That afternoon, Toddy went straight to Dylan's office as soon as he clocked back in.
"Is there something urgent?"
Dylan calmly asked as he exited the break room even though he knew exactly why Toddy was there.
Toddy waited for him to take a seat on the couch before sitting opposite him. "Master Dylan, I might work under you, but we're friends too. I know what I did before had thoroughly hurt Emma, but I now know what I truly want. I think I still stand a chance."
Dylan silently gazed at him.
"Can you ask your brother-in-law to stop interfering?"
Toddy eventually spat out.
"Roger interfering? He fell in love at first sight with Miss Finley back at my birthday celebration and even asked Kendall for her phone number. He's serious and not doing this just to interfere."
"What? Are you the only man who can fancy Miss Finley?" he continued in a mocking tone. "She's an excellent woman. If not for you, she would probably be a mother of two by now."
"She had wasted years of her life on you. Now that she has snapped out of her funk, I'm happy for her. While Roger is not as capable as you, he is a responsible man. As long as Emma likes him, I would be happy to see them get together."
"Also, don't ask me to help you with a personal matter. I will not and cannot help you. He is my brother-in-law, while you are my friend. It will be wrong for me to help either one of you. Thus, I will stay silent and help no one."
This was not Dylan's first reminder to Toddy about this matter.
Toddy had merely ignored him back then.
He was only panicking now because someone was publicly courting Emma.
"Just have a fair competition with Roger. Of course, if you're not confident in yourself, then back off now and let them be happy."
Toddy's face clouded over. "Let them be happy? Who will make me happy then? I won't back off! Emma must still love me. She's only using him to agitate me."
"Yes, that must be it. She wants me to be jealous."
Toddy continued to mutter to himself.
Dylan silently stared at him.
Emma was a good friend of Kendall's. She would never toy with Roger's emotions. If she felt nothing for him, she would admit it rather than let him fall for her.
There was no chance that she was just using Roger to make Toddy jealous.
Toddy had not thought of that because he was currently panicking.
"It's time to get back to work. Go back to your office."
Dylan urged Toddy to get out of his office.
As Toddy stood up, he paused for a few moments before saying, "Don't give Emma too much work. Leave her some time to go on dates with me."
"Scram."
Toddy swiftly rushed out of the room.
As he headed to the elevator, he bumped into Emma.
She had a bouquet of fresh flowers in her arms. Roger had bought them for her on their way back.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Heller."
Emma merely greeted him politely, but the distance between them was audible.
Her cold attitude was like a stab to his heart. He stopped and stared at her. Before this, her eyes would be filled with love whenever she looked at him.
Now, there was nothing but a distant, impassive look in her eyes.
He had hurt her too immensely.
Rome was not built in a day.
He had withered away her love for him over the past few years.
Still, it was a testament to his capabilities.
"Emma."
He softly called out to her.
"Is there something you need?" she coldly asked.
"Emma, the flowers…"
He reached out to snatch the bouquet from her, but she smacked his hand away.
"Mr. Heller, the company does not forbid employees from accepting gifted flowers. These are a gift from Roger, and I have accepted them. I will take care of them myself. You need not concern yourself with them."
Her cold words killed off any courage he might've had to try to steal her flowers again.
"That's not… Emma, I only wanted to say these flowers aren't that pretty. Why don't you throw them away? I'll get you something nicer."
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I love these flowers. If that is all, I have to get back to work."
She walked past him with her flowers in her arms.
"Emma."
He reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her from walking away. "Roger's not a good match for you."
"I will only know that once I date him. It is not something you can decide. Also, this is my matter. Please do not stick your nose where it does not belong."
She shook his hand off and strode off.
Regret shimmered in Toddy's eyes as he watched her walk away.
He was the reason this happened.
He had personally driven away a woman who had wholeheartedly loved him.
Emma returned to her desk and placed the bouquet in a vase. Now, her workspace had some beauty injected into it.
She stood by the vase and stared at the flowers for a long time before returning to work. With a shake of her head, she flung away all thoughts of love and buried herself in her work.
A few minutes later, the phone on her desk started ringing.
When she picked up, she realized it was a call from the receptionist.
"Miss Finley, President Mendelson is here. He wishes to meet with President Coleman."
Dylan and Frank were mortal enemies. Frank's sudden visit made everyone in the company feel like a great foe had approached them.
Emma was surprised by the visit as well.
"Give me a moment," she calmly replied. "I will let President Coleman know."
She then called Dylan's office. After she received his response, she called the receptionist. "Please let President Mendelson up."
It was only then that the receptionists let Frank into the elevator.
As usual, Frank had a few bodyguards with him and was as dramatic as usual.
The two bodyguards following him were carrying scrolls in their arms.
Frank was tense as he headed up to Dylan's office with his bodyguards.
Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but everyone who saw him thought he looked quite fatigued.
Minutes later.
Frank walked into the office of his mortal enemy.
Dylan watched Frank and his bodyguards from his seat while Ronnie and the rest warily watched the newcomers.
Frank gestured for his bodyguards to place the scrolls on the desk before telling them to leave the room with a wave of his hands.
Since Frank's bodyguards were out of the room, Ronnie and the others naturally withdrew as well.
Soon, the vast office was occupied by only two men.
Frank leisurely sat down and stared into Dylan's eyes.
After a few long moments of staring at each other, Dylan calmly asked, "Is there something you need?"
At the sight of the dark circles under Frank's eyes, he knew Frank hadn't been sleeping well.
There was also overgrown stubble on Frank's chin. He looked quite exhausted with his striking face looking thinner than usual. Overall, he looked haggard and worn down.
"I'm giving the baby back to you."
Frank's voice was hoarse.
He pushed the scrolls over to Dylan and unfurled one of them. On the painting was a portrait of his baby. It was a painting he had spent a lot of time drawing based on his imagination.
As Frank stared at the painting of his baby girl, at her chubby cheeks, and at her bright eyes that looked so much like Kendall's, his heart ached as badly as a man who was giving his daughter away to his mortal enemy.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Knows No Bounds novel (Kendall and Dylan)
Beautiful story....