Chapter 116 Hater
Verena
In my twenty-six years of existence, I have never seen someone who had so much time on their hands like Ashley Delavine. I would have to give it to her though. She was relentlessly bent on tearing Daxton and me apart, to the point where it was almost comical.
I tutted. “You think you are sleek, uh?”
The last time I checked, I had given her my email address because I didn't want her to have my contact information. Besides, my email was hardly a place where I had personal conversations. It was only filled with work-related messages between Daxton and me, professional updates, and weird subscriptions I didn't remember signing up for.
So, I knew it was her. Tamara my foot.
I took a long sip of my coffee, set my mug down, flexed my fingers, and got to work.
My movement on the keyboard was fast. “Ashley, don't you think you are too old for this? I mean, what makes you believe that I wouldn't know it is you? tsk tsk. You need to get more creative in your plans of tearing Daxton and me apart because this is clearly not working—”
I paused for a long minute. No.
Ashley Delavine was batshit crazy and to make this hit deeper, I needed to come down to her level, destabilize her whole day so the next time she decided to mess with me, she would actually think twice before doing it.
What should I do?
She must've seen the Vlog. It made headlines and I honestly didn't expect it to pull the huge numbers it did in just forty-eight hours—two hundred thousand views, over seventeen thousand comments that were sweet, appreciative, and encouraged me to release more content.
Except for one hater.
The hater kept spamming my video with vicious comments, all of them aimed at Daxton.
‘Eww, he is so wrong for her.
I know that man secretly hates her.
He’s only with her for her body and will dump her soon.
Is it just me, or does she look better with her ex-husband? They just feel right for each other—like a match made in heaven.
As a fan, don’t lose someone like Kian. Forgive him.
Take back your ex-husband before you regret this.
Why does he look like he has herpes?
I swear I have seen that man in a gay club.’
That one, I knew it was Kian. When I had shown Daxton, he had burst out laughing and had told me to ignore the hater—Kian.
But this email was from Ashley.
I pictured Ashley sitting on her bike, on her way to make a delivery as she watched our video while seething in rage. That must have riled her up and I planned to make her blood boil harder.
And, I knew just how to do that.
I opened a file, going through hundreds of intimate pictures that I had taken with Daxton. I settled for two. One was of me in a bikini top with his head resting on my chest and the other was from the bathtub, foams clinging to our skin, his hands wrapped around me with his lips on my right cheek and me sticking out my tongue.
Good.
This should do the work.
“Have a nice day, Miss Tamara,” I clicked send, chuckling as I reclined in my chair.
“That will definitely ruin her day. You are so wicked Verena—”
The sharp ringing of the desk phone cut through my words and as I lifted the receiver, Daxton’s deep voice filled my ears.
“Verena, please make coffee for three. The usual for me. For Zack, Cream and no sugar. And black coffee for Maisie,”
He wasn't alone. This meant he was in a meeting. One that I hadn't scheduled.
Did I mess up his schedule?
“Verena?”
“—Noted. I’ll have it ready shortly,”
I balanced the mugs on a tray, opened the door and Daxton’s eyes lifted to mine—the coldness in his eyes gone as a small smile appeared on his face. My gaze rested on the two people in the office with him.
People I didn't recognize. And it assured me that I hadn't messed things up.
“Black coffee for Miss Maisie,” I said with a smile. Her smile was warm. “Thank you,”
I nodded and as I turned my back, she hummed in delight. “This is so good. The best coffee I’ve had in a while,”
“I told you, she makes the best coffee,” Daxton said proudly, a flutter in my chest as I sauntered towards the man wearing a black coat. Mr. Zack.
“And coffee for you, Mr…” My words trailed when his eyes suddenly held mine. A scar ran underneath his jaw as his lips curled up in a smile.
“You must be the infamous Verena,”
I gave a simple nod. “Yes,”
He slammed his hand over his mouth and he looked like he was trying to hold back his laugh. “You are the one who had a man like him baking cookies…” he burst out laughing while I glanced over at Daxton who had a small frown on his face.
“Shut the fuck up, Zack, and don't waste my time,”
I forced an awkward smile. “Your coffee before it gets cold…”
His laugh turned into a soft chuckle. “I’m Zack, a friend of your boss. It’s nice to finally meet you. Honestly, he talks about you so much that my ears practically ache. Did you know he can actually be… quite talkative?”
Daxton closed his eyes briefly, a muscle in his jaw pulsing.
Maisie added, as she brushed her curls away from her face. “He doesn't hang out with us anymore and—”
A low growl left Daxton’s mouth as he rose to his feet. “I will see you out, Verena,"
“Alright, Mr. Daxton…”
Zack laughed. “She said…Mr. Daxton” he teased lightly.
Daxton's glares could have frozen water as he led me outside his office, slowly releasing a breath. “Please don't mind them. They are friends from college,”
A smile curved my mouth. “They seem pretty nice…”
“And annoying,” his tone clipped and as he wrapped a possessive arm around my waist, panic flared in my chest.
My eyes fluttered, my hands flattening on his chest to push him back. We were in the hallway and anyone could walk in on us right now.
“What…are…you…doing?”
His eyes glowed with mischief, and a lazy smile curled at the corner of his mouth. “A kiss,”
“Right here!” My traitorous body leaned into him, my damned fingers curling into his suit.
“What’s a better time to kiss than now?” My breath caught when he spun me over, my back pressed against the door as he caged an arm above my head, heart pounding fast in my chest.
His eyes locked on mine—melting and piercing all at once as they dropped on my lips. “What if the door opens and…”
“arggh…I hate you,” I groaned.
Daxton smirked, tilting his head. “Are you done?” I didn't answer. “Now I can kiss you,”
“I…”
He slammed his mouth on mine in a possessive heat, the taste of coffee exploding in my mouth as he stole the rest of my words, stole the breath out of my lungs, and knocked the panic from my chest. He groaned against my mouth like a man starved and needy for more.
His legs wedged between my thighs, my own heart pounding hard from the fear of being caught and all the things his kiss did to me.
Daxton pulled back, his forehead resting against mine as I struggled to catch my breath. “Keep telling me when to kiss you and I might just eat you out here,”
Those words sent heat pumping into my blood. Fuck, I was in love with this man.
“But, we are outside and this place isn't—”
He groaned against my mouth. “Here we go again,” his hand moved to cup my nape as his lips came down on mine hard.
It was fierce, hot as I deepened the kiss and withdrew when the sound of footsteps approaching reached my ears.
He cupped my face, kissing my forehead. “I will catch you around later, princess,”
I remained in the same spot, flustered, with butterflies erupting in my belly. At the same time, Ashley and her ridiculous email—telling me to distance myself from Daxton flashed through my head and I suddenly regretted not sending more pictures to her.
I was never leaving Daxton.
Never.