Chapter 32

Jona's arrival left Carlie stunned. Even for a moment, she questioned whether her eyes were playing tricks on her. But it was clear that she wasn't mistaken. The image before her eyes remained unchanged. Indeed, Jona was there. Initially, he looked at Carlie with a surprised frown, but soon, it was replaced by a sly grin and a hoarse chuckle.

Deciding to distance himself from Carlie Eloise, he chose to climb up to the top two floors of the apartment, exited from one of the balconies, and effortlessly climbed, jumping from balcony to balcony, until he reached Carlie's room and what he saw there didn't make Jona regret the hassle.

Carlie's face instantly flushed. "Damn it! Close your eyes!"Carlie covered her body immediately. Although her hands didn't cover much. She also turned her body around. Although she certainly didn't like her backside being exposed, but it sounded much better than her breasts and genitals being seen.

"I said close your eyes now!"

Jona's smile widened. "Why should i close my eyes, if..."he trailed off, tracing Carlie's body. His gaze trailed from her hair to her legs, "I can enjoy this beautiful sight?"

"Devil! Jerk! Quickly turn around or i'll gouge your eyes out until you go blind!"

Jona laughed. "Oh my, so terrifying,"his voice didn't betray any fear. "To gouge my eyes, you first have to turn your body around and look at me, right? The sight of your perfect naked body, with two eyes. A beneficial exchange for me."

Carlie's face turned even redder. "I swear, if you don't turn around imme-"

"Then what?"Jona interrupted, stepping closer. Carlie's body tensed. Her legs seemed to be glued to the tiles without being able to move. This is truly embarrassing! And the pounding in her chest began to rage uncontrollably.

"I-I mean..."her mind went blank. "I mean?"

"Mean what?"Jona's smile faltered slightly. "Our agreement will be canceled?"

The smile on Jona's face faded,"such an empty threat. You won't do it."

"I will. If to destroy Tiffany i have to endure being looked at by your lecherous eyes without a thread covering me, i'd rather not, you damn psychopath!"Carlie threatened. Firmness radiated from her words. A clear sign, annoyingly that Madame Eloise wasn't just making empty threats.

Jona sighed irritably. This woman really dares to do anything. Cancelling a business relationship seems easy for her to do. And i don't want to sever ties with her yet. "Fine, i'll give in this time,"Jona turned around. "You can put on your clothes."

Carlie glanced behind her and realized that Jona had indeed turned away from her. She quickly grabbed her bathrobe lying on the sofa, hastily put it on, covering her body and behind her, Jona remained silent while flashing a smile. The woman apparently didn't realize that the faint reflection from the window, although blurred, gave Jona the view he wanted.

****

"Who gave you permission to sleep on my bed?"Carlie asked, folding her arms. "No one. Exactly. Now, get up!"

"I let you sleep in my bunk bed for a whole week, but giving you a lying mat for a moment burdens me? How stingy,"Jona remarked, lounging on Carlie's silk-sheeted bed. A deep red. Blood red.

"You forced me back then! Do you think anyone wants to sleep in your bunker? Threatened to be raped by a fat bald man!?"Jona smirked cynically, remembering the incident.

"In that case, consider this as your compensation after you ignored all my messages for a whole week. Know that, besides you, not even my father has ever ignored the messages i sent."

Carlie rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I ignored you because i was furious the last time you brought me to your mansion, you forced me in such a disgusting way."

"Just because of that, you ignored me?"

"That's reason enough!"

Jona groaned inwardly. For 7 days, he had been waiting for news from a woman who apparently ignored him just because... of reasons like that?! Dealing with Carlie Eloise was the ultimate test of patience,"forget it. Arguing with you is pointless."

Jona sighed deeply,"any developments?"

Carlie instantly remembered what she wanted to discuss with Jona, regarding Tiffany. "Damn it, why didn't you tell me about your hacking traces? Then i wouldn't have to spend so much time looking for evidence to sue."

Jona stifled a smirk. "Who knows. I want to know how skilled Madame Eloise is at finding ways to bring someone down,"Jona spoke. That was just a flimsy excuse. Jona didn't need to know more about how well Carlie's information flow was. The woman even managed to find him within 3 days of their first encounter. Jona felt... he just wanted to prolong this process. This collaboration.

Carlie sighed in frustration. "I have found traces of your hacking, complete with evidence. I've also listed,"Carlie rolled her eyes, "I don't know how many French laws can be used,"she said. "But i still lack one thing and i hope you can help me with this."

Honestly, asking for help from Jonathan Austin hurt Carlie's ego,"say it."

"I need data on Tiffany Emerald,"said Carlie.

"Personal data that can prove that she was the one who hacked it. The data must be valid and genuine, because fake data could easily backfire on us, but..."once again, Carlie rolled her eyes. "I don't know what data it is that we can use to refute the fact that you hacked, but Tiffany Emerald will be the one affected."

Jona remained silent for a moment,"how exactly do you want me to help you?"

"Steal Tiffany's phone. By any means necessary,"Jona stared at Carlie in confusion. "I'm sure there will be evidence that we can find if we take data from that damn woman's phone."

Jona rolled his eyes this time,"what do you expect to find on her mobile device that i'm sure she only uses for social media and to search for the latest fashion trends? Do you really think there could be evidence there?"Jona threw a questioning look. But even with his eagle-eyed gaze, he couldn't shake Carlie's steadfast belief. Jona remained silent once again. "Do you really think you can find evidence on her phone? What's your basis?"

Carlie just smirked,"intuition."

****

Like animals destined to find a mate during mating season. Like dogs crazily chasing a bone to eat when hungry. This world is filled with various inevitabilities that cannot be avoided and one of them is Carlie and Jona.

When they are united, arguments are inevitable.

That night, Carlie was very tired, after debating for 10 seasons, 6 episodes, about how Jona shouldn't sleep on her bed, and should just go back to his mansion instead of disturbing Carlie right away. Then Jona countered with a thousand arguments, followed by clauses, and lawsuits, about how he had every right to accommodate Carlie's red bed because she had ignored him for a whole week and that made Jona incredibly angry.

Carlie always believed in her debating skills. But this damn man who loves to threaten... He's skilled at cornering every opponent in a debate. Finally, after a thousand threats wouldn't help Carlie in retrieving Tiffany's phone, Carlie reluctantly gave up her bubbles of opposition. Although, to be honest, it felt really annoying.

And now, when it was past 2 a.m. Carlie was still sitting on her bed, flipping through page after page of the fashion magazine she had just bought. Tonight she decided to sleep in the guest room, but before that, she was interested in finishing reading the magazine and finding design inspiration for the next collection at Carlie Eloise boutique.