Chapter Twelve
Nathan
Of all the firms out there, Arya had to work at this one. I had successfully pushed her out of my mind long before the scandal disrupted my life and brought me here.
Now I’m being hit with one vision after another of our little encounter together.
It doesn’t matter that she’s wearing pants and a high-neck blouse that covers most of her silky-smooth skin and subtly accentuates her lithe curves. They’re all imprinted into my brain. So deep that if I were a sculptor, I could sculpt her with my eyes closed.
The present version of her is the opposite of the sad and brokenhearted woman from two months ago. There’s steel in her spine and boldness shining on her pretty face that didn’t exist before. It’s making her irresistible.
No matter her credentials, this woman will be nothing but a distraction.
We’ll be butting heads at every turn, judging by the daggers she’s shooting at me with her chocolaty brown eyes.
My rebuttal lights a fire under her ass, and she hisses, “What you are is a deceiving piece of shit.”
So cute. If only she knew I’ve been called worse.
“Is this how you treat your clients?” I taunt, not giving her the reaction she was hoping for. “Or am I just special?”
“You know what?” She raises her hand. “You should take your business elsewhere.”
Her short curls sway as she whirls around, taking a step toward the door.
“No.” My commanding voice stops her dead in her tracks.
Facing me again, she demands in an anxious tone, “What do you mean no?”
“Don’t be dense.” She glares. I bite back a smirk. “Step out of this room and I will happily tell your boss just how special a vocabulary you reserve for your clients.”
Her annoyance turns into dread. “You’d stoop that low after everything?”
“I’m not the one calling someone insulting names.” Tilting my head, I curiously ask, “And after what? Would you care to enlighten me?”
“If you don’t already know, then I’d be wasting my breath.”
“Suit yourself.” Flicking my chin at the chair across from me, I tell her, “If you’re done throwing a tantrum, I’d rather get back to business.”
“What if I don’t want to work with you?”
As much as I’d love to reject her, the fact of the matter is that I need a publicist of my choosing rather than the one my father and the board members are forcing on my head. I would never trust anyone they hired since he or she would be in their pockets.
I have enough two-faced and backstabbing people in my company to add another to the list.
Hiring Arya would be all for show, which she doesn’t need to know. Since she already loathes my guts, she’s unlikely to do a splendid job. Even if she tries, I plan to throw every obstacle in her way until I no longer need her.
“You should’ve thought of that before because I hold all the cards.” Locking in my expression, I calmly warn, “As amusing as your little show was, I can have you fired or sued for it.”
She goes white as a ghost, realizing I have the power to accomplish it.
“Of course it doesn’t have to come to that since I’m willing to give you a second chance. What’s it going to be, Arya?”
I watch the wheels turn in her brain.
Victory burns in my bloodstream because there’s only one answer.
I know it.
She knows it.
Swallowing down her pride and anger, she juts her chin and walks over to the chair across from me and gracefully sits down. “Don’t take this to mean I’m scared of you, Nathan.”
“Why would I want you to be scared of me? I was merely informing you of the consequences of your actions. You should be thanking me for not teaching you the hard way.”
“Oh, you mean the way you’re facing the repercussions of faking your relationship?” she retorts venomously. While the smile on her thick lips is sugary sweet.
“Keeping tabs on me?”
“You wish.”
I suppress a smile. “Did your ex show up again?”
Twin red spots appear on her cheeks at my unexpected question. Licking her lips, she stammers, “I-if you want us to work together, my personal life is off-limits to you.”
“I haven’t signed a contract to work with you yet. So, technically, I’m allowed to ask.” Leaning forward with my hands steepled on the table, I prod, “Has he come to see you again?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“I don’t remember you being so closed off.”
“Too bad I remember you being an ass.”
“What were you expecting, angel? Flowers and a date after we agreed it was going to be nothing but sex.” Shaking my head, I tsk. “I know you were inexperienced, but I thought you were smart enough to know how a one-night stand works.”
“I know how it works,” she snaps.
Fuck! Who knew such fierceness was hiding underneath the doleful girl? Craving more of it, I feign hurt. “Then what’s with the hostility?”
“Now who’s being dense?”
“There you go insulting me again.”
“I’m literally repeating your words.”
“Ran out of your colorful vocabulary?”
“Gosh! You’re so annoying.”
“Lame.”
Her little fists clench on the table as her face turns a nice shade of flushed.
Leaning forward with both hands on the surface, she lets loose, “Fine. You want an explanation? I’ll give you one.
You tricked me with your charming act, your lies, and pretending to be heartbroken over your ex, which wasn’t even a real relationship, just to get in my pants.
I sure as hell didn’t deserve the way you treated me afterward.
I get it was just sex to get each other out of our systems, but when all was said and done, you couldn’t wait to discard me like yesterday’s trash.
In the end, you made me what you called me.
A whore. So yeah, I will call you an arrogant and lying piece of shit. ”
She pants as I keep staring at her. I don’t drop my gaze to her breasts, figuring it won’t go over well. “Have you got it all out? Or is there more residual anger left? I would rather you let it all out now rather than after you become my publicist.”
“T-that’s it?” She gapes.
“What else were you expecting?”
“An apology,” she utters haughtily.
“For what?” I drawl, dropping my voice an octave. “Sorry for bringing you to two orgasms? For getting rid of your ex? For helping you every time you asked for it?”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“You’re na?ve.”
Darkness flashes across her soulful eyes as she murmurs, “Not anymore.”
I ignore the impact her answer has. Especially the part of me that wonders how much of a role I play in it. “Are you as amazing at your job as your boss praised?”
“Everything she said was true,” she says, grateful for the switch in topic.
Whether or not she admits it, the little outburst helped her get some of the anger off her chest. “Since you’re aware of the recent rumors floating about me…”
“Are they true?” she hesitantly asks.
“Yes.” My tone is unflinching.
“Why would you do it?
“Don’t tell me you only read the headline?”
She narrows her eyes, reprimanding, “I’d rather hear it from you. If you expect me to do my job properly, I need to know.”
“The Singhania and Sons empire is built on traditional and family values that my great-grandfather passed down. I needed to fix my playboy image to convince the board and my father that I deserved to be the CEO. Iris needed money to pay her tuition. So, we made a deal. It worked until she fell in love with my brother, Kian.”
“This news must’ve made it worse.”
“It doesn’t help that my own father is conspiring against me.”
“I’m sorry.”
This right here is the reason I call her an angel. A lesser woman wouldn’t feel sorry for me after the way I treated her. Every accusation she hurled my way was true. Nonetheless, it had to be done.
“Don’t be. His behavior isn’t a surprise.”
“May I ask why he’s against you?”
“He wanted a puppet, not an heir who can lead on his own.” He was livid the first time I made a business decision that went against his wishes.
I made the call to cut ties with a long-time supplier of ours, whose product qualities weren’t up to the standards for the absorbent amount we were paying him.
We had a contract with them for as long as we did because the owner was an old friend of my father.
“Now, he’s found the perfect opportunity to kick you out,” surmises Arya.
A sharklike glint that I’d never expect from her sharpens her eyes.
“We’ll need to reshape your public persona from scratch because this con is far damaging than your playboy image.
It makes you look avaricious and deceitful.
A power-hungry man with no morals. This isn’t something you can ignore and assume it’ll blow over with time. ”
Perhaps I judged her a bit too harshly because her perceptiveness is astute. “Do you have experience with a case like this?”
“I worked on a similar case with an actress involved in an affair with a producer, who hid the fact that he was married and tried to have her removed from the film. He also spread false rumors about her. All her hard work went down the drain because everyone believed she slept her way to the top. We were successfully able to save her career.” Pointing at me, she says, “Of course, your case is a lot more complicated, but I can absolutely help you. We have to make you appear as someone trustworthy and reliable. Someone who wouldn’t put the company in jeopardy and holds core familial values.
Have you put out an official statement?”
“I haven’t nor do I plan to.”
Her brow furrows. “If the truth is out, why don’t you take responsibility and apologize? In today’s world, it’s better to be honest. We can then look into ways to rehabilitate your image and strategies to save your CEO position from being replaced by the board.”
I’m already shaking my head in disagreement. “There’s no solid proof to back up the claims. Either come up with a solution that solves my problem without admitting the truth or where the blame falls solely on me. I don’t want anything coming back on Iris. It’s nonnegotiable.”
I’ve made Iris suffer enough to last a lifetime. While I can’t take back what I’ve done against her in the past, I will not be committing any more sins. [RK8]
Arya tenses, watching me raptly before her gaze widens slightly. Lurching back in her seat, she gasps, “D-did you truly fall for her, Nathan? Is that why you’re protecting her?”
“I thought our personal lives were off-limits.”
“You’re not denying it,” she counters.
“I’m protecting her because she’s my brother’s fiancée,” I utter rigidly. “I don’t want their lives to be complicated because of my actions. That’s all you need to know, Arya.”
Either sensing my patience is running thin or the topic is a sore spot, she shakes off the shock and puts on the professional veneer. “All right. We will not disclose the truth. However, we will need to address the rumor and prove it as fake news.”
“Good.”
Unlocking her iPad, she asks, “Do you have a clue who could’ve leaked this information? How many people knew about your fake engagement?”
“Unfortunately, no. My close friends learned of the truth recently, but they won’t be behind this.”
She raises a sardonic brow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Do you suspect anyone?”
“I have a lot of enemies.” Tapping my fingers on the desk, I state, “I don’t want to waste time looking into this since the damage is already done.”
“True. But it’ll help me to know who to keep a vigilant eye on.” The cutthroat expression on her stunning face ensnares me, especially when she boldly asks, “Besides your father, who else in the company wants your downfall? I want the list of all your enemies.”
Once again, I’m smacked with the fact that I seriously underestimated her. Arya isn’t going to be easily swayed from doing a poor job. As she converses with me, there’s no hint of the loathing she possesses for me inside her pretty little heart.
Despite it, I find myself uttering, “I’ll give you the names.”
And when thrill and determination shine on her face, I realize I’m fucked.
With a bewitching smile, she excitedly asks, “Does this mean you’ll have me as your publicist?”
“I guess I will, angel.”
Yeah, totally, utterly fucked.