CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR: PLASTIC QUEEN.

MEREDITH:

I was tempted to lie about the roses if Miles asked, but I knew that building our relationship on lies was unhealthy, even if it would ease the growing tension between us.

“Are we having a rosy day?” Miles joked, cracking a faint smile. “What are all these?” He directed the question at me.

Neymar glanced at both of us before quickly chiming in, “They're for me. My crazy ex wants me back,” he said before I could respond.

“Okay. Don't let it interfere with work. Check the rest of the project. The proposal for organic production is wrong. Miss Tate, we have a press conference in the next two hours. Prepare,” Miles instructed.

“Yes, Mr. Pierce,” I answered, my heart thumping like loud music. He winked at me before slamming the door shut. Exhaling, I whispered, “Thank you,” placing my hand across my chest to calm the pounding rage. I didn't want the lie, but it saved unnecessary drama. Miles was going through enough, and adding to it was unhealthy.

“You're welcome. What do you want to do with them?” Neymar asked as he opened the cover of the chocolate box, throwing one into his mouth. “This is delicious,” he exclaimed, snagging more snacks to his side. “I am keeping them.”

“You can, Neymar. That's payment for saving my ass. Can you give everyone in the office a rose until you've exhausted all of them? For the snacks, do whatever you want with them.”

Jumping up in excitement, Neymar exclaimed, “Sounds cool. You're the best!" He reached over, hugged me and left kisses on my cheeks.

Clearing the roses from my table, moving the remaining ones aside, I found Alan's gesture irritating. He should put an end to the facade because it no longer interests me. I had moved on and was happier. He should have kept me when I begged him to.

While Neymar was occupied with munching on snacks, I laughed at his excitement. He was adorable and a companion worth keeping. We were going over the corrections Miles mentioned when a sudden soft knock disrupted our work.

Turning our heads to the door, a soft voice greeted us. Louis stood there with her bold makeup, fake body, and hair. What was she doing there? “I'm here to see Miles,” she announced, swaying her hips like a ballerina.

As a good girlfriend and professional employee, I acted unmoved. “Good morning. Do you have an appointment with Mr. Pierce?” I asked, holding my itchy palms to the side to avoid smacking Louis's round cheek.

“Do I need one? He's my acquaintance. Marley? Maya? Melinda? Melissa?” Louis joked with my name.

“It's Meredith Tate. Miss Tate. And yes, you do need an appointment since you're no longer an acquaintance, if I may correct you, Miss Theodore,” Neymar jumped in to correct her.

“Hi, Neymar. I didn't see you there. Did you get shorter? You've lasted working here more than my ex lasted in bed,” Louis smirked, dragging her long fake lashes to look at me.

Ex? Was she talking about Alan? Again, it wasn't my business.

“That's why no one likes you, Louis. Your makeup is scary, and your attitude is nasty. Please leave and come back when you have an appointment. We don't entertain nuisances here,” Neymar intervened.

Neymar's response left me speechless, fighting the battle for me. I almost laughed but held myself back.

“Stop me then,” Louis challenged, taking powerful steps toward Miles's door. Neymar quickly blocked her way. She struggled and pushed him, but he grabbed her by the hair and shoved her aside. Her hair was now messy, a satisfying sight for me. Louis rearranged herself, acting as if she was leaving after being defeated, making Neymar lose his focus. She sprinted and dashed into Miles's office.

I jumped forward to remedy the situation. “You can't be here!” But it was too late. We were crashing into Miles's office.

He froze midway with the papers in his hand, his unamused, cold eyes directed at us. “I'm sorry, Mr. Pierce. I'll get security to handle her,” I apologized.

Neymar was already on the phone talking to Brandon. Miles gave me a nod and continued what he was doing, ignoring Louis's presence.

“Miles, baby. You can't ignore me. Not after you hear what I have to say,” Louis persisted.

Without raising his head, Miles responded, “Take it to your fiancé. I'm not interested.” Scrambling his signature on something, he continued, “Miss Tate, I trust you can handle this. I'm too busy to entertain gold diggers.”

“Yes, Mr. Pierce.”

“It's your ego that's the problem. Don't you want to know who told the press about your fake relationship?” Louis taunted.

Miles took seconds to lift his head again. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he said, “Miss Tate, I'll handle this. Go back to work.”

Surprised, I was close to objecting, but he gave me a warning sneer not to. I nodded and left for the door.

“I guess they won't be needing you anymore, Melissa. I'll keep it permanent.”

“It's Meredith,” I glared at Louis, closing the door behind them. Neymar was restlessly pacing. When he saw me, he came and held my hands. “I'm getting fired, right? He made it clear that under no circumstances was she to have entry to his office. That girl is a witch. I never liked her.”

Grabbing his shoulder, I reassured him, “No one is getting fired. That hair yanking was epic,” I chuckled, leading us back to our table. “You knew her?”

“Who doesn't know the proud ex of Mr. Pierce, who made life hell for everyone when they were together? The news of their breakup was wildly celebrated, like the news of winning a lottery.”

Nodding, I took my seat. “Do you think they'll ever get back together?”

Neymar swerved his seat. “Not even if she had the key to Heaven. I doubt he would ever consider her. You have nothing to worry about. Before he comes up with something as crazy as that, I will personally crack his skull,” he said, giving me a reassuring brush on my hair.

I wasn't worried, but I wasn't relaxed either. Louis and Alan were just bad news that I was tired of running into.