Chapter 193: Love birds

Raphael’s POV

I pushed through the boardroom doors with a few minutes to spare, the air already thick with whispers and the rustle of papers.

The room was filling fast with board members filing in, nodding curtly with vague greetings, their eyes darting like they all knew something I didn’t or maybe they did. Ronan and I tried to keep everything under wraps but we couldn’t for long. We had to start making obvious loud moves now. It wasn’t that New Horizon was a great threat but they were slowly turning into a problem that couldn’t be ignored.

New Horizon had gutted another project last week, and the fallout was bleeding us dry, combined with half of the damage from Sinclair’s collaboration, Amelia messed up. I could feel the vultures circling.

Hush whispers were going around about my claimed miscalculation being the cause. They forgot that things were beyond my control, and I wasn’t directly involved.

I took my usual seat near the head of the table, loosened my tie just enough to breathe, and checked my Rolex. Four minutes. Plenty of time left, I glanced around the room. There was no sign of my dear wife and her lover. My eyes twitched at the realisation, why did I have the feeling they were probably together despite their offices being on separate floors?

A hand clapped my shoulder and my attention snapped back to the room. I glanced up at Viktor, one of the older directors. He gave me a smile and leaned in. “Rough morning?”

I forced a tight smile. “You could say that.” Viktor didn’t get the hint that I wasn’t in the mood for a buddy conversation and continued

He lowered his voice. “Heard Ronan called this one himself. Something about the Horizon losses?”

I just nodded. No point confirming what everyone already suspected. Viktor patted my shoulder again and moved on.

The door opened again, and Braelyn walked in unceremoniously. She was rushing like the devil was on her heels. My stomach dropped seeing her slightly dishevelled appearance.

Her blouse was slightly wrinkled at the hem, hair a little messier than usual, like fingers had been running through it. And her lipstick… smudged, just a touch at the corner of her mouth. She wiped it absently with her thumb as she passed, not even glancing my way.

She took the seat across the table, directly in my line of sight. Which was perfect. I hissed. Her gaze kept straying to the door like the devil might walk in any moment from now

And maybe the devil did come in, Lucien strolled in a minute later, she glared at him subconsciously before scoffing and glancing away. Lucien smirked at her and my eyes itched at details I wasn’t meant to notice.

He was rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb like he was erasing evidence. That infuriating smirk was already in place, lazy and irritating to watch. They were making out before coming here. Couldn’t they show some restraint, for crying out loud, and stop acting like love birds they were not?

. He didn’t bother sparing a second of his time with anyone else and just walked straight to Braelyn. He casually dropped into the chair beside her like it was the most natural thing ever.

He felt my gaze but couldn’t be bothered. Lucien leaned in towards her ear and murmured something low. She flushed, shot him a glare that had zero heat in it, and muttered, “Shut up.”

He chuckled, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear like it was the most natural thing in the world. My jaw locked so hard I felt it in my temples.

Ronan arrived last, the room quieting immediately. Everyone rose to welcome him. He waved us off, “Please have your seats.” He didn’t waste time on greetings.

“We’re here because the company is bleeding,” he started, his voice firm as he spoke, “New Horizon has taken three major contracts from under us in the last quarter. Losses are north of eight figures. We can’t keep pretending this is a coincidence.”

Murmurs rippled. I tried to focus, really tried, but my eyes kept sliding across the table despite the matter being grave.

Lucien’s hand brushed Braelyn’s under the table. She didn’t pull away but her cheeks flushed. My eyes narrowed at the bastard who was still keeping a straight face. He stole a sip from her water glass, the one with her lipstick print on the rim and drank from her lipstick stain.

She rolled her eyes but didn’t stop him. Someone asked about countermeasures. Ronan outlined defensive bids, legal reviews, and cost-cutting. Words blurred as my attention was narrowed to one thing.

Lucien leaned over again, whispered something that made Braelyn bite her lip to hide a smile while pretending to take notes.

I gripped my pen so hard the plastic creaked.

Ronan’s voice cut through. “On a brighter note…one win we did manage. Lucien closed the Genesis merger ahead of schedule. Substantial revenue projection for next quarter. He was able to outsmart New Horizon on the deal.”

A polite round of applause. Lucien nodded, gracious as ever. My gaze darkened. I had heard rumours that his trip was successful, but I still found it fishy that he was able to pull off something so tactical with his lack of experience. It gave me a bad feeling I couldn’t shrug off.

“Though,” Ronan added, “half the credit goes to Braelyn. Her negotiations sealed it.”

More applause. Someone chirped in. Viktor, I think, chuckled from my side. “You two make quite the team. Perfect partners.”

Braelyn smiled politely. Lucien’s smirk widened just enough to piss me off. I nearly choked on my water and had to drop my water down

The rest of the meeting dragged on. Numbers, projections, and blame were shifted carefully around the table. I nodded when I was supposed to, said the right things, but every time I looked up, they were there, either brushing shoulders, sharing glances and little touches that looked accidental to everyone else.

By the time Ronan wrapped it up, I was out of my chair before the echo of his gavel died. I didn’t look back, wouldn’t dare, actually, because if I did, I’d see them playing the act of star-crossed lovers. She’s probably laughing at something he said, his hand on the small of her back guiding her out.

And I wasn’t ready to admit what that would mean, not yet at least.

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