Chapter 27 XXVII.
ALESSANDRO’S POV
No one needed to tell me—I already knew I had royally fucked up.
The ride back to the hotel was heavy with silence. After all the warnings Rowan gave me, it was only natural that he would be mad.
But I couldn’t help myself. That dude was a major freak, and I couldn’t just sit back and let him speak so disrespectfully about Rowan. How dare he call Rowan a cheap whore in my presence? It wasn’t just anyone—it was Rowan Brooks. Who the fuck did he think he was to speak about Rowan that way?
I thought about apologizing to Rowan, but part of me didn’t feel like I had done anything wrong. That guy was at fault for being a dick, and Rowan needed to understand that.
But then again, Rowan had made it clear that this deal was important to him. He had even made me promise to turn a blind eye to everything that happened, and I had done the exact opposite.
In other words, Rowan deserved an apology from me because I broke my promise.
We arrived at the hotel, and Rowan climbed out of the car without a word. That alone confirmed that he was really mad at me.
I stepped out and hurried after him as he made his way toward the entrance.
“Rowan, wait!” I called, jogging to catch up. I grabbed his wrist to stop him. “Rowan, please hear me out,” I pleaded softly.
Rowan stared at me, looking slightly confused. “Uh, is there a problem, Alessandro?” His tone sounded genuinely curious, but I could tell he was upset. He had to be.
I swallowed nervously. Why do I keep messing things up when it comes to him? “Rowan, I’m sorry about your deal. I know I made a promise, and I’m very sorry that I broke it, but I couldn’t sit back and listen to that bastard call you names.” I tugged him a little closer, and his eyes widened. Then I gave him my best puppy eyes. “Stop being mad at me, please.”
Rowan blinked at me for a second, then sighed. “To be honest, I’m not mad, Alessandro. You did the right thing. You defended me from Mr. Francisco, and I’m grateful.” He paused, and I knew there was a loophole in that sentence. “But this deal was very important to me, and I’m very sad to lose it. You don’t have to worry, though. I’m not mad at you—I’m just sad that we lost the deal.”
He offered a small smile and gently pulled his hand from my grasp before turning and walking into the hotel.
Despite his words, I couldn’t help feeling guilty. This deal must have meant a lot to him, and I ruined it.
One of the things I have come to hate the most is seeing Rowan Brooks sad. I hate how the light dims in those beautiful brown eyes. I hate how his shoulders slump as he walks, as if he has given up all hope.
Restlessness consumed me as I thought about how to fix this. What could I do to make that freak give Rowan another chance and sign the deal?
I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.
Surely, a guy like him must have some kind of scandal I could use to threaten him into doing my bidding.
First of all, I was going to do some research on that molesting freak. There had to be something he desperately wanted to keep hidden.
Right then and there, I decided I would go to his company and ask around. I was sure I would uncover some dirty little secret.
I had to do this to make Rowan feel better—maybe even bring that beautiful smile back to his lips.
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Spying on Francisco turned out to be easier than I expected. All I had to do was throw a few compliments at the ladies, wink at them, flex my biceps in a sleeveless shirt—and just like that, they were spilling all of Francisco’s dirty little secrets.
Apparently, Francisco was a big-time creep. He had a habit of making crude remarks, flirting with his male employees, and even touching them inappropriately without consent. His behavior had once been reported to the authorities by a male staff member he had molested and nearly assaulted, but there had been no proof.
However, his secretary had recorded a video of the incident. She kept it hidden for fear of losing her job—though she held onto it just in case.
One date and a mind-blowing make-out session later, I had a copy of the video. And now, I was on my way to Mr. Francisco’s office with it in hand.
There was no way he was going to say no when I could easily release that video to the police.
I didn’t bother knocking when I walked into his office. I caught him just in time—making out with another man.
Personally, it disgusted me to know that he was married and still fooling around.
“What a nice surprise,” I grinned, snapping a photo of them. Another piece of blackmail material.
They had already pulled apart and were staring at me wide-eyed.
“How the hell did you get in here?!” he exclaimed, looking both shocked and furious.
The man he had been making out with quickly adjusted his clothes and rushed out of the office.
“I let myself in. Your secretary was out,” I replied casually, taking a seat on his sofa.
“That stupid bitch! She’s definitely getting fired,” he growled under his breath.
“Well, she can only get fired if you’re still around to fire her,” I smirked cruelly, then showed him the video of him trying to force himself on a man.
His eyes widened in horror. “How… how the hell did you get that?!”
My smirk widened. I was very pleased with myself. “I have my ways.”
I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. He was scared—and he had every reason to be. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I love that question.” I fixed him with a serious look. “First, you will apologize to Rowan for the disgusting things you said to him yesterday.” He rolled his eyes, but I ignored him and continued. “Second, you will sign the deal you rejected.”
“You really are fucking him, aren’t you?” he asked, sounding amused. I glared at him. “So much for him being a straight guy.”
“Repeat that again, and the world—as well as your husband—will know exactly what you’ve been up to.”
He rolled his eyes and made a motion of zipping his lips.
“That’s all I want from you. Do we have a deal?”
He shot me a death glare. “Just make sure you delete that shit.”
I smirked. “I guess we have a deal, then.”