Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Maverick
The second Solenn walked out of my office, something inside me snapped.
The air in the room shifted, growing heavier, suffocating, pressing down on me with an unbearable weight.
I stood frozen for half a second, my jaw locked so tight my teeth ached, my fingers curled into fists at my sides.
My pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out everything but the single, undeniable truth that rang through my mind like a fucking war drum. She thinks I betrayed her.
I turned my head slowly, my entire body vibrating with tension, my breath shallow, sharp, and controlled in a way that took everything I had.
Nadia was still standing there, looking pleased with herself, smoothing a hand down her dress like she had just won some sort of game.
My hands twitched with the overwhelming need to throw something, to break something, to do anything that would wipe that smug look off her face.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" My voice was low, lethal, and calm in a way that was far more dangerous than shouting.
Nadia tilted her head, unfazed, her lips curving into a slow, practiced smirk. "Relax, Maverick. It was just a kiss." Her tone was syrupy sweet, like she was speaking to a child. "Besides, I was only reminding her of her place."
A cold, sharp edge sliced through my control.
I moved before I even processed it, closing the space between us in a single step, my hand gripping her wrist. Not tight enough to hurt—just enough to make her feel it. Just enough to make sure she knew exactly who she was dealing with.
Her smirk flickered, just barely.
"If you ever touch me again, if you ever so much as breathe Solenn’s name in my presence, I will make you regret it," I murmured, my voice dipping into something dark, something dangerous, something that made her eyes widen just slightly. "Do you understand me?"
She swallowed. "Maverick?—"
"Do. You. Understand?"
A long pause. Then, finally, she nodded.
I shoved her wrist away as it disgusted me like she disgusted me. "Get out," I snapped, my patience completely fucking gone.
She hesitated like she wanted to say something else like she thought she still had some kind of control over the situation. But she must have seen something in my face, something lethal because she turned on her heel and walked out without another word.
The door shut behind her.
And then, my mother stepped forward.
She had been standing near the entrance of my office the whole time, watching, waiting, completely unbothered by the chaos she had just caused. Her expression was composed, unreadable, her eyes assessing me like I was a piece on a chessboard she had already positioned exactly where she wanted.
I turned slowly, my body still thrumming with unchecked fury, my breath shallow, my patience hanging by a thread. "That was unnecessary," I said, my voice so low it barely sounded like my own.
Victoria Spencer smiled, tilting her head slightly, her red lips curving with amusement. "Unnecessary?" she echoed like the word was foreign to her. "No, darling. It was effective."
My jaw clenched so tightly that I thought my teeth might crack. "Stay out of my life." The words came out sharp, final, like a blade cutting through the last strand of restraint I had left.
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. She simply sighed, adjusting the cuff of her silk blazer like this was nothing more than an inconvenience. "You don’t mean that," she murmured. "But I do suggest you fix this before you lose everything you’ve built."
She wasn’t talking about the company.
She was talking about Solenn.
And she had already decided I lost her.
She turned, walking away with the same unshakable grace she always carried, and I let her go—because if I didn’t if I opened my mouth again, I wasn’t sure what the fuck I’d do.
The second she was gone, I moved.
I stepped out into the main office, my voice slicing through the space like a whip. "Everyone. Out."
Heads snapped up. Employees froze, wide-eyed, their conversations halting mid-sentence.
No one moved for half a second, uncertainty flickering across their faces, but I didn’t repeat myself.
I just stood there, my stance rigid, my fingers twitching with the need to destroy something, and that was enough.
Within seconds, chairs scraped against the floor, papers rustled, and people gathered their things, moving fast. The sound of hurried footsteps filled the room as employees made their way to the exits, avoiding my gaze, knowing better than to test me right now.
Good.
The moment the last person left, I turned on my heel and headed straight for the security room.
The guard barely had time to react before I was inside, before I was standing in front of the monitor, my body rigid, my voice sharp and unyielding. "Pull up the security footage from my office," I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument.
The guard hesitated. "Sir, I?—"
"Now."
His fingers moved fast after that. A few taps on the keyboard, a few clicks, and then—the screen flickered to life.
And there it was.
The moment Nadia stepped into my office.
I watched, muscles coiled tight, as she lingered, her body language deliberate, calculated. She spoke, her lips moving, her eyes flicking to the door, waiting. She knew exactly when Solenn would arrive.
And then, she reached for me.
I hadn’t moved toward her. I hadn’t invited it.
She grabbed my tie, pulled me in, and pressed her lips against mine.
And by the time I reacted—by the time I **shoved her away—**Solenn was already there.
My hands curled into fists. My nostrils flared.
I had been played.
And Solenn had walked in at the worst possible fucking moment.
I exhaled sharply, pressing my fingers against my temples, my pulse hammering so loudly it felt like it might burst through my skin. She thought I let it happen. She thought I wanted it.
She thought I was like every other ruthless bastard she had worked for.
A wave of something cold and sharp and fucking unbearable crashed through me. I had to fix this. I had to find her. But I didn’t just want to fix it—I wanted revenge.
I turned, my grip tightening around my phone, my teeth grinding together. I already knew where she was.
And I wasn’t going to let this stand.
Not like this. Not when she was mine.