Chapter 60
Victoria barely had a moment to register what was happening before a firm grip closed around her slender wrist, pulling her stumbling away.
All she could manage was a single, apologetic glance back at Liam before she was gone.
Liam remained where he stood, his gaze clouded and obscure.
After a long moment, a humorless smile twisted his lips, a bitter acknowledgment of his own defeat. It was clear, then. He never really had a chance.
Meanwhile, Victoria was being hauled unceremoniously toward a waiting car. Edward yanked the passenger door open and nudged her inside with a pressure that brooked no argument.
A fine, sharp pain radiated from her wrist, a dull ache seeping into the very bones of her hands.
What had gotten into him?
She furrowed her brow, her mind spinning with questions as she instinctively began to massage her sore wrist.
Even in her dazed state, she had noticed his deliberate avoidance of her injured right hand. But that only deepened the mystery.
Why had he felt the need to drag her away at all?
Edward's face was a mask of cold severity as he slid into the driver's side. "Go," he commanded Chase, his voice clipped and frigid.
One look at his stony profile was enough to confirm that something was deeply wrong.
"Mr. Windsor, was there something you needed to discuss with me?" Victoria edged away from him, pressing herself against the door and biting her lip. "I hadn't even said a proper goodbye to my friend. It feels a bit inappropriate for you to have pulled me away like that."
She hesitated, swallowing the word "rude" before it could escape.
Edward was, after all, her boss. Voicing even this mild a complaint felt like a significant transgression.
"Goodbye?" Edward stared straight ahead, a nearly inaudible scoff escaping his nostrils. "You can do that just as easily on your phone."
His voice was low, yet it was laced with a peculiar, sarcastic undertone that caught her completely off guard.
Victoria was startled by the thought that flashed through her mind.
Edward, being sarcastic?
Was she dreaming? It had to be a misinterpretation, a momentary lapse in her own judgment.
But then he spoke again, his words more deliberate this time. "If you're truly that reluctant to leave, I can have the driver take you back right now."
His thin lips were drawn into a flat, unforgiving line.
In the front seat, Chase fought the urge to cover his ears and pretend he was deaf.
This was it. He was definitely going to be silenced for good.
Mr. Windsor, he realized with dawning horror, was likely completely unaware that his current behavior was a textbook case of jealousy.
As his assistant, was it his place to point this out? Chase's brow furrowed in a knot of profound indecision.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Victoria's confusion curdled into irritation. The strangeness of his comment was too much to ignore. "Liam and I are friends. We were classmates. What does being 'reluctant to leave' have to do with anything?"
She genuinely wanted to pry open Edward's skull and examine its inner workings.
Her relationship with Liam was as platonic as it could be, yet in his mouth, the description became twisted and strange.
"Is that not the case?" Edward, far from recognizing his own unreasonableness, countered with a question of his own. "The way you were acting just now didn't seem like a simple reunion between 'friends.'" His tone was imbued with an agitation he himself failed to notice.
The saying holds true: the one in the midst of the storm was blind to it, while the onlooker sees all.
Even if Victoria was slow to pick up on social cues, she couldn't miss the palpable tension radiating from him now.
What was Edward so worried about? Could he possibly be concerned that she and Liam might get together? No, that was impossible.
She shook her head, laughing silently at her own foolish delusion.
A man like Edward Windsor, who had surely seen every type of woman the world had to offer, could he really be interested in someone as ordinary as her?
Dismissing the fanciful notion, she adopted a tone of stern righteousness. "My relationship with Liam is entirely platonic. Beyond friendship, I would never engage in any behavior that crosses a boundary with him. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from making such suggestions in the future."
Her reputation was already tarnished enough as it was. On a normal day, she might have let it slide.
But Liam was a benefactor who had helped her immensely. No matter how little she cared about her own name, she could not stand by and let him be dragged into her drama.
Only after her tirade did Victoria suddenly remember just who she was speaking to.
She cautiously lifted her eyes, her long lashes fluttering in a way that she hoped made her scrutiny less obvious.
Had she been too impulsive again? Edward had probably never been dressed down so directly in his life.
Yet, to her surprise, his face showed no sign of displeasure.
"Understood."
Edward's brow smoothed, his expression reverting to its usual cool, detached calm. "Is the address the same as before?"
The subject change was so seamless that it was almost jarring.
Victoria blinked, taking a few seconds to process the conversational whiplash. "Yes, the same street as last time."
And just like that it was over?
She blinked again, keenly aware of the sudden shift in his mood. It was a marvel, really.
This must be what it meant to be a CEO. His emotional state was unlike anyone else's, as volatile and unpredictable as a summer storm.
She turned her head to gaze out the window, a small sigh escaping her lips. Men were truly a mystery.
The rest of the short journey passed in a surprisingly comfortable silence, the earlier tension having evaporated completely.
A sense of normalcy had settled back into the confines of the car.
'Thank God,' Chase thought, allowing his own tense shoulders to relax. He discreetly drew his attention away from the back seat.
It seemed his job—and his life—were safe for another day.
"We have a partner coming to the office tomorrow. Make sure the preparations are in order," a cool voice instructed from behind her just as she was about to exit the car.
Victoria only had time to turn and catch a fleeting glimpse of his sharp profile before the car door closed and the vehicle sped away, leaving nothing but a fading trail of red taillights in its wake.
A partner? She raised an eyebrow but didn't give it much thought as she turned and began walking in the direction of Veda's apartment. It was time to pick up Yara.
The next day, Victoria stepped out of the taxi and felt an immediate, subtle frown crease her forehead.
Something about the company building felt different today. Her gaze drifted to a cluster of motorcycles parked near the main entrance, and Edward's words from the previous evening echoed in her mind.
Could these be the partners he was talking about? It seemed off. She bit her lower lip, unable to pinpoint the source of her unease.
Well, no use dwelling on it. Victoria squared her shoulders and started toward the entrance. She would find out soon enough.
The moment she stepped through the doors, the scene before her brought her to an abrupt halt.
Her quiet entrance went unnoticed amidst the commotion.
Victoria froze, her eyes widening as she took in the tableau. A look of pure astonishment and confusion washed over her face.
Who on earth were these people?
The spacious, normally immaculate lobby was crowded with more than a dozen construction workers, their clothes worn and dusty. They clutched a large, rolled-up red banner, the kind used for protests. What were they doing here?
Instinctively, Victoria took two steps to the side, trying to distance herself from the brewing trouble.
This was a matter for security, not for her. With her hand still healing, the last thing she wanted was to get caught in the middle of a dangerous situation.
But fate, it seemed, had other plans. Just as she was trying to blend into the background, a voice boomed out.
"Hey! You work here, don't you?"
A rough hand seized her right arm, the grip brutally tight. A sickening, grinding sensation shot through her already fragile wrist, as if the bones themselves were crying out under the strain.
The force of it made her clench her jaw, and a cold sweat instantly beaded on her forehead.
Pain. Blinding, searing pain.
Through a hazy film of tears, she forced her eyes open, struggling to focus on the face of the person before her—one of the workers from the crowd.