Chapter 56
IMANI’s PoV
I froze when the door opened, my phone still pressed loosely to my ear.
“Hello? Mama? Are you there?”
I didn’t respond. All I could focus on was this man who had waltzed into my NGO.
The last person I’d expected to see.
He paused in the doorway, looking around the office as if he had stepped into a place that offended him on a personal level because it did.
I was aware of it.
Then his gaze settled on me.
I lowered the phone from my ear, “I will call you back,” I muttered into it.
“Mama, please do not hang up, please, I am sor—”
I ended the call and placed the phone on the table.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my tone demanding.
Cody walked in with measured steps, closing the door behind him with a soft click, then he looked around the office.
“You managed to turn a shithole into something palatable,” he started, his tone holding nō trace of surprise, “but a shithole will always be a shithole. No matter how much you doll it up.”
I scoffed and crossed my arms, “Is that why you wanted this shithole so bad? Because you’re just so full of shit.”
“Watch your fucking mouth.” He hissed as he stepped closer.
“I’d advise you to do the same,” I said, my voice firm.
He sighed in disbelief, “You stole my fucking building and you dare to talk back to me??”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I feigned ignorance.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about.” His restraint was growing thin, I could see it.
I raised my chin, “I’m sure you’re aware the mayor gave me this building.”
His jaw tightened, “What did you give him in exchange? Fuck him in the office.”
I stepped toward him without thinking, “Watch your tongue.”
He tilted his head, “Did I hit a nerve?”
He smirked, one that irked me to the bone, “You fucked the mayor, just like you fucked your way through every opportunity you ever stole.”
He wanted to get a reaction from me, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Say something original for once,” I replied, crossing my arms, “I run a multi-billion dollar empire and the best insult you can come up with is that I am sleeping my way to the top? Pathetic.”
He scoffed, “I know women like you.”
“Do tell,” I replied, my voice unwavering.
“You build your empire off the backs of men, and you appear to the public as a saint…” Then he leaned closer, “But all you are is a very expensive whore.”
Contrary to the rage seething through me, I kept my face as calm as I could, and I looked him in the eye.
“So you lost to a very expensive whore?”
I saw a vein tick in his neck, “What the fuck did you just say?”
“I said,” I started, my voice even, “You lost, Mr Simmons. To me.”
He slammed his fist on the table behind me, but I didn’t flinch. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
His eyes shot back to me, fury blazing through them, “I never lose.”
I laughed mockingly, and it made him even more furious. “That’s not what the press is saying.”
“The press doesn’t know you’re a fucking thief!” He spat.
“And who’s going to tell them? You?” I scoffed, my arms crossed, “What proof do you have?”
“You stole my design. All of it.” He said in anger.
I raised a brow, “And where’s the proof?”
He didn’t say anything, his fists tightened by his sides.
He had no evidence.
I smirked, “How can you barge into my office, uninvited, and slander my name without any evidence? Doesn't that make you a fool?”
“How dare you call me that?” He raised his voice, his chest heaving.
“If you don’t want to be called a fool,” I began calmly, “then stop acting like one.”
That was the moment something in him finally snapped.
He stepped forward, grabbed my wrist, and pinned me against the wall before I could exhale.
The air between us shifted. Cody’s breathing changed. Mine did too.
For a moment, we just stared at each other, the silence louder than the arguments we had not said aloud yet.
He was close now. Too close. Close enough that I could smell the faint trace of his cologne, it was a note along the lines of citrus. Close enough that I could feel his heart race.
Could he feel mine?
Cody’s eyes swept slowly across my face, settling on my lips briefly. Something flashed in those hazel eyes before they were clouded by rage again.
“Get your hands off me.” I said, my voice low.
He did not move.
“Whatever you're hiding,” he started, his voice dangerously low, “I will find out. And I will make sure the world knows that you're a fucking fraud.”
“Whatever you are hiding,” he murmured, “I will find out. And I will make sure the world knows you are a fraud.”
“You always talk like you have no skeletons of your own,” I said.
His eyes narrowed, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Everyone has something to hide. And judging by the look on your face, even you.”
“Do not act like you can see through me,” he spat, his breath hot on my lips.
“You are more transparent than you think.” I breathed out, trying to keep my voice firm.
His jaw tightened, “You do not fucking know me.”
“I know that you are the man who will always lose to me.” I said confidently.
His grip tightened for a moment, then relaxed just enough to make me feel his restraint.
“You will regret what you have done. And you will beg at my feet.” He threatened.
“I kneel before no man,” I raised my chin, “You will realize that soon enough.”
He stared at me, chest heaving, as if debating something reckless. Something dangerous.
And then someone walked in.
Without knocking.
“Miss Rodrí— oh my God, I am so sorry!” the volunteer yelped, eyes wide.
She backed out of the room so fast she nearly tripped.
When the door slammed shut, Cody released me immediately. He straightened his jacket and adjusted his hair.
He regained his composure and then turned his gaze back to me, “You have declared war, Miss Rodriguez.”
“I came very prepared,” I replied coldly.
He gave a slow, cold smile, then turned to leave. He opened the door and walked out, slamming it behind him with enough force to rattle the frame.
I stood still for a few seconds, breathing slowly, letting the adrenaline settle.
He would not take this lying down.
He would retaliate.
But I wasn’t afraid of him.
And I meant what I said. I did come prepared.
This was only the first phase of my plan.
And I was just getting started.