A Deäl With The Billionaire
img img A Deäl With The Billionaire img Chapter 8 The Morning After
8
Chapter 10 Secrets in the Ashes img
Chapter 11 Possessive img
Chapter 12 The Ultimatum img
Chapter 13 A Glimmer of Hope img
Chapter 14 When Chaos Meets Charisma img
Chapter 15 The Breaking Point img
Chapter 16 A Dangerous Invitation img
Chapter 17 A Moment of Peace img
Chapter 18 The Ghost of Helixis img
Chapter 19 A Mother's Warning img
Chapter 20 Crossed Lines img
Chapter 21 A Dream Denied img
Chapter 22 Public Display img
Chapter 23 The Ties That Bind img
Chapter 24 A Lesson in Jealousy img
Chapter 25 An Unlikely Alliance img
Chapter 26 A Plan and a Shopping Spree img
Chapter 27 The Maasai Mara img
Chapter 28 Sunset and a Roar img
Chapter 29 Through Damien's Eyes img
Chapter 30 Crossed Lines Again img
Chapter 31 Interrupted img
Chapter 32 A Hungry Beast img
Chapter 33 Claimed img
Chapter 34 What Comes Next img
Chapter 35 A Global Mission img
Chapter 36 The Ghost in the Gallery img
Chapter 37 Solo img
Chapter 38 Trial by Fire img
Chapter 39 The Sterling Inquisition img
Chapter 40 The Truth in Bourbon Glass img
Chapter 41 The Uninvited Guest img
Chapter 42 A Text in the Dark img
Chapter 43 What the Blood Revealed img
Chapter 44 The Leak img
Chapter 45 Bullets and a Smirk img
Chapter 46 The Corpse in the Living Room img
Chapter 47 My Father's Shadow img
Chapter 48 The Price of a Bail img
Chapter 49 The Lioness in the Penthouse img
Chapter 50 Hands at the Throat img
Chapter 51 Desperate Measures img
Chapter 52 The Enemy You Know img
Chapter 53 The Devil You Don't img
Chapter 54 Collateral Damage img
Chapter 55 Web of Lies img
Chapter 56 No Safe Haven img
Chapter 57 The Unmasking img
Chapter 58 Pawn or Player img
Chapter 59 The Alliance img
Chapter 60 Shattered Trust img
Chapter 61 Into the Underworld img
Chapter 62 Confessions and Confrontations img
Chapter 63 The Stalker's Grip img
Chapter 64 Crossfire img
Chapter 65 The Hunter img
Chapter 66 The Prey img
Chapter 67 The Enemy Revealed img
Chapter 68 The Attack img
Chapter 69 A Strangers Gaze img
Chapter 70 Viral Betrayal img
Chapter 71 Heartbreaking News img
Chapter 72 Lights, Cameras, Blackout img
Chapter 73 Seraphina Again img
Chapter 74 The Devil's Bargain img
Chapter 75 Dangerous Decisions img
Chapter 76 The Rose and the Thorn img
Chapter 77 A Project Reborn img
Chapter 78 Awakening img
Chapter 79 The Hospital Assassin img
Chapter 80 Frantic Plea img
Chapter 81 The Interrogation img
Chapter 82 An Unholy Alliance img
Chapter 83 Desperate Search img
Chapter 84 The Flashdrive img
Chapter 85 A Traitor's Face img
Chapter 86 A Name from the Past img
Chapter 87 The Bidding War img
Chapter 88 A Morning Run img
Chapter 89 The Cost of Freedom img
Chapter 90 A Ghost in the Machine img
Chapter 91 The Sterling Welcome img
Chapter 92 A Night of Reckoning img
Chapter 93 Raw Desire img
Chapter 94 Intense Passion img
Chapter 95 The Comfort img
Chapter 96 Bodyguard img
Chapter 97 The Revelation img
Chapter 98 A Ghost from my Past img
Chapter 99 The Weight of Truth img
Chapter 100 The Breaking Point img
img
  /  2
img

Chapter 8 The Morning After

CHAPTER 8

Rose's POV

Now, that was a slap to the face. I was so furious I felt like I would explode. Yet, no words came out of my mouth. I just stood there like an idiot, too embarrassed to even move. She just called me a harlot. Have they not seen the news?

For the first time, I was tempted to gloat.

"I'm going to give you one last chance..." I checked the golden inscription on her chest: "...Sophia. Apologize right now, or I'll report you to Damien."

The girls laughed and began to call the attention of everyone in the lobby. Sophia grabbed a mic and spoke into it.

"Everyone, take a look at this slut who is trying to stick to Mr. Sterling for his money. The only woman who could ever try and succeed is Miss Seraphina, and even she failed to get him to put a ring on it." She tutted. "I'd stop trying if I were you."

The entire lobby cracked up, laughing at me like I was a joke. My ankles wobbled, and my confidence dropped. Coming here was a mistake. Tears laced my eyes, threatening to fall, but I wasn't going to give these people the satisfaction of seeing me downcast.

Just then, I thought I heard heavy footsteps behind me. The laughter suddenly subsided, and the workers suddenly began to focus on their tasks. Before I could catch myself, a strong arm wrapped around my waist, turning me around so I could plant my face into a chest.

The warmth, the sudden feeling of security and safety, and the familiar masculine scent overwhelmed me, and I found myself letting the tears drop. My hands gripped his shirt as I cried my eyes out, while he squeezed me tighter till I was steady.

After I was done, he cupped my face and lowered himself to whisper in my ear, "Ya zastavlyu ikh zaplatit'," before planting a light kiss on my cheek.

Even though I didn't know what it meant, I knew it sounded like a promise. A genuine promise.

"I need all the workers to gather in the assembly hall. I need to make an urgent announcement," he said, his voice rumbling like thunder.

Like rats, everyone scurried towards the elevator, most of them taking the stairs. The PA system howled as an announcement of the meeting was made. With his strong hand lightly squeezing mine, he led me to the elevator. The workers there immediately vacated the space, leaving us both alone.

When he pressed the floor button, he turned around to face me, his face unsmiling.

"Why did you come here alone?" With his accent rolling off with the English, I knew he was utterly upset, so I knew not to push my luck.

"I...I just thought..."

"Next time," he growled, towering over me while I pressed my back to the wall, praying to disappear. "Let me know before you go running off into the wild like a gazelle."

I couldn't help it. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You don't seem to understand, do you!? We need to be together and stick to our story, or everything will come crashing down."

"I didn't think finding my sister would mean lying to myself and the world!" I snapped back, watching his jaw tense and his fists clenching and unclenching.

The elevator opened, and our argument ended there. He held my hand, but I yanked it away. He did it a couple more times before finally tightening his hold and turning to face me.

"Remove your hand again and I'll have no choice but to make it permanent." I quivered, breath quickening, but I didn't rebel again as we got to the assembly ground.

There were more employees than I thought the company would have. Why did he need this many workers? And how does he pay them?

Before I could think about it, Damien grabbed me and slowly led me to the stage.

"I'll need you all to pay attention to what I'm about to say," he began. "I don't think I forced any of you to come work for me. You know the number of assessments and interviews you had to pass through to get your jobs. And I don't think I've ever mistreated you." I almost rolled my eyes at his self-righteousness. "However, you have all repaid me with unkindness. You disrespected my fiancee, and that only means one thing. You disrespected me as well."

I looked around to see Sophia's red face and red eyes, which meant she had been crying.

"What shall I do to you all?"

Knowing his reputation for being cruel, I was afraid he would do something I couldn't live with. So I grabbed his arm and whispered. "Damien..."

"You are all fired." A ripple of gasps and murmurings spread across the crowd. I couldn't believe my ears. He was going to fire hundreds of workers over what a small number of workers did to me?

"You don't have to..."

"This is none of your business," he whispered back sharply. Just as quickly, he grabbed his phone and dialed a number. "Hi, yes. I'm going to need to replace all my workers. Every single one of them. An hour is fine."

After the crowds dispersed, I turned and left the stage in anger. They may have disrespected me, but firing them was not okay. I got into an elevator, but before it could shut, Damien was already inside, glancing down at me with his sharp eyes.

"What brought you here anyway?"

I didn't respond. He attempted to touch me, but I slapped his hand away.

"I'll tell you if you agree to hire everyone back."

He scoffed. "You're impossible, you know. One would think firing them all for that stunt they pulled would make you happy."

"Well, I'm not!" I screamed, but I didn't get enough time to do that as he grabbed me by the neck and planted his lips on mine while the elevator opened.

When he pulled back to look outside, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes darkening. Who could these people be for them to ruffle the feathers of Damien Sterling?

            
            

COPYRIGHT(©) 2022