Chapter 229 Charming Monsters

Chapter 229 Charming Monsters
Bianca's POV

I squirmed on the leather bench, my hands pressing the red silk over my bare thigh.

The slit of the dress was cut high, and every tiny movement of the car made the material slide further apart.

I felt completely exposed.

Without any underwear on, I could swear that from where Leon was sitting directly across from me, he could see everything.

I tried crossing my legs, but the motion only pulled the red fabric tighter against my hips, making the gap widen even more.

"Your dress looks fine," Leon said hoarsely, his eyes still roaming my body.

"Yeah, I know," I mumbled, not looking up as my fingers desperately gripped the silk hem.

My face burned even with the cold car interior.

I kept my knees clamped tightly together, wondering how on earth I was going to survive the next few minutes without dying of pure embarrassment.

"You know, you didn't have to wear that," Leon spoke again, his eyes lingering down my bare legs. "You are going to be in a room full of people."

I glared across at him defensively. "Oh, really? Are you trying to slut-shame me now?"

Leon didn't flinch. "Is that what they call it these days? I thought I was simply pointing out the obvious. I am sitting right across from you, Bianca, and I can see your bare skin all the way up. What on earth were you thinking when you walked out of the house like that?"

Before I could fire back an insult, Leon unbuttoned his tuxedo jacket, slipped his arms out of the sleeves, and laid the navy jacket directly onto my lap.

"I suggest you keep that around your waist for the night," he said, settling back against his seat.

I grabbed the jacket thankfully. It was warm from his body, and it smelled distinctly of his cedarwood cologne.

A part of me wanted to throw it straight back in his face, but my common sense won.

I quickly spread the tuxedo coat over my lap and legs, tucking the edges beneath my thighs to hold it firm.

I didn't say thank you, and I certainly didn't apologize.

I turned my head toward the dark window, watching the streetlights blur past.

In my head, I was already making a plan tonight, I would not be sitting down across from anyone at a banquet table. I was going to stay standing on my feet for the entire gala with this dress.

Turns out defying Leon wasn't such a good idea.

"I've been wondering all evening, you know," Leon said quietly, breaking the silence.

I kept staring out the glass. I didn't ask him what he was wondering about. I didn't give him an opening.

Leon didn't care. He kept talking anyway.

"Why would you deliberately disobey the dress code and try to embarrass me at our own company gala?" he asked.

I turned my head slowly, looking at him with an expression of pure disbelief. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Come on, Bianca," Leon said, leaning his elbows on his knees, staring straight into my eyes. "You are anything but stupid. You deliberately wore that red dress tonight because you knew it would piss me off."

"Oh, really?" I laughed dryly. "So you are pissed off because I refused to dress up as your matching doll?"

"It is not like that, and you know it," Leon said. "It is a dress code for a business dinner. I didn't even pick the color myself. That was all handled by the company event planner. She worked with the committee to set up the theme, she gave me a color swatch, and I bought a suit for it. That was all."

"Well, I went to the boutique and I couldn't find a blue dress that I liked," I lied smoothly, lifting my chin. "So I had to wear what I had. Unless, of course, you don't want me at the dinner. Because if you have a problem with it, I can gladly get out right now and leave."

Even as the words left my mouth, I knew it was a blatant lie.

I could not afford to miss this gala for any reason in the world. I had to meet the strange woman on the second-floor terrace. I needed that evidence. Whatever it was.

I quickly tapped the screen of my phone to check the clock.

My heart skipped a beat.

Eight-thirty-five.

There were only fifteen minutes left before the keynote speech was scheduled to begin, and the venue was still several blocks away.

I turned to the front partition and tapped. "Could you hurry up, please, Elias? I don't want to be late for the dinner."

"My apologies, Miss McIntyre," Elias's calm voice came through the small speaker. "Traffic is clearing up near the bridge now. We will be there shortly."

Leon leaned back, watching me suspiciously. "Really? Suddenly you are deeply interested in this dinner? If you cared that much about being on time, you would have started by dressing for the occasion."

"That is enough, Leon," I snapped, waving my hand in frustration. "I am tired of answering your interrogation. You didn't even have to come pick me up on the road if you wanted to bug me. Thomas and I had the situation under control with Thomas."

"Unlike you, Bianca, I am not going to let you stand on the side of a highway in the dark just because you are being stubborn," Leon said. "I care about your safety, woman."

"Yeah, whatever," I muttered, rolling my eyes toward the ceiling. "Prince Charming always trying to save the day, aren't you? Hoping that I will swoon and fall for all your little tricks."

Leon frowned, looking genuinely offended. "I am not trying to make you fall for anything. This is who I am. If you find basic human decency and care hard to believe, then that is your problem, not mine."

"Oh, please!" I scoffed, turning fully toward him, the anger I had been swallowing all day finally boiling over. "I know exactly who you are, Leon! Stop lying to me! I have already discovered the kind of man you really are!"

Leon froze completely. The annoyance on his face vanished.

"I'm a monster, right?" Leon asked softly. "After all these months working side by side with you, you still think I am a monster?"

"Yes!" I said, my voice rising as I leaned forward against the seat. "It has been a year and a half, and it has been miserable with you! Stop trying to play the hero! I know who you are underneath all of this money, the fame, and the grand gestures! Buying me a multi-million-dollar house, putting a sports car in my garage... were you really hoping I would just roll over and fall for you? Goodness!"

Leon stared at me for a long, quiet moment.

He didn't yell, he just looked at me curiously, like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve.

"Bianca," he said gently, "I have a strong feeling that someone is lying to you."

I froze. Did he know?

"I don't know if it's my ex-wife, or if it's someone else," Leon continued. "But you are being fed lies. I don't even know what you are accusing me of, but—"

"Really?" I cut him off. "Somehow you know I am accusing you of something, right? How did you come to that conclusion if you are so innocent?"

"Because I know you," Leon answered without a second of hesitation. "You have never called me a monster before. But lately, these strange accusations just keep coming up, over and over again. And I have never done a single thing to hurt you, Bianca. Ever since the day I met you, all I have ever done is protect you."

"Protecting me means leaving me the fuck alone when I tell you to!" I shouted, the tension snapping entirely inside the small space. "Leon, stop playing the hero! Everything is already out in the open! You've been exposed!"

The moment they left my mouth, I knew I shouldn't have said that.

I had just tipped my hand way too early.

I held my breath, waiting for him to demand an explanation, waiting for him to yell at me for threatening him.

Leon looked at me intently. But to my complete shock, he didn't look angry at all.

He actually looked deeply sad. .

"Is this it, then?" Leon asked quietly, his baritone rough. "If you really don't want to be with me, Bianca... I don't want to fight you anymore."

"Oh, really?" I replied, forcing my voice to remain cold and detached to hide the ache in my own chest. "Well, I don't want to be associated with someone like you, Leon. All of this ends today."

Thankfully, just as the final word left my lips, the limousine slowed down and pulled smoothly into the driveway of the ballroom.

I could see flashes of camera as the press did their thing taking photos and trying to force interviews from influential figures.

We had arrived.

I didn't wait for Elias to come around to open the door.

I yanked his navy tuxedo jacket off my lap, balled it up with both hands, and threw it directly into his face.

“Keep your stupid jacket to yourself!" I snapped, “I can wear whatever I want."

Then I gathered up my dress and stepped out onto the red carpet in front of the flashing cameras.

I didn't look back to see his reaction.

I ignored the reporters calling out my name and marched past the velvet ropes directly into the foyer.

I checked my phone screen as I pushed through the crowded lobby.

Eight-forty-one.

The keynote speech was starting in exactly four minutes.