Chapter 44 Chapter Forty-three
ARA
My knees wouldn't stop trembling, my chest had turned into a bundle of raw nerves, the fear of getting caught nearly paralyzing me from head to toe.
On the watch-screen, the cleaner exited Thayne's office exactly the way she'd entered and the footage was rushed to the next seven hours after she left.
I saw myself on the watch-screen, Munroe and Sylvester striding to one corner of the office while I lingered by the table.
I held my breath, unable to blink, unable to take in or release air. A few minutes more and Thayne would never look at me the same way again.
I shut my eyes, bracing myself for the inevitable moment when the worst would happen.
“That's enough. We've found what we want." Thayne announced in a tone of steel.
My eyes flashed open, and the watch-screen flickered off.
I'd almost forgotten how to breathe for two minutes that when I finally let out a breath it felt almost foreign to me.
I couldn't celebrate just yet. I needed to be certain of my victory.
"Alexis, send a broadcast message to all the staff. Board meeting in two minutes. Whoever arrives later than that will be fired on the spot.” Thayne's voice dripped with authority.
Who was Alexis?
A flat, robotic voice filled the office, nearly startling my wits out of me.
“Broadcast message sent across to all fifty nine desk receivers of Slade Corps Headquarters. Setting up boardroom in five seconds. Will you like me to tune in the public address systems?” Alexis’ voice seemed to be coming from the ceiling.
An Artificial Intelligence personal assistant that was inbuilt with a building structure? It seemed exactly like what Slade Corps would do.
“No, but lock in staff who do not leave their office in one minute.” Thayne answered, gesturing for his escorts to lead us out of his office.
I suddenly began to pity Thayne's employees. He was ruthless to the core and difficult to please.
I didn't need a tarot card reading to tell me he was not just about to introduce me to the board, he was going to confront the cleaner who'd invaded his office, too.
We took an elevator up to the boardroom, and my heart nearly plummeted to my feet when I saw the wide expanse of space decorated with digital assortments of all kinds.
Not to mention the sea of faces already waiting expectantly for us. Uh, Thayne actually.
A collective gasp rippled throughout the room as Thayne guided me further into the heart of the boardroom.
We stood side by side, his arm wrapped around my waist as though if he didn't someone would yank me away.
My eyes roamed the boardroom quickly, trying to pick out the cleaner's face. But I couldn't spot her blonde hair anywhere and I didn't know if to feel lucky or not.
Thayne was offered a wireless microphone to pin to the collar of his shirt but he waved it off.
They all looked completely terrified of him, and I was reminded that the man standing next to me had a reputation whose sharpness would give a razor a run for its money.
Thayne was intimidating and formidable, both in and outside formal settings.
“My office was ransacked exactly twelve hours ago. I did not come here to waste our time, and I will not repeat myself. Step out and tell the whole room why and what you were searching for.” Even without the microphone, his voice boomed like thunder contained in an airtight space.
The room was quiet, that was, until a shy looking woman dressed in white shuffled forward.
The cleaner. She lifted her head and her deep set eyes collided with mine. Did she know that I had the very thing she was about to lose her job for?
She cleared her throat before speaking. “My name was skipped on the promotion list last week, so I thought I could get my hands on it and add it to the signed list myself.” Her lie was so smooth that I nearly tripped over it.
Madison must have taught her the perfect lie to tell if she was caught.
“Do you think you still deserve promotion at this point? You not only breached the security measures I set in place to protect the office. You went through confidential information. You are fired." Thayne's voice rumbled like quiet thunder, cracking through the room with its power but not quiet shattering it.
Jean barely blinked, her eyes fixated on my face. She had prepared herself for this moment. It was why she wasn't pleading with Thayne or groveling at his feet.
“Alexis, deactivate her office access cards and alert security to find her in the handover room. She has something of mine in her possession.”
My breath hitched in my throat. Was he going to punish her? Arrest her?
Fuck, I hoped not. She was Madison's pawn, but I couldn't stand by and watch her pay for a crime she didn't commit.
Thayne stepped forward to stand in front of me.
"Arayna, my fiancée, will be the second authority in Slade Corps. When I am not available, you will all answer to her. Her rights to the company is henceforth established, is that understood?" The deep, musical yet gravelly rumble of his voice left no room for even the smallest act of disrespect.
They all chorused ‘understood’, but their eyes screamed their protests. They didn't want me here.
As Jean passed us by, she managed to dodge Munroe and Sylvester and walked straight into me.
“Sorry, I didn't see you." She said, a smirk dancing on her lips.
She didn't see me?! Munroe and Sylvester tried to grab her by the shoulders but I shook my head, signalling them to let her be.
“I understand you are shortsighted. It must be hard for you, walking right into things and places you have no business with in the first place.” I said smugly, relishing the surprise on her face.
She knew now I'd found the signed copy of the deal between Slade Senior and Slade Junior. But there was really nothing she could do about it.
She hurried out of the boardroom, and I tried to ignore the stubborn thoughts roaring in my head for attention.
Thayne dismissed his staff without even bothering with a goodbye speech, and as we walked to the elevator, he announced he wanted to give me a tour of the building.
There was this premonition singing in the back of my mind that something was about to go terribly wrong, but I couldn't quite explain it.
I endured the edges of the envelope digging into my skin and tried to relax beside Thayne as he led us to what spread out to be a large swimming pool that could accomodate at least five hundred people.
I turned around suddenly, a prickly sensation causing the hairs on my skin to stand on end painfully.
Thayne's phone began to ring persistently, and he tried to ignore it. But I encouraged him to answer the caller.
He closed the distance between us and planted a kiss on my forehead before shifting to take the call.
Leave it to Thayne to surprise you with a kiss after ignoring you for hours.
Munroe and Sylvester watched me from a distance, the latter keeping a safe distance away from me to avoid Thane's hot wrath.
I stared at the pool, thinking about the envelope pressed flat against my stomach.
I heard a loud yell, then a curse before I was shoved from behind and into the pool.
First problem: The envelope was going to dissolve in the water.
Second problem: I didn't know how to swim.