230 Who is Darius?
Leilani.
“Do you know what the two of us together can achieve? Do you know how unstoppable we could be?” Darius’ voice echoed in my head as I clenched my fists together, hating that his words are able to bother me so much that I still thought about them even hours after we talked.
“We could rule the world…” his voice came again, interrupting my train of thoughts and I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep breath as if that would stop the kind of thoughts swarming my mind.
But it didn’t.
Bloody hell, it didn’t.
I slammed my laptop closed and leaned back, not missing the way Yvette cocked her eyebrows at me in confusion.
Today, she was dressed in a pink peplum blouse and black pencil skirt. Her hair which had been dyed bright red today was styled into the prettiest messy bun I’ve seen in a while, and her eyes- blue today from her contact lenses were hidden behind a ugly-looking thick framed glass.
She asked; “Are you okay ma’am? Does the work feel too much?”
I vaguely understood what the deeper meaning behind those words were: ‘Do you think you cannot handle this new job role as acting CEO in Alpha Frostclaw’s absence?’ But deciding not to think about it too much, I sighed and picked up the folder she’d brought in earlier, my voice cold as I said;
“No.”
“Oh.”
“But I think this contract needs revision. The Flemings are not the sole investors of the smart traffic project, the government is. They are simply providing us with the necessary tools needed to kickstart the project; so at this point, they shouldn’t be named sole benefactors but our partners.”
“But the boss, Marcus Fleming-”
“Is a dictator, and I know that.” I snapped, interrupting her. “However, his contribution to this project is providing us with the raw materials which we are buying from them.
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230 Who is Darius?
We are in charge of the fundings and everything else.”
“Yes, that’s true but knowing them, that’s…”
“Not how he likes his jobs done?” I snapped again, “…well too bad because I won’t let him take credit for the things he didn’t provide. And if he refuses to sign the contract, then please let me know. I’ll take care of him myself.” I finished, but before she could say anything else, I turned away and began to compare the newest design for the smart traffic project to the older versions.
There were a few more details that needed to be added- details that I had sent out to the design team since ages ago but they’ve refused to address and fix.
All of these coupled with the fact that I’ve not heard from Jarek in days made me very uncomfortable and antsy. I raised my head just then to see Yvette trying to sneak out of my office and then I called out to her;
“What about the additional designs I sent in for perusal?”
She stopped, turned around and bowed slightly. “They’ve been accepted by the board.”
“Really?” I whisper-yelled, almost sounding excited. But my excitement soon faded when I remembered that the additions hadn’t been added to the blueprint yet.
I snapped; “If they’ve been accepted, then why are they not in the blueprint now?”
“Ma’am…?”
“Are they waiting for me to come do it myself before they can know what to do?” I continued irritably, but as soon as the words slipped out of my mouth, a few other thoughts slipped into my mind, which were:
Why am I snapping at the innocent girl?
Gosh, why am I feeling so… so… on edge?
“Oh, no. No! They’re not. I’ll inform them ASAP!”
I sighed after taking in the uncomfortable expression on her face, and with a gentler tone, I drawled; “Okay. Also, don’t forget to send Marcus Fleming to me if he refuses to cooperate.”
“Yes ma’am!” She answered, and with that, rushed out of my office before I could say any other thing and I couldn’t help but think that perhaps she was running away from
me too.
Not like I could blame her!
19:51
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I waited until she was gone before I finally let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding. And it wasn’t until then that I realized that my heart had been hammering frantically against my chest the entire time.
I dropped my head between my hands and closed my eyes, hoping to calm myself a little bit… expecting to feel even though it was a tiny bit better-
“Lani?” A voice suddenly called my name, causing my head to snap up immediately.
And as soon as I looked up, my face instantly fell when I was met with Maya’s pleading gaze, and in her arms was the largest most annoying bouquet of red roses I’ve seen in a while.
I immediately frowned. “Maya? What are you doing here?”
She shrugged but due to the several things she was holding in her arms, it made it appear like she’d shivered instead. She hissed “I came to see you because the last time we saw each other, we didn’t part ways in an exceptionally good way.”
“You came to see me with a bouquet of roses and some stuff from Walmart?” I asked incredulously, pointing to the things in her hands.
Again, she shrugged but this time, didn’t forget to grace me with her signature eye-roll before she plopped down into the chair in front of my desk then set the items on the table. She said;
“I only got you these things from Walmart. I didn’t get the roses.”
“Gavin did?” I asked, cocking my eyebrows, but she simply turned away and scrunched up her nose, her voice light as she snapped;
“No. However, he’s on a wild goose’s chase to get you some antidotes for Moonveil draught.”
Oh, so he’s really looking for it?
I should’ve commented on that but I didn’t. Instead, I glanced once at the flowers and shifted my gaze back to her, my voice tight as I asked;
“Then if the flowers aren’t from you or him, who sent them?”
“Your pretty PA, Yvette, gave it to me a few minutes ago when she saw me coming towards your office. She said you’re in a bad mood and that it would’ve been nicer if I gave it to you instead of her.”
“That doesn’t answer my questions…” I whispered, pinching at the bridge of my nose as I could already feel a whack headache brewing somewhere at the back of my skull.
35
And to my utmost annoyance, Maya smiled and shrugged.
“I don’t know. She said it’s from some man…” she voiced, her voice trailing off as she began to search through the gift for something… anything. Maybe a card.
A few seconds passed before she finally came up with a small white card. She snorted; “…he’s named Darius.”
I frowned as my heart plummeted.
She frowned too then asked; “Who the fuck is Darius?”
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.

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