Chapter 37 37
Maisie's Pov
The guy with the tattooed guy was good looking.
He looked like a film star in the making with his classical, golden boy handsomeness. Slicked black hair, sharp jawline, tanned skin, and a blinding smile. He wore tailored slacks that matched the color of his green eyes, and his white shirt stretched across his chest, clinging to the hard lines of muscle, every inch of it pulling across his body.
He was good looking and frankly, I couldn't stop staring at him.
My gaze broke when I heard the door open behind me.
It was Emma.
Her eyes flicked from me then to the guy with the tattooed guy standing far too close and then she smiled.
“Oh,” she said casually. “Tyler.”
So that was his name. Tyler. Of course it was.
Tyler straightened immediately. “Hey, Emma.”
Emma stepped closer and gestured between us. “Chloe, this is Tyler, one of the company's software engineers.”
Tyler smiled at me again, slower this time. “Nice to officially meet you, Miss Chloe.”
I swallowed. “Nice to meet you too.”
“And,” Emma added, clearly enjoying herself. “Tyler, this is Chloe, the CEO’s secretary.”
His brow lifted slightly. “Ah, Chloe. I've heard a lot about you.”
I blinked. “You have?”
“Yes,” he said smoothly. “That you're the most beautiful woman in the entire building.”
My face heated instantly.
“Oh my Goddess,” Emma laughed, waving a hand. “Ignore him. He's clearly still drunk on code.”
Tyler chuckled. “I just finished upgrading the entire internal software system.”
Emma nodded approvingly. “Good job. The boss will be pleased.” Then she turned to me. “Shall we?”
“Sure.” I said with a nod.
She walked into the office without another word.
Tyler hesitated, then leaned slightly closer. “Hey, I know it might sound awkward but… are you free for some coffee sometime? Not in an elevator obviously but maybe in a cafe?”
Wait. Was he asking me out?
I blinked, a bit overwhelmed for a second. “Um… Coffee.”
“Yeah.” He gave me a cute boyish smile.
I smiled despite myself. “Well, I’ll think about it.”
“Sure. Thanks.” He nodded with a smile before he turned and walked away.
I heaved a sigh and entered the office before my cheeks could betray me further. Inside, Emma immediately nudged my arm.
I rolled my eyes. “Don't.”
She smirked. “You have range, boss.”
Clyde cleared his throat. “Can we focus?”
We sat and just like that, the air shifted from teasing to business.
Emma pulled the presentation files a while Clyde leaned back, arms crossed.
Clyde began. “Let’s get down to business — the business of stretching out dominance over every part of Dominion Industries.”
Owning Dominion Industries was something we'd already done. What was left was taking back all my business ideas. Back when I was Luna, I'd come up with innovative ideas and projects for Dominion Industries but Xavier stole them. I'm here to recover them. All 12 of them.
The truth is : Xavier thinks the deal he signed with us is a merger. What he doesn't know is that he actually signed away the company to us. We've acquired majority shares from every single one of his shareholders. Xavier thought he had negotiated from a position of power. What he didn't know was that the board already belonged to us.
I nodded. “Doung that will be easy because Xavier only reads what he wants to read.”
Emma shook her head and sighed. “Men and their selective comprehension.”
Emma leaned forward. “I can't wait for the announcement to be made. It'll knock Xavier's socks off.”
“And he won't even realize it until it's too late.” Clyde added with a grin.
I tapped my pen thoughtfully. “Which brings us to phase two.”
They both looked at me.
“The abandoned project.”
Clyde frowned. “Maisie, that thing failed.”
“Because Xavier didn't understand it,” I replied calmly.
Emma tilted her head. “Explain.”
I took a breath. “The Healer Project.”
Emma's eyes widened slightly. “That wearable?”
“Yes,” I said. “A biometric wrist device designed to identify any kind of illness and find a cure for it.”
Clyde scoffed. “It was unstable.”
“Because he treated it like a middle school science project,” I snapped gently. “It was meant to be revolutionary.”
The Healer Project wasn't just wearable tech. It was a real-time adaptive interface capable of detecting any kind of illness through microvariations in pulse, skin conductivity, and neural patterns then responding through salvaging the body by providing the remedy that would save the body.
“It could revolutionize our pack,” I continued. “And even prevent the outbreak of any rare disease.”
Emma leaned back slowly. “But we all know Xavier shelved it because…?”
“Because the idea wasn't his. It was mine. He didn't understand it and that's why the prototype kept failing. Healer didn't sell well to investors who wanted quick profit and because Xavier was too impatient, he abandoned it.”
Clyde sighed. “He called it impractical.”
“He called smartphones impractical once too.” Emma muttered.
I met Clyde's eyes. “We have to revive the Healer Project. I want it back.”
He hesitated. “But it failed before.”
“Not this time,” I said firmly. “I’ll make sure it works.”
Emma's lips crinkled at the corners in a grin. “Bold.”
“Strategic.” I corrected.
Clyde stared at the screen of the laptop for a long moment then nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “We bring it back.”
Emma smiled. “I agree.”
Relief loosened something in my chest. We're getting there.
Just then, my phone vibrated on the desk. I picked it up and my smile wavered. Roman was calling.
My heart did that stupid thing again where it skipped a beat and I muttered under breath before leaving the room to answer it.
“Hey.” My voice shook and I winced. What is wrong with me?
“Hey,” he greeted back. “Xavier agreed to the meeting. The time is set for 1 pm.”
I glanced at the clock. We had five more hours to go.
“Okay,” I replied. “That works.”
There was a pause.
“Okay,” he said quietly, “How are you feeling? Good?”
I wondered if he was asking about our kiss or my back but since I didn't have an answer, I concluded on both.
“Yes.” My reply came as a whisper and I don't know why it did.
“Sure. Is everything okay on your end?” He asked.
I paused. How did he always know what I feel? Was he a mind reader? All of a sudden, I wanted to tell him about the hallway, about Kylie, about the way she and her son spoke about Aria's like it meant nothing but I didn't. I was too scared that if I did that I might lose myself and losing myself meant losing to him, letting him win… win me. So I lied.
“Yeah. Everything’s good. We're going ahead with Phase 2 of the plan,” I said instead. “Um… I'll see you soon?”
“Alright,” he replied. “Soon.”
The call ended and I exhaled slowly. I tucked my phone away in my pocket and walked back into the office.
Emma raised a brow. “Was that Roman?”
“Yeah.” I said, forcing steadiness into my voice. “The meeting with Xavier will be held by 1pm.”
“1 pm.” Clyde repeated. “I'll prepare the presentation.”
Emma nodded and turned to him.
While they worked, I sat back in my chair.
Roman cared. I knew he did. And somehow that scared me more than indifference ever could. Because caring meant attachment. And attachment meant vulnerability. And I had already lost too much. I stared at my phone. He shouldn't care. But the truth? A part of me wished he always could.