Chapter 40 Love Triangle

Chapter 40 Love Triangle
Gawin’s POV

The look on her face when I said my name was almost worth the trouble.
Almost.

Sonia Magnus, the woman who somehow managed to tangle my brother’s perfectly ordered life, froze mid-motion, her lips parting in quiet disbelief. For a moment, she didn’t even seem to breathe.

Good. That meant she hadn’t expected me.

“Mr. Gawin,” she said finally, her voice steady but her eyes flickering with something she was trying hard to bury. “What brings you here?”

I smiled faintly, watching the way she straightened in her chair, her shoulders squaring. No nervous fiddling, no desperate attempt to impress me, just quiet composure. Interesting.

“I like to see the people I promote,” I said casually, sliding my hands into my pockets as I stepped closer. “You were transferred under my marketing department, which means your progress reflects on me. I like to know who I’m investing in.”

I caught the way her brows knitted briefly at that word, ‘investing’. It was subtle, but it was there. She didn’t like being seen as someone’s project.

Good again.

“So you were the one who promoted me?” She furrowed her brows. “Why didn't I think of that? And how did you manage to convince your brother, Lucian?” She asked with arched brows.

I shrugged my shoulders, giving her a nonchalant face.

“Wait, you didn’t consult your brother about my promotion?” she asked lightly, but there was a faint edge beneath her calm. Brave of her to ask that.

I let out a soft chuckle. “Lucian doesn’t control every move I make, Miss or Mrs. Sonia. And I believe in talent. You’ve proven capable, and the company needs capable people more than it needs approval stamps.”

A lie, or half of one. The truth was, I had promoted her because she intrigued me. Every report about her spoke of resilience: the scandal, the gossip, the marriage. Yet here she was, standing tall in a department that used to worship her traitor best friend of all people.

“But you said you wanted to make peace with your brother, doing this will make Lucian really pissed off,” She replied, and I noticed the sadness in her eyes at the mention of Lucian's name. Trouble in paradise? Interesting.

“Wow, so you've finally decided to help me reconcile with my brother? Was the promotion a bribe?” I asked with a mischievous smile, and some of the workers around seemed to be listening to our conversation.

“No,” she said, her tone even, “I just didn’t expect the promotion to come from you.”

“That’s the point of surprises,” I replied smoothly. “They test adaptability.”

Her lips parted slightly, maybe to argue, but she closed them again and just gave me a polite nod. I could almost see her mind racing behind those eyes.

Behind her, a few of the employees were now whispering, probably speculating why one of the company’s top executives had come to meet their new director personally. The sound irritated me.

I turned to face them, letting my voice drop into that quiet, commanding register that silences a room.

“Does anyone here have a problem with the new director’s appointment?”

Silence. Even the air felt like it was holding its breath.

“I thought so. Now shut up or go home!”

When I turned back, Sonia was watching me, not with fear, but something like restraint. She didn’t approve of my display, but she didn’t contradict me either.

“I prefer a team that works without unnecessary chatter,” I continued, directing my words to her staff. “Director Sonia has my full support. Any issue that arises, you report directly to her, and if I hear otherwise, you’ll be reporting directly to Human Resources. Understood?”

A scattered chorus of “Yes, sir” followed.

“Good,” I said with a thin smile. “Carry on.”

As I moved closer to her desk, I noticed a faint scent of coffee and jasmine – familiar, though I couldn’t place where. My gaze brushed over the faint burn mark on her wrist, half-hidden by her sleeve. It wasn’t new.

I wondered if Lucian had ever noticed it.

“I’ll be checking in on this department daily,” I said finally. “Make sure the marketing projections are on track. And Sonia—”

She looked up immediately. “Yes, sir?”

“Don’t disappoint me.”

Her chin lifted, pride flashing in her eyes. “I don’t plan to.”

I held her gaze for a second longer than I should have, long enough to catch the quiet fire in her eyes. Then I turned to leave but suddenly stopped in front of the door. The employees don't seem to know me.

“By the way, I'm Gawin Smithfield, the first legitimate son of the founder of this company,” I introduced myself, being fully aware that it might cause some problems in the company.

“The legitimate son? Mr. Lucian is a bastard?” One of the workers whispered, and the rest of them looked taken aback.

Sonia looked like she wasn't aware of this, so I guessed Lucian must have forgotten to tell her, or maybe he was just too embarrassed.

“Miss Sonia, follow me to my office, I need to brief you on some important information,” I said to her, and Sonia looked like she wanted to disagree, but her subordinates were staring at her.

“Hmm, of course, sir. But don't let me keep you waiting, I'll come over to your office,” she said, desperately trying to avoid going with me so that the employees wouldn't misunderstand our relationship. I wasn't bothered by this, it was in fact funny to me.

“Sister-in-law, don't leave me standing alone, let's go together,” I pouted, and Sonia looked caged. Nonetheless, she offered me a polite smile and sluggishly cleared her table, putting important stuff under her desk and sharing out files to the workers. The five workers disgusted me, they lacked common sense and kept trying to hear what Sonia and I were talking about. I should have fired them, but that would have caused a problem since we currently don't have other marketing substitutes.

When she was done with her little tasks, she adjusted her dress, and together we left her office. One of the female workers kept looking at us, she seemed to have a suspicious interest in Sonia.

“Are you into girls too?” I asked Sonia with a mischievous smile, as we walked towards my office, and she looked confused.

“No, no. I have nothing against the queer people, but I'm fully straight,” she replied with a calm voice, and I chuckled. As we walked, the office workers looked at us with furrowed brows.

“Your sister…” Sonia began and paused.

“You've met Clara? Wow, what about her?” I asked. I wasn't too surprised because Clara was a calm chick, so it was only right that Lucian introduced his wife to her.

“She is —”

“Gawin? How dare you?” Lucian's husky voice echoed in the company's building, and everyone shuddered in fear, while I smiled.

“The man of the hour is here, game on.”