[Thirty minutes later]
"Why isn’t he coming out? Did you check that he hasn’t already left?" Fiona snapped, her patience wearing dangerously thin as she sat inside her car.
Despite being advised otherwise, she continued to wait outside the company building, her sharp eyes following every employee who exited for the day. One by one, the lights inside began to dim, yet there was still no sign of Daniel anywhere.
Venus flinched at her tone and quickly shook her head. "No, madam. I am sure Mr. Clafford has not left yet," she said, correcting herself hurriedly in an attempt to calm her.
But no matter how reassuring Venus sounded, she could sense that Fiona was already losing her cool.
***
anwhile, upstairs in the CEO’s office, Daniel lifted his gaze sharply and fixed Henry with a stare that made the man shift on his feet.
"What’s taking them so long, Henry?" Daniel asked, his dark eyes piercing. "Are you sure they haven’t forgotten about this sudden eting with us?"
Henry laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Haha, boss, I don’t think they forgot. Maybe they’re lagging. You know, the ti difference can sotis cause... issues."
Daniel narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced, but before he could say anything else, the laptop screen blinked.
"There they are," Daniel said as the foreign delegates finally appeared on screen.
Henry nearly sagged in relief. "Thank goodness," he muttered under his breath.
To keep Daniel occupied, Henry had deliberately scheduled the eting on short notice. Now that the delegates were finally online, he could breathe a little easier.
Now Miss Fiona won’t be able to et him.
He gave Daniel a quick nod. "I’ll leave you to it, sir," he said, backing toward the door before quietly stepping out and closing it behind him.
Mission: successful.
Daniel straightened in his chair, slipping seamlessly into his professional deanor as the discussion with the delegates grew serious. Numbers were exchanged, tilines debated, and projections scrutinized. His attention was fully on the screen, his voice calm and authoritative as he addressed their concerns.
Just as he was about to respond to a particularly tedious point, the door to his office opened.
Daniel glanced up instinctively and froze.
Anna stood there.
For a split second, his mind stalled. Of all the places he had expected to see her, his office in the middle of a high level international eting was not one of them.
His eyes flicked briefly to the laptop screen, then back to her, disbelief flashing across his face. He distinctly rembered texting her earlier, telling her he would et her at ho.
At ho, his mind echoed.
Anna, completely unaware of the ntal chaos she had just triggered, took a step inside, clearly intending to say sothing before she noticed the video call still running.
Daniel cleared his throat a little too loudly.
The delegates paused, watching with interest.
"My apologies," Daniel said smoothly, though his eyes never left Anna. "What were you saying" he asked gesturing Anna five minutes with his hands.
Anna’s eyes widened when she realized she had just walked into a eting. She stopped mid step, her mouth opening and closing once as if deciding whether to retreat or explain herself.
But the second her eyes t Daniel’s, her legs seed to move on their own. She crossed the room without a word and settled into the chair opposite his desk, as if that was exactly where she belonged.
Her gaze lingered on him, tracing every familiar detail. The sharp line of his jaw, the faint crease between his brows when he focused, the way his sleeves were rolled just enough to expose his forearms. Seconds ticked by, and with each passing mont, her patience thinned.
Normally, Anna would never interrupt him like this. But then a thought crossed her mind, bold and impulsive, and the corner of her lips curled into a wicked grin.
Daniel, still focused on the screen, finally lifted his eyes toward her.
The chair was empty.
His brows creased instantly. Where did she go? he wondered, glancing around the office.
Before the question could fully form, he felt it.
A hand slid up his leg beneath the table, slow and deliberate.
Daniel’s breath hitched, his spine going rigid as his eyes snapped downward, shock flashing across his face. The eting, the numbers, the delegates waiting on the other side of the screen all vanished from his mind in an instant.
Anna’s soft laugh drifted up from below the table, dangerously pleased.
Daniel’s jaw tightened, a muscle ticking as he curled his hand into a fist beneath the table, every vein in his forearm standing out while he fought to keep his expression neutral.
"Mr. Clafford, are you alright?" one of the delegates asked, concern edging into his voice.
Daniel forced a smile that was far too controlled to be genuine. "Perfectly fine," he replied evenly. "Please, continue."
On the screen, the discussion resud, unaware of the silent battle unfolding in the office.
Under the table, Anna’s presence felt far too close, far too intentional. He didn’t need to see her face to know exactly what expression she was wearing.
Ti for punishnt, husband, she mouthed soundlessly, her words brushing against his nerves more effectively than any touch ever could.
Daniel swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the screen, every ounce of his willpower focused on staying composed. If the delegates noticed the way his shoulders had gone rigid or how his voice dipped a fraction lower when he spoke again, they said nothing.
But Daniel knew one thing with absolute certainty.
This eting could not end fast enough.
While Anna was thoroughly enjoying tornting her husband, soone else outside the building was rapidly losing her patience.
"That’s it. I’m heading inside," Fiona announced, already reaching for the car door, prepared to barge into the building without another second of waiting.
But just as she stepped out, her eyes caught a familiar figure.
Henry.
She froze.
Her gaze flicked past him instinctively, scanning the entrance, the driveway, the surroundings.
Why isn’t Daniel with him? Did he already leave, or...Her thoughts spiraled, suspicion tightening her expression.
Before she could arrive at any conclusion, Henry approached her himself, wearing a perfectly polite smile that did not quite reach his eyes.
"Miss Fiona," he said smoothly, "what are you still doing here?"
The question caught her off guard.
"I-I was waiting to et Daniel," she replied sharply. "I believe I made that very clear earlier."
Henry nodded, clasping his hands behind his back as if this were a casual coincidence. "Yes, you did. Unfortunately, Mr. Clafford is currently unavailable."
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