client.Todiscuss such a big possibility, we needed to get together three, perhaps four, times a week.Itwas the most surefire way of forcingPoppyto see me.
Unfortunately,Poppywould never speak to me without witnesses.Shewas a stickler for safety, and aMaxwellwas a walking red flag.Thediscussion had to be public.
Itjust so happened there was a party that a mutual friend of theAmbanisandMaxwellswas hosting.IknewPoppywould attend because she turned eighteen today.Roseand her mother tried throwing a party inPoppy’shonor, a plan she immediately banned.Asa compromise, her mother agreed to a family dinner, andRosesettled on takingPoppyto someone else’s party for two hours as long as no one mentioned birthday or cake.Rosepromised her it’d be a torturous time, which seemed to have done the trick.
Thepungent scent of alcohol hung in the air asIwalked into the house.Thehouse was packed, and many were already doing cannonballs in the outdoor pool.
Myeyes swept the room to find my clan, my brother, my cousins, and some of their friends.Theywere close to the main hallway, which meant theAmbanishad claimed the other side.Bothfamilies intentionally maintained distance while on neutral turf.
Mygaze flickered to the other side, unsurprised to find theAmbanisin the open living room.RayyanandNickJr. were stretched out on theL-shaped sectional whileRoserested her hips against the arm of the couch.Myeyes honed in onPoppyat the far end of the sofa.Shewas conversing with some man crouched in front of her.Hehung onto her every word during the span of their short conversation, his body language oozing with appreciation.
Lava-like hot envy coursed through me.Ikept the hoodie over my head and quickly moved past the crowd.ThelongerIremained unrecognized, the more timeI’dhave for a conversation.Theclusters of people thickened, andIdid my best to weed through it.
Bythe timeIreached the group, the man had dispersed.AtleastIwouldn’t have to add murder to myTTDlist tonight.
Poppysat with her back straight on the couch.Shewore her signature black attire, hair in two neat pleats, with a pair ofConverseto complete the look.Themost dressed-down woman in the room held my undivided attention.Ihad no idea how she did it, but fuck,Icouldn’t keep my eyes off her.
“Hi, stranger,” a meek voice greeted me.Twounsure hands wrapped around my neck for a tentative hug.
FuckingRose.
Tryingto keep the annoyance out of my voice,Ipulled her arms down with as much politeness asIcould muster. “Hi,Rose.”
Rosestepped back.Therest of theAmbaniclan were immediately on high alert.Rayyanleaned back on the couch, no doubt coked out of his mind.NickJr. stood up, ready for a confrontation.Theonly one unperturbed wasPoppy.Hergaze flicked up and down, and then she glanced away, bored.Shechecked her phone for the time.Ibet she put on a timer for two hours and had anUberpre-scheduled.Iinternally smiled.Whywas that fucking adorable?
“Whatthe hell do you want?”Rayyanspoke first.
“Benice,Rayyan,”Rosechided, fixing her black crop top strap. “Damon’san old friend of mine.”
“Ididn’t realize you were friends with trash.”
Greatcomeback.Imentally rolled my eyes and smirked upon noticingPoppydid the same.Itwas subtle but noticeable.Poppydidn’t care for verbal attacks.Sheattacked by hitting where it hurt, by going after something her opposition loved.Shecould control and ruin someone’s financial history with the snap of a finger.Thathurt worse than any verbal attack, as she had repeatedly proved over the years.
“Getthe hell out of here,Maxwell,”NickJr. sneered, popping the collar of his light blue polo.Itwas beyond childish, butIwilled myself not to get into an altercation withPoppy’sfamily.
“Guys, calm down.DamonandIsay hello to each other at parties.It’sno big deal.”Rosespoke as if we were star-crossed lovers, and everyone else was keeping us apart.Afterall these years, how did she still not get it?Ibrushed her off at every opportunity.
“That’swhere you’re wrong,”Rayyansnapped.
Roseopened her mouth, butIinterrupted. “Actually,I’mhere forPoppy.”
Fourpairs of eyes landed onPoppyin unison.Rose’swas the most curious.
“Weneed to talk.Privately.”
Rayyanstood on cue, blockingPoppy’sbody with his puny one. “Sheisn’t going anywhere with aMaxwell.”
CouldIkill a man for merely annoying me?
Iused the thing readily available at my disposal; my height.Itowered overRayyan, letting him know thatIcould destroy him with a flick of a finger.Hegulped and glanced back atPoppy.
Poppywas unperturbed by the concern displayed by her cousins. “HowcanIhelp you,Maxwell?”Shesaid, sounding collected but curious.Ithit me right in the groin, andIalmost groaned at the pain it caused me.Itwas the first time she addressed me, but the way she said “Maxwell” made her feelings regarding the name crystal clear.
Itmade me hate my name.
Nomatter how she affected me, this wasn’t the time to let it show. “Ihave a deal for you,”Ispoke with conviction, never taking my eyes offPoppy.
