Chapter 22 CHAPTER 22
Rosaleen’s POV
We had just walked into the elevator and Michael pressed the number for the fourth floor. Then I leaned forward and pressed the seventh. He looked at me.
"What are you doing?”
I leaned my hip against the door and folded my arms on my chest. “So..I found something very interesting, Michael,” I said. “Forget the code red. It’s been fixed.”
His immediate frown was amusing.
“I don’t have time for pranks, Rosaleen. We aren’t teenagers.” He leaned towards the buttons but I caught his hand.
“Come on, don’t be so uptight.” I held his hand firmly. “Aren’t you curious to hear what I found interesting?"
He sighed, then glared at me. “What did you find?”
I dropped his hand. “That your marriage with Evelyn moon is F.A.K.E. Fake.”
I giggled but he remained still. “She is not your business, Rosa.”
I pulled away from the door and stepped closer. "I knew things weren’t adding up. She’s averagely pretty, granted. But she's definitely not to your taste. And her family is broke. I was so concerned that she probably has you hooked on with a pregnancy.” I fumbled with his loose tie. “I’m so relieved it is all a fiasco.”
The elevator dinged and stopped on the seventh floor. It was the new extension site for Greywood’s and only the builders visited this floor on weekends. It was the perfect place for an office scandal. I pulled his arm around my waist. “Don’t be so stiff, Michael. You aren’t even really married, so we aren’t doing anything wrong.”
He leaned close to me, so close that I closed my eyes in anticipation for the kiss. Our first kiss in forever. Instead I felt the warmth of his breath against my ears. “I don’t care if you are the only media manager in the whole of New York. If you pull this stunt again, you are out.”
I was still recovering from the shock when he shoved me aside and pressed the fifth floor. I watched him. “You could have asked me instead, Michael? Why her? Because she’s timid? Desperate? You wanted someone you could easily ride on?”
His jaw muscles tightened.
He stepped out of the elevator and turned to me. “You are pushing it too far, Rosaleen, and perhaps you don’t know it, but I don’t take bullshit anymore.”
The doors closed and I allowed the lift to take me to the ground floor. Why was he so cocky? I focused on the brighter side instead. He didn’t deny the fake marriage, which meant it was true. That also meant I could kick Evelyn Moon out a lot more easier than I had imagined.
I strolled to Tam’s office. She was typing furiously on her keyboard, with her glasses falling down her nose. I tapped on the door playfully and she looked up.
“You are here at my office,” she said, rising up. “No one comes to the workhouse area. This has to be serious."
I found a comfortable seat and made myself feel at home. If she was upset about what I had mentioned last night, she didn’t show it. I was not going to apologize. Moreover, I was here to express gratitude.
“What would I do without you, Tam?” I said, reaching for the unopened can of drink on the table. I felt a bit parched after that exchange between Michael and I. I pulled the top open and the drink fizzled.
“I’m so glad I could help. So is it true?’ she asked.
“He didn't deny it,” I said, sipping the drink. “So it's true. But I want more information, Tam. I need to know how they met. I need dirt on Evelyn Moon that he would not be able to clean.”
She sighed. “There really isn’t much scandal around her. She basically has no life and I couldn’t even find any friends who she’s still in contact with.”
“The pompous bastard.” I laughed.
“But I did hear something from the driver,” she ventured. “This is going to be my last favour, Rosa. Once I give you this, we are even. Deal?”
I rolled the can in my hand. I had no intention of letting her off the hook. “Deal.”
She moved closer. “It seemed Alpha Raymond was very pleased to have met you at the fundraiser’s ceremony. He mentioned that he preferred you as the wife of his son. And he also mentioned a competition between the both of you.”
“A competition?”
She nodded. “He said the one who performs the best in this quarter, who adds more value to Greywood, would become his son’s wife. And knowing Alpha Raymond, he would make sure that happen exactly so.”
I felt my heart thud with excitement. A competition against Evelyn? That was almost as easy as handing Michael over to me on a platter. She could never achieve a tenth of what I was capable of.
“This is the best news ever, Tam. I’m almost tempted to insist that you keep giving me information.”
“I can’t lose my job, please,” she begged. “Jasper would be so upset.”
I rose to my feet. “Thank you, Tam. It was a beautiful run.” I emptied the drink in a long gulp and tossed the empty can in the bin.
I needed to apologize to Michael. To play this game well, and to win, I had to find his soft spot again. It was obvious, as he had pointed out, that he was not the same person I knew 5 years ago. I would pretend I didn't know about the contest, continue with our dates and try to win him over.
“He stepped out briefly,” his secretary announced as I made my way in.
“I’ll wait for him,” I replied.
I smiled and twirled a little inside the office. Alpha Raymond had fallen for my charm. I still had it in me after all. I walked over to a large portrait of Alpha Michael in the office. He was my next conquest.
Then my eyes fell on a folder on his desk. I recognised it. I had seen it with Evelyn Moon. I walked up to it and picked it up. What was she doing here? I took the proposal, finding it sealed. I read through it. It was amusing at first, something that sounded silly. But when I got to the middle part of it, it clicked in my head. This was an amazing idea, an idea that can only come from me. I placed the empty folder on the desk, replaced it with some random papers and took the document away.