Chapter 322: It’s Not A Date

"Enough," April said, her voice dropping into a flat, quiet register that cut straight through the suffocating tension in the room.

The single word carried weight.

Nat’s grip on her wrist didn’t drop completely, but his fingers loosened, his eyes flicking down to meet her unbothered, steady gaze. Xavier stepped up right beside her, his posture rigid and ready to rip Nat’s hand away the second she gave the word, while Alexander stood flanked on her other side, looking down at the altercation with a cold, sharp disdain.

Samuel remained perfectly rooted between Nat and the door, his eyes narrowing behind his lenses as he waited for his mistress’s command.

April pulled her arm back with a slow, deliberate motion, slipping her wrist smoothly out of Nat’s loose grasp. She rubbed the faint red mark on her skin without looking up, letting out a heavy, tired exhale.

"I am not a piece of luggage for you four to fight over," April stated plainly, her dark eyes scanning each of them in turn—from Nat’s defiant, arrogant smirk, to Xavier’s simmering protectiveness, to Alexander’s sharp possessiveness, and finally to Samuel’s icy, unwavering stance. "If you want to throw punches over who gets to drive me, do it outside... after I leave."

Nat let out a quiet, raspy chuckle, unfazed by her scolding. He shoved his hands into his dark trousers pockets, leaning back against the edge of a mahogany table with effortless arrogance. "Nobody’s punching anyone, sweetheart. I’m just enforcing what you promised me earlier."

"I promised we would talk," April corrected smoothly, turning her full attention back to him. "I didn’t promise to let you haul me away like a hostage in front of my sister."

Xavier’s chest expanded as he let out a sharp breath, his jaw loosening just a fraction as he shot Nat a smug, victorious look. "You heard her, Collins. Back off."

"I wasn’t finished, Xavier," April added calmly, without even turning her head.

Xavier snapped his mouth shut, a sudden, subtle flush rising up his neck at being checked so casually in front of his rivals. Alexander covered a small smirk behind his hand, though he wisely kept his mouth shut.

April looked between Nat and Xavier, calculating the most practical path to avoid an outright brawl in the VIP corridor. "I will go with Nat for our discussion," she decided, her voice leave no room for argument. "And Samuel will drive me."

The room went dead silent.

Nat’s smirk vanished, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her. "What? You’re bringing that on our date?"

"It’s not a date, it’s a conversation," April replied dryly. "And Samuel is not a that, he manages my schedule and transportation. If you want to talk to me tonight without starting a war in the parking garage, those are my terms. Take it or leave it."

Samuel’s lips twitched upward into the faintest, most victorious curve, though his expression remained impeccably professional as he bowed his head slightly. "A prudent decision, Miss April. I will have the vehicle brought around to the private lower exit immediately."

Nat growled low in his throat, staring at April with a mix of utter disbelief and intense, burning attraction. He hated compromised terms, but looking at her absolute, unyielding composure, he knew pushing her any further right now would only end with her walking away completely.

"Fine," Nat rasped, his eyes darkening as he took a step closer, leaning down until his lips almost brushed her ear. "He can drive. But once we get to my place, sweetheart... he stays at the front door."

We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, she thought, giving no promises.

"April..." Xavier called out in a low, quiet voice, his dark eyes filled with lingering hesitation and reluctant compromise.

She turned her head back to look at him and Alexander before stepping toward the exit. Without making a sound, April mouthed wordless words, her lips forming two distinct, silent commands that both men read clearly in an instant:

Stay close.

The silent instruction hit them both immediately. Xavier’s jaw relaxed, his rigid posture settling as a quiet understanding passed between them. Alexander gave a faint nod of his head, his sharp blue eyes acknowledging her strategy. They both went silent, stepping back without another word of protest to let her pass.

Nat raised an eyebrow, his eyes flicking between the sudden silence of the two men and April’s composed back. He wondered for a brief second what on earth had just stopped those two possessive bastards from tearing the room apart to keep her.

Then, a slow, dangerous grin spread across Nat’s sharp face.

It didn’t matter. Whatever silent agreement they had reached meant nothing to him. All that mattered was that she was stepping out with him, and once they reached his place, he would finally have her all to himself.

...

Samuel steered the sleek black SUV smoothly through the evening traffic, his hands resting at ten and two on the steering wheel. Sitting in the back, April looked out the window, while Nat sat right beside her, his broad shoulders easily taking up half the seat.

He held her hand the whole time, interlocked in his bigger hand, like she would vanish if he gave her even the smallest space to breathe.

"Take a left up ahead," Nat ordered, his deep, gravelly voice breaking the quiet cabin. "We’re going to my estate in the upper district."

Samuel’s dark eyes flicked upward, meeting April’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Without a word, he silently sought her approval, his expression poised and waiting for her sign to either comply or redirect.

April gave a small, barely perceptible nod.

Samuel smoothly signaled left, adjusting the route toward Nat’s private compound. April leaned back against the headrest, her mind calm and calculating. She knew Xavier and Alexander were following behind at a safe distance in their own vehicles.

Her only quiet hope was that they had safely dropped Emily off at the suite or handed her to Leo, the guard that had been in charge of her the previous night, before tailing them.

She was sure they were at least that sensible.