Chapter 43 Chapter 43
Maxwell
“Don’t test me. Stay in the car,” I said firmly. “I won’t be long.”
Instead of answering, Amelia lifted her hand and flipped her middle finger at me. I shook my head, called my driver back immediately and told him to take the car Amelia had driven and return it to the house.
After that, I headed straight to Rafe’s office, as I walked toward the elevator, someone suddenly stepped into my path. I stopped and looked up, only to find Amelia’s crazy friend standing there. Adele.
The moment she saw me, her face lit up with a wide smile, as if we were old friends. She clearly wasn’t bothered by my presence at all.
“Well, fancy running into our dearest cold husband,” she said, moving closer and blocking my way.
I let out a tired sigh, already feeling my patience thinning. Between Amelia and Adele, I honestly didn’t know who was more difficult to deal with. One was stubborn and reckless, the other was bold and irritating. No wonder they were friends.
I guessed she was the reason Amelia had driven all the way here instead of resuming work.
“Hello to you too,” I said dryly. “I won’t be able to entertain your shenanigans. I have an important meeting right now.” My voice was stiff, leaving no room for argument.
“Of course,” she replied with a smirk. “The busy, bossy man as always.” She folded her arms and tilted her head. “Do you even understand the kind of problems you are creating by forcing Amelia to work for you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’d rather she drive you around the city wearing a skimpy gown with no pants?”
Her face froze for half a second before breaking into a wide, mischievous smile, clearly twisting my words into something else entirely. She quickly made a zipping motion across her lips, pretending to lock her mouth shut.
“She won’t be driving home,” I added calmly.
“My driver can take you, if you want.”
“Oh, she definitely won’t,” she said, grinning even wider. “But thanks for the offer. I already called a cab. It should be here any minute.”
I nodded and walked straight to Rafe’s office. When I went in, he was busy talking with his secretary.
“I thought you weren’t coming anymore,” he said the moment he saw me. “You didn’t pick my call.”
I took the seat across from him. His secretary looked at me, gave me a flirty smile, then winked before finally turning around and leaving the office.
I shook my head slightly. “Your secretary is getting bolder.”
Rafe burst out laughing. “Tell me about it. I had to send her home to change this morning. She bent over, and I almost saw her ass.”
I scoffed. “Lucky bastard. You should have just enjoyed the free show and maybe even smash her later.”
Even as I said it, I knew I wouldn’t take that advice myself. I don’t mix business with pleasure. At least, that was before I hired my wife. Now, I had a feeling that business and pleasure were about to collide more often.
Rafe leaned back in his chair, still amused. “If Adele had walked in here and saw my staff dressed like that, she would immediately assume I am sleeping with them. She already thinks the worst of me.”
“So you are actually serious about dating her?” I asked. He nodded without hesitation.
“You do realize she’s just as crazy as my wife, if not crazier,” I said. “Are you sure you can handle someone like Adele?”
I leaned back in my chair, my thoughts drifting despite myself. I had married Amelia purely for revenge. That was the plan. Nothing more but ever since she moved in with me, my anger had only gotten worse instead of fading. I was constantly irritated, constantly on edge. I never imagined I’d willingly sit in front of a therapist, talking about my feelings like a troubled teenager but I didn’t have a choice. I had started therapy just to keep myself sane.
Hiring Amelia to work for me was a terrible decision. I knew that. But it was also the only way I could teach her more about administration while quietly rooting out everyone in her company who was against her. I told myself it was for business reasons. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t that simple.
“I really like her,” Rafe said, pulling me back to the present. His tone was serious, not joking at all. “I have never felt this way about any woman. Not even Jenna.”
That was when I knew he meant every word. “Even after ghosting her for over a week,” he continued, “I still can’t stop thinking about her.”
“So you ghosted her?” I asked, half-joking. “Did she show up to beat you up? Because I am pretty sure that’s something she would actually do.”
Rafe chuckled. “The meeting I told you about with Northline? She’s their marketing strategist.”
I raised my brows slightly.
"I didn’t mean to ghost her, I didn’t even know I was scheduled for another meeting in Norway the day after I met her.” he continued. “I misplaced my phone that same day, before I even left for Norway. There was no way I could reach her.”
I shook my head. “Good luck explaining all that to her,” I said honestly. “But I think she likes you. And you have got the charm, do your thing.”
That seemed to lift his mood a little. We then got straight to business. The real reason I came to see him was Amelia’s company. Something wasn’t sitting right with me. The numbers didn’t add up, and I had a strong feeling something shady was going on.
Someone was stealing from the company, and I needed help tracing it without raising suspicion.
After a long discussion and going through different possibilities, we finally reached a conclusion. With that settled, I stood up, said my goodbyes, and left his office.
Now it was time to face my headache—Amelia. I needed to drag her home so she could change before resuming work for me. And knowing her, I highly doubted she would agree without putting up a fight.
Author's note: Amelia do you know that you are after Maxwell life😂, he had to even get therapist😂.
And for Rafe and Adele, I hope something good happen between them