Chapter 45 CHAPTER 45
Michael’s POV
She didn’t utter a word to me. She just sat down beside me as though she had been forced to be in the same space with me. I could see she was spiralling, and it made me query what I thought was true. She was drunk, her suit jacket was off and her blouse was stained with drink. Her slick bun was now looking rough, and worse still, her eyes were heavy with pain.
Who could have thought that I would care for her? That I really wanted to pull her head away from the glass window and place it on my shoulders? I desperately wanted to believe her, to hear the whole drama with the product was just a prank.
She got out of the car before the driver turned around to open the door. It was very dark and past dinner time. The housekeeper stood in front of the house.
“Take her to her room, and take care of her,” I said. “Do it discreetly."
When the housekeeper tried to touch her, she pulled away. “I’m fine,” she said, her voice hoarse. She continued into the house without looking back at any of us.
“I’ll take care of her,” the housekeeper reassured me and went into the house after her.
I clenched my fist and they still hurt a little from the punch I had thrown at Roman's jaw. He would never lay hands on what was mine again. Jasper watched the exchange from a distance. I gestured at him to join me.
“I need you to look into something for me,Jasper,” I said as we continued into my wing of the mansion.
“What’s that?" he asked.
I briefed him about the drama between Evelyn Moon and Rosaleen in my office. "Someone is lying and I want you to find out who it is.”
He sighed. We were in my room now and I was undoing the buttons of my shirt. “If you ask me, Alpha Michael, the obvious answer is glaring at us all.”
I pulled off my shirt completely and stared briefly at my body in the mirror. “And what is the obvious answer?”
“We’e known Rosaleen all our lives, Alpha. She can be too much, but we both know her. Evelyn Moon on the other hand, is someone who is driven by greed for money. She has no experiences to produce these wonderful products Rosaleen has been churning out. So she decides to steal them.”
His point was logical.
“I agree with you on a couple of things, Jasper. But Rosaleen was gone for five years. We don’t really know her anymore.”
“Five years is enough to change someone indeed, Michael. But we both know she was actually doing so well in Milan before she came here.”
“And why has she not returned to Milan?”
He shrugged. “You know she has a soft spot for you. She's staying because of you. Letting Evelyn Moon embarrass her in this way is not what she deserves at all.”
“Something doesn’t sit right, Jasper. When I saw Evelyn Moon today, she looked broken. Like someone who had really lost something. Rosaleen, on the other hand, seemed to be taunting her this evening.” I sat on the bed. “Something is off."
He sighed. “I’ll investigate the matter as you wish. But we both know the outcome.”
I rubbed my fingers through my hair. “Since when did your wife and Rosaleen become chummy?”
He chuckled. “She didn’t say that to me. They are cool with each other now?”
“At work, yes.”
“She never mentioned that to me."Jasper said. “She always has a cold to neutral expression anytime I talk about Rosaleen.”
When Jasper was about to get married to Tamara about five years ago, Rosaleen had objected, saying her cousin could never marry Tamara. She didn’t give her reasons but she was very adamant. She didn’t even stay for the wedding. She left for Milan, upset that her cousin was making the mistake of his life.
“They seem quite okay nowadays,” I said, my mind trailing.
—
Alpha Raymond wanted to see me the following morning. I was sure it was about his elections. He was getting pretty worked up about it. I practiced my speech as I walked briskly to his office. He just needed to relax and trust his campaign team.
“Dad,” I said, walking into the office. There were a couple of chairs arranged in a distorted semicircle. It seemed he had just finished a meeting. “It’s not everyday that Alpha Raymond drops by.’
“Sit down, son,” he said, gesturing to one of the sofas.
I plunged in and raised my feet. “You don’ t need to get worked up about the polls, dad. Everything is being sorted out. People have found something else to talk about and that's all that matters. We'd give them something else to always talk about.”
He smiled. “I’m not here to talk about the election, Michael. I’m convinced we are doing well.”
I heaved a sigh of relief. “So, what’s the matter?”
“Not a problem at all. Rosaleen was here a couple of minutes ago. An hour or two,” he gestured playfully with his hands. “She showed me a brilliant product.”
I leaned forward. “She what? The MateLink project? That product is under investigation, dad.”
He creased his brows. “Under investigation?”
“Well, two different people presented it to me, and I need to find out who the real owner is.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. 'I hope it’s not that goddamned Evelyn Moon?’
“Dad, let me handle this please. Once the investigation is done, and the thief is sanctioned, we will go ahead with the product.”
He scoffed and leaned back in his chair. “I have no doubts that Rosaleen owns the product,” he said. “I have indeed given her a go-ahead on the product. I wanted to discuss other matters with you.”
I rose up. “She cannot get a go-ahead, dad. I’m not authorizing that.”
I walked out before he could say another word. Rosaleen was becoming a nuisance. I had specifically said the project would be on hold. I was in the corridor, just a few feet from her office when I heard her laughter ringing in the corridor.
“You think crying will get you anything,” she said, mokery in her tone. “You will never be Alpha Michael’s wife. He’s mine and I'll make sure of that.”