Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 46

Chapter 33: The Professor–1

(Aurora’s POV)

Claim

The combination of alcohol and exhaustion pulled me into a deep sleep the moment the car started moving. When I opened my eyes, the vehicle was stationary in front of my apartment building. A heavy suit jacket draped over my shoulders, enveloping me in the scent of cedarwood and tobacco.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up straight. I pulled the jacket off and handed it to the man sitting in the driver’s seat.

“I’m sorry, I murmured, my voice still thick with sleep. “You should have woken me.”

Phineas arched a brow as he took the jacket. He tossed it into the back seat and turned to face me. “How old are you this year?”

The question caught me off guard. “Twenty–seven.”

“I am only six years older than you,” he said, his voice flat. “You do not need to constantly address me as ‘Sir‘ or ‘Mr. Everett‘ with such distance.”

I felt heat rise to my ears. “You are the head of the Group. It shows respect.”

Phineas suddenly unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned in. The space between us vanished. His thin lips hovered inches from my ear, his hot breath ghosting over my skin.

“If you continue to be so polite,” he whispered, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave, “people who don’t know better will think I’m not your boss, but your uncle.”

My heart skipped a beat. Before I could react, he pulled back, the aggressive aura receding as quickly as it had appeared. He was once again the cold, impartial CEO.

“It’s late,” he said, staring straight ahead. “Go inside.”

I scrambled out of the car. Since marrying Jasper, I had cut off all social contact with the opposite sex. My world had been suffocatingly small. Now, back in the workforce, I tried to maintain a professional distance from everyone.

But Phineas Everett was the exception.

The tabloids painted him as a stoic, abstinent monk. They were wrong. Every time we were alone, I felt a gaze that burned through his icy mask. It was a look of raw, predatory desire. He was my shield right now, yes. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this “Uncle” had intentions that went far beyond familial concern.

Chapter 33: The Professor 1

I shook my head as I unlocked my front door. I was reading too much into it.

(Author’s POV)

Claim

The air pressure in the top–floor conference room of Aether Life Sciences was low enough to crush lungs. Jasper stood at the head of the mahogany table, his face a mask of frost. He slammed the quarterly financial report down. The thud echoed like a gunshot.

“The R&D department burned through nearly a billion dollars in the first half of the year,” Jasper snarled. “That is a ten percent increase from last year. Yet our overall revenue hasn’t grown. It dropped by eight percent.”

The Director of R&D wiped cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. “Sir, the funds were heavily invested in the recombinant protein project. But… the core of that project relied on the gene patent Miss–er, that was recently reclaimed. Without that patent, the five hundred million we sank into it is… gone.”

Jasper felt a physical pain in his chest. “Two hundred elite scientists,” he roared, pointing a finger at the terrified executives. “And not one of you can produce a replacement patent?”

Sienna sat to his right, her face pale. She knew exactly why the patent was gone. Her jealousy had driven Aurora away. To save face before the board, she spoke up quickly.

“We should contact Professor Lewis,” she suggested, her voice trembling slightly. “He is the titan of the field. If we can collaborate on his latest gene patent, it would fill the gap.”

Jasper’s expression remained dark, but he nodded. “Do it. Meeting adjourned.”

He stormed out. Several executives looked at Sienna.

“Miss Rathbone, perhaps you could go to his office and calm him down?” one whispered. “You’re the only one he’ll listen to.”

Sienna forced a smile and walked to the CEO’s office door. She tapped her access card against the reader.

*Beep–beep.* Red light. Access Denied.

She tried again. Nothing. The employees in the hallway stopped and stared. Sienna lowered her hand, her face burning with humiliation as the door remained firmly locked against her.

***

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