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RoseandNickJr. appeared to be baffled little lambs.Meanwhile,Rayyanwas ready to hit the roof.
“Wedon’t deal withMaxwells.”
“Youheard him,”NickJr. chimed in. “Getlost.”
Myeyes rested onPoppy.Asfar asIwas concerned, we were the only two people in the room. “Doyou always let your guard dogs speak on your behalf?”Ichallenged, knowingPoppywould take the bait.
Sheraised an eyebrow. “Whatkind of deal are we talking about?”
“Wearen’t talking any deals because we don’t deal withMaxwells,”Rayyanpractically shouted.Hewas off his rockers on blow, andIknew continuing this conversation here wouldn’t bode well.However,Ialso knewPoppywouldn’t walk away from the group with aMaxwell.Shewas a safety-first kind of girl, so the conversation needed to happen here and now.
“EquitySolutionsis about to switch over to us.Iwas thinking something along the lines of a merger so we can both benefit from it.”
Atthis point,NickJr. andRayyanwere shouting disgruntled words of protest.Poppymanaged to tune them out and have a perfectly normal business-like conversation over their annoying-as-fuck voices. “Theyare already going with you as soon as our contract expires.Whywould you consider a merger?Thatdoesn’t benefit you.”
“That’swhere you’re wrong.Thisclient is too big, and we don’t have enough manpower, whereasAmbaniCorphas one of the largest staff on their payroll.Mytechnology and your manpower and it might be a win-win situation.Whatdo you think,Ambani?”Imurmured as if suggesting a bit more than a simple merger, whichIwas.
“Whyare you bringing this offer to me?”
“Becausewe both know who holds the real power in your company.”
Poppy’ssmirk was fleeting.Itwas magic and disappeared beforeIcould capture it.
Iwas so addicted to her thatIwent in for the kill too quickly. “Let’sgo to dinner tomorrow night and discuss the details.”
“W-what?”Itwasn’tRayyanbutRose’svoice that interrupted our private yet very public conversation.Hercheeks burned, embarrassed by the loud eruption, and people were looking at her.
Poppy’sgaze fleeted inRose’sdirection, studying her cousin’s extremely rare public outburst.
Fuck.Thelast thingIneeded wasRose’ssilly crush ruining things between us.Nonetheless,Ihad to keep up a polite front.Roseneeded to get over her feelings but still like me enough to encouragePoppyin my direction.Sodid her cousins, though they sure knew how to push my buttons.
“You’rekidding, right?”Nick’sannoying voice joined the bandwagon, butRayyantook the cake.
“Letme guess,”Rayyandrawled, voice dripping with venom. “You’rebored of all the desperate women throwing themselves at you, and the easy pussy is no longer cutting it.Now, you want the challenge of fucking anAmbani.”
Rosehung her head.Asingle tear slid down her cheek, unable to hide the hurt.Fuck, this was spiraling.
“It’sjust like aMaxwellto act with no class,”NickJr. bit out.
“Letme save you some time,”Rayyanadded sharply. “Poppyisn’t interested in having dinner or making any deals with you.”
Iraised an eyebrow. “ThenI’dlike to hear it from her.”
“Idon’t know how you guys roll, but family comes first for us,”Rayyansnapped. “Poppywould never betray us by having dinner with you.Howlittle do you think of her?”
Thetactic of putting words inPoppy’smouth was purposeful, making it impossible for her to refute the claim.Igot the distinct impressionPoppywas seconds away from agreeing to meet me beforeRose’spublic meltdown.Thewheels were turning in her head, andIcouldn’t blame her.Peoplehadn’t done right byPoppy.Herlife was full of deception and abandonment, and she didn’t know how to trust.
Mygaze returned toPoppy.AllIwanted was to hold her, own every part of her, and be with her all day, every day.Othersmight label my feelings as red flags, but to me, it was the most natural thing in the world.Mymood, my happiness, everything revolved around her.Butthe tense crowd surrounding us told me the journey wouldn’t start tonight.
Rayyan’stheory of fuckingPoppyas a challenge was more realistic than offering to share a client whenIclearly didn’t needAmbaniCorpto retain them.Poppyhad listened carefully to his words and fortified her walls.Littledid she knowI’dbreak down every barrier she put up and every obstacle in my way.
“Goodbye,Maxwell,” she said impassively.
Rageand disappointment clashed at her response. “Notfor long,”Icountered.
“That’sit.”Rayyanmoved toward me with his fist raised.
Normally,I’drefer to diplomacy and my rational senses.However,Poppy’srejection churned my stomach.Icouldn’t digest it and chose a different route.
