Chapter 112 112
THE office was as sharp and immaculate as the man himself. Adrian. Morning sunlight spilled through the tall glass windows, reflecting off polished mahogany shelves stacked with business portfolios and signed contracts. He leaned back in his leather chair, his suit jacket off, the sleeves of his shirt rolled just above his wrists, and his mind not entirely on the spreadsheets before him.
Peter, ever efficient, stood across the desk, tablet in hand.
“If you want, we can secure these collaborations through the board, sir. But you have been unusually… specific about who you want sitting at the same table with you.”
Adrian swirled the wine-red tie draped across his fingers before slipping it neatly into his drawer. His voice was low, deliberate.
“That is because I don’t want random faces, Peter. I want Amelia Cole. I want my wife. And if I can’t get her directly, then I will pull her company into partnerships she can’t refuse.”
Peter tilted his head slightly, catching the undercurrent in his boss’s words. He wasn’t oblivious to the personal war beneath the professional calm.
“You want Amelia in the room.”
Adrian’s gaze hardened for a moment before softening into something far more vulnerable.
“I don’t just want her in the room, Peter. I want her reminded of who I am. Of who we were. And of who I am now.”
Before Peter could respond, the glass door opened without a knock, that was a bold move for anyone who knew Adrian Cole well. A tall brunette, sultry in a crimson bodycon dress that clung too deliberately to every curve, strutted in as if she owned the place.
“Adrian,” she purred, her perfume wafting through the office with suffocating sweetness. “Finally. I thought you were ignoring me on purpose.” She leaned against the edge of his desk, deliberately close, her red lips curving into a smile. “You have been avoiding my calls. My texts. So, I came myself.”
Peter stiffened, his hand tightening around the tablet. But Adrian only leaned back in his chair, unimpressed, his expression icy.
“Miss Lane,” Adrian said, his voice cutting clean through her act. “You have mistaken me for the man I used to be.”
She blinked, tilting her head.
“What is that supposed to mean? We had… an understanding.”
Adrian’s jaw flexed. The memory of who he was, that careless, distracted, burying grief and emptiness in fleeting pleasures, flickered in his mind, but it was a past he had long buried. His eyes met hers, steady and unflinching.
“That understanding was with a man who no longer exists. If you are looking for casual indulgence, you are in the wrong office.”
Her smile faltered, replaced with a trace of irritation.
“So you are just going to— what? Pretend I don’t matter?”
“You don’t.” Adrian stood, straightening to his full height, towering over her with a presence that pushed her back a step. “And if you ever barge into my office uninvited again, I will make sure security escorts you out. Is that clear?”
For a second, silence blanketed the room. Then, with a scoff and a flick of her hair, she stormed out, heels clacking against the marble floor.
Peter, still standing stiffly, finally exhaled. His brows lifted ever so slightly.
“Well… that was a first. A year ago, you would have—”
“A year ago,” Adrian interrupted, returning to his chair, “I would have been pathetic enough to use her as a distraction. Not anymore.” He tugged the cuff of his shirt into place, his tone unyielding. “My focus is different now.”
Peter studied him for a long moment before nodding.
“Then, I will make the calls, Sir. If we align the contracts with Collins Group, Your wife won’t be able to back out. And… she will have to see you again.”
Adrian’s lips curved in the faintest smile, though his eyes were shadowed with something deeper.
“Good. Let’s remind her that I’m not a man to be pushed aside.
Peter nodded as he quickly jotted down things on a small note, the pen in his hand dancing sharply on the booklet. Soon, he was done, he picked up the tablet, the jotter and then turned to leave. Meeting was over, business collaborations has just been proposed.
As he left the office, Adrian leaned back, staring at the skyline beyond his window. He had walked away from his past, closed every door that once tempted him. And now, for the first time in a long time, he knew exactly what he wanted, and he wouldn’t stop until Amelia saw it too.