Let's Play A Dirty Ass Game, Mr. CEO

Chapter 59: THE SURPRISE PARTY

LAURA

I spent the next few minutes making endless calls to suppliers who could provide the silk we needed.

But it was a complete disaster...one reason or the other why we couldn’t secure the silk even for the next two hours.

Agitation was beginning to eat my bones as I paced restlessly, awaiting feedback from the last batch of orders that were sent out.

Until Mara burst through the orders with good news with a look of relief on her face. "Thank fuck you have a friend like Harlan. Whatever are we supposed to do without him?"

I hurried over to him, heart racing with anticipation. "What happened?"

"He provided a trustworthy and reliable contact here in the city the moment he heard about the crisis. And he’s made arrangements for transporting the materials here within the hour."

A sigh of relief escaped me and I collapsed against the desk in relief. Mara was right. What would I have done with my life if I didn’t meet a friend like Harlan? We might not have the surest, strongest romantic connection, but one thing was certain. He was a friend indeed.

"Now you just sit back and relax. The design team will handle the rest." Just as Mara said the words, Ms. Sally returned to my office with a smile.

"Ma’am, the silk is set to arrive in the next thirty minutes."

"Good. Everything else okay?"

"Hundred percent. We can now continue the production and finish up before the deadline. We appreciate the intervention, Ms. Hayes."

They definitely did not have me to thank, but I was more than happy to relay the gratitude to whom it was deserved. "Please do a wonderful job."

After she left, I tried to give Harlan a call, but his number seemed busy. The call kept redirecting to voicemail each time. So l spent some more time talking to Mara, more about business than any other thing. The topic of Tristan was forgotten, thankfully, but it did not mean he was erased from my mind.

He kept popping up every now and then, disrupting the flow.

Somewhere along the line, Harlan called back. And Mara took the cue to leave.

"Hey superstar," his voice drifted into the speaker, soothing and hypnotic as usual.

"Harlan, my God." I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. "How can I ever begin to thank you?"

"You can start by letting me take you to a dinner party tonight. It’s been a while since we got together and had a real heart-to-heart. What do you say?"

"Absolutely. It’s the least I can do to show how grateful I am. You’ve saved my ass more times than I can count."

"Oh, it’s nothing." He laughed. "Remember the first time we met? How I swore to stick by your side through thick and thin?"

I smiled. "How can I forget that?"

"Well, try to think about it often and you won’t bother with having to show gratitude. It’s what I signed up for, Laura. And I’d be damned if I didn’t say how grateful I am to you, for giving me a chance to be there for you."

"Aw. Now you’re going to make me cry."

Harlan chuckled. "Oh no. Please don’t. I want to be there with a napkin when you do."

See what I’m talking about? Why did he have to be so sweet? Why did he have to say all the right things all the time?

Laughing, I pushed up from my seat and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. "So, whose dinner party are we hanging at tonight?"

°°°

If I knew it was Tristan’s engagement party, I wouldn’t have showed up.

But it was already too late to turn back and disappoint Harlan, because we were going up to the guests to give our best wishes.

I couldn’t blame Harlan, because the poor dude did not even know the complexities of the relationship I share with the celebrants. He was only trying to do something nice by inviting me out to have a good time after a stressful day. How was he supposed to know that I should keep my distance from Tristan and Madison?

I was clad in a burgundy satin dress that swept the floor as I walked across it perched on Harlan’s arm, in shiny black heels. The dress was fine until a moment ago. Now it itched my skin and I had to sweep it up to not step on it. It’s almost like it grew longer and more uncomfortable, or I was just restless and hyper aware of everything, including the way people stared at me and whispered amongst themselves...the way Madison watched me with a mix of disgust and awe.

And Tristan? He watched me like I was the only woman in the room. Like he was just discovering me for the first time. Like he wanted me on his arm, instead.

A streak of jealousy crossed my mind at the thought of the only man who had ever made my body feel alive, getting hitched to another woman, becoming hers and hers alone.

I hated how it tore my heart like a wrench, how it made my heart race with the fear of not getting another chance with him.

We were just a few steps from meeting Tristan and Madison when Mr. Steele came into view with his little entourage, cornering Tristan and Madison.

"What is that Phoenix woman doing here?" I heard him bark in Tristan’s face, and I froze. His voice was loud enough to capture the attention of a handful of people around, and I quickly got the impression that the man was trying to create a scene.

Tristan looked over at me, jaw ticking, before he responded. "She’s my business partner."

Was he surprised that I showed up even when he didn’t invite me? He didn’t show it.

"A business partner I did not approve of," Mr. Steele snapped in return. "Yet you have the guts to invite her to my daughter’s engagement party?"

Tristan’s eyes flashed dangerously. "You forget that it is my engagement party too." Why wasn’t he saying the truth? That he did not invite me?

Madison’s father got in Tristan’s face, all mean and scary. "And you forget the reason why I let you marry my daughter. This merger happens because I want it to, and not the other way around."

Merger?

My heart raced even harder as it dawned on me that Tristan and Madison’s marriage could just be a business arrangement and nothing with real feelings.

I wasn’t even sure why that left me weak and breathless with excitement.

Maybe it was the possibility of another chance with Tristan, one where I wouldn’t have to bear the burden of guilt.

Would it really be considered wrecking a home if it wasn’t even a real one?