Reyona instantly regretted her decision not to call Phil or Samantha to join her.
She would have had at least one of them come with her to a meeting like this, but she didn't want them looking too closely or discovering her messed-up state.
She was also not in much of a celebratory mood, even though she had an inkling of what the meeting would mostly be about.
She had intended to share the news with her employees after leaving.
Give them the leave to celebrate as they deem fit within moderation.
Then she would have simply gone back to the rental house and seen to the meal she intended to make.
Or even sleep some more.
And now this?
"You? Why…?"
"I assume you were expecting someone else, Mrs. Lanoth. Well, if you have done your research well, you will know that we are partners, which means I can handle just what Jordan can handle. Now, unless you would rather have this meeting while standing there, I will suggest you sit."
The monotonous tone with which he said that, as if it were something he had rehearsed, instantly pissed Reyona off.
The fact that her simmering headache flared in his presence made her want to punch the expressionless face in front of her.
Of course, she knew they were partners.
She did not need him to make her feel like she had not done her due diligence about this job.
It was enough that she had to see his face today of all days.
Seeing him reminded her of...
Reyona rearranged her professional smile back on, a little bit frostier this time, but she was not really looking to impress him.
"I am sorry if I acted unprofessional, Mr. Lanoth. You are right. I was expecting Mr. Jordan," she said in a cool tone as she took her seat and gave him a passive look with her sacharine smile still firmly in place.
"I assume you must know the reason why you are called."
"I assume you are about to tell me," Reyona said crisply.
Then she berated herself for letting him get to her.
She rephrased her words "I simply came over with the intention that I would find out why I was summoned," she said.
"This is one of the reasons why I leave the handling of such things to Andrew. You obviously knew we called you here to announce that you won the bid. So, why not let us just cut the bullshit?" He asked a bit heatedly.
Reyona simply gave him a steady look. She could almost swear she had heard a bit of something in his tone, but his face was still as passive as possible.
So, she simply asked, "Is this an official announcement, Mr. Rohan? Will ReyDexter be handling Multilinks accounts from now on?"
He leaned back in the chair and gave her a thorough look.
Reyona sat still and composed, but she was inwardly seething.
He wouldn't see her sweat.
If his intention was to use a staredown competition to make her crumble or grovel, then he would be waiting for a long time.
Men like him are not meant to be having any official meetings with anyone, much less with her.
A sensible businessman like Jordan would have simply cut to the chase, and by now she would probably be signing the contracts or walking out of the office without the bid.
Not sit here and endure an idiot who thinks all it took to be a businessman was having some money and putting on a suit.
Well, he didn't even bother to pretend by putting on a suit.
He had on a t-shirt for God's sake!
********
A T-shirt and a short!
The fact that they fit him so well, like a second skin, didn't matter.
It also didn't matter that Jordan had dressed just as casually.
Jordan knew what he was doing; this one here obviously didn't.
Reyona was almost tempted to stand up and leave.
She really wanted to.
But then she could picture the horrified looks on her employees' faces if she told them they lost the bid because she couldn't stand the company's partner.
Plus, she really wanted to work with Multilinks.
Their crappy taste in partners apart, the account would do her company's portfolio a lot of good.
She wouldn't allow anyone to tamper with that.
So she sat.
And contemplated reaching out to knock him over with the gorilla paperweight on the table.
"You won the bid," he finally said.
"Oh, thank you very much," Reyona said with genuine excitement. "You can be sure that we..."
"Save it for Jordan. I am not interested," he interrupted her.
"Okay," she said with a tight smile. "Does that mean I can leave now? Or is there an arrangement for the contract signing already?"
"There is"
"Okay, I can..."
"But I have a condition of my own."
"Figures," Reyona said before she could stop herself.
For the first time since she entered the office, he smiled. "I was wondering how long before the fang shows."
He was baiting her. Bastard.
Still, Reyona said, "I don't understand what you meant."
"You and I have unfinished business, don't we, Mrs. Lanoth?"
"You want to bring that into the discussion of a bid?" Reyona asked with unhidden disgust at his lack of scruples.
He merely shrugged.
"Why do you think I asked you to handle this? You have what I want, Mrs. Lanoth. And you have refused to be reasonable. I have what you want, too. What do you say we trade? No harm is done."
Reyona sat stiffly as she inhaled as calmly as she could.
She had worked on her image and composure for far too long to allow the likes of him to rattle her.
"We have nothing else to discuss," she said calmly.
When he merely raised his brows, she added, "I think I will just come back when Mr. Jordan is available."
"I can assure you that this little win of yours ends the moment you step out of that door without finalising this," he said leisurely.
Reyona smiled sweetly at that and stood up.
"Then I guess we truly have nothing else to discuss then, do we? Have a great day, Mr. Rohan."