Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 15

“Mm…”

The sudden intimacy made Stephanie’s heart race. Her curled lashes fluttered against Jonathan’s skin.

His tall frame completely enveloped her, their breaths mingling. He was like a predator lurking in the night, ready to devour its prey.

He was fervent, almost out of control, ravaging her mouth. When his kiss grew more demanding, trying to part her lips, Stephanie realized things were spiraling. She opened her mouth and bit down—hard.

As he flinched in pain, she shoved him away. Then, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

“You psycho!” she yelled, her body trembling like a frightened deer.

A sharp pain, mixed with the metallic taste of blood, spread through Jonathan’s mouth. He unconsciously ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek and gave a roguish grin.

She’d bitten him hard.

Jonathan lightly touched his lip and, seeing a smear of blood on his fingertip, looked down at her. “You hit so hard. Did you hurt your hand?”

“…”

The air hung silent for a moment. Stephanie pressed her lips together and gave him a long, hard look, as if he were completely insane.

The man was terrifying. She turned and fled the room without a backward glance.

She had barely left when her phone rang. It was Todd. “Miss, how did the meeting go?”

Stephanie clutched her chest, still shaken. She had come to negotiate an acquisition, only to be assaulted.

Her eyes stung with unexpected tears. “Mr. Carter, I’m sorry to bother you, but please find me a new buyer.”

Todd was taken aback. “It fell through?”

That didn’t make sense. Ironhold Investment Group had reached out the moment the news broke that Meridian Consortium was for sale. A proactive buyer like that usually meant a high chance of success.

Jonathan finally looked up, glancing at Tobias coolly. “The one who just left.”

“…” He got hit by a woman?

Tobias' jaw dropped, and the cigarette he’d just lit fell from his mouth. He scrambled to catch it.

He had to keep this under wraps. Otherwise, Jonathan’s reputation would be ruined.

After a moment of silence, Tobias slapped his thigh. “A gentleman doesn’t fight a woman, but you can’t just let her get away with it. Jonathan, I heard she and Quennel are a thing. I’ll go grab Quennel for you! You can take out your anger on him!”

As another one of Veridian’s elite families, the Vasquez family and the Gonzalez family had coexisted peacefully for years. But with the Vasquez family’s rapid expansion recently, they now controlled half of Veridian. A direct confrontation with Quennel would be no problem at all.

Besides, even without his family’s backing, Jonathan had plenty of ways to deal with someone.

To his surprise, Jonathan’s expression turned icy. His eyes shot a glare at Tobias. “What did you just say?”