Secretary? And personal advisor to someone like Zyair Kincaid. Skyla felt like being stuck in some dream. Was he for real? She slightly pinched herself just to make sure. Blinking rapidly at her.
Zyair caught her little action, he watched her with amusement enjoying all the shades of shock registering on her innocent face. Doran also seemed to be deeply contemplating his words. There was a hunger in his eyes and Zyair knew he craved nothing more than power.
Zyair wanted to up the stakes a bit so Doran would have no issues agreeing to this deal.
"Take your time, I know you would like to discuss this among yourselves. Remember, I would lessen the profit share I will be taking from B-Couture by ten percent if you agree to let Mrs. Blackthorn work for me. So think carefully and answer me while you enjoy your dinner."
The servers were bringing in the food now. He had served Doran a curved ball and now he was impatiently waiting to see how he would tackle it.
Zyair got up, straightening his coat. He wasn’t planning on eating with them, having no desire to reveal his face. He got up and walked away giving them time to make a decision. Knowing too well Doran would let his wife take this opportunity.
Not because Doran cared about her excelling but because he would love to gain as much information on him as possible. He would never let such an opportunity pass. Self centreic egomaniacs thought the world revolved around them and that’s who Doran was.
"Thank you for the offer and giving us this time to reflect."
Zyair stepped outside onto terrace for some open air. It was with great difficulty that he had restrained himself in there. That mark on her hand was the indication that his abuse had only escalated over the years. This was the part of her skin that was visible, how many bruises would there be where no eyes could see.
"How is your meeting going?" Lawrence joined him on the terrace and asked. The 18 years old was sharp beyond his age and wits. He had quickly turned into Zyair’s shadow.
"Predictable," Zyair scoffed, leaning against the railing and staring ahead at the night city. The lights illuminated the buildings in the vast darkness of this moonless night.
"Aren’t you going to eat?" Since Lawrence had seen Zyair’s face before, they always ate together. The mutual understanding and respect between them was paramount.
"Later, once I get what I came seeking today," Zyair cryptically answered, his hypnotic eyes never wavering from staring into the distance.
"Why do I have a feeling that you are scheming something evil?" Lawrence narrowed his eyes at the man whom he considered his idol.
"Because I am, you will see when the time will come. It’s going to be a marathon, not a sprint for me. But my goals are very clear and I won’t sit in peace until I have achieved them," he solemnly answered.
"And when will you be revealing these goals to me?" Lawrence hopefully questioned, his olive brown skin shone under the low terrace lights. Before Zyair could answer, a server appeared and respectfully stated.
"Sir, Mr. Doran is requesting your presence. They are done with the dinner."
"I will be right in," Zyair answered and the server slightly bowed before taking his leave. He then turned to Lawrence and ruffled his hair and mischievously stated.
"Patience, like I always say."
Lawrence grumbled in annoyance.
"Stop treating me like a kid." But Zyair was already moving away from him and only clicked his tongue.
Returning to the table, he had left Doran and Skyla, he effortlessly resumed his seat. Leaning back into it.
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"Did you enjoy your meal?" he asked, his eyes wavering from Doran and stopping at Skyla and as usual Doran answered in place of his wife.
"We did, it was delicious."
Skyla on the other hand was nervously biting her lower lip.
"Have you reached a decision?" he particularly asked Skyla this time. She hesitated a moment before speaking.
"I am honoured by your offer and while I have no experience when it comes to office job. I would like to give this a try."
Zyair’s eyes glistened with satisfaction at her answer. This was just the first step and he had succeeded in that.
"I am glad you made that decision. Or I would have assumed your husband was the kind of man who liked to hold women back from reaching their potentials." The subtle hint of sarcasm was laughed off by Doran.
"No, no. I would always stand behind my wife. I think this is a great opportunity for her to learn some new skills."
Zyair couldn’t help but notice how Doran had taken a 180 degree turn from his previous statement regarding his wife. Where he believed she was just a housewife and was content with it.
"You are a very upright man, I am glad to see how you are being so supportive of your wife."
Zyair purposefully tried to give a boost to his ego. That’s what men craved, an ego boost. The defensive demanour of Doran was significantly changed to a haughty one at being praised.
While Skyla seemed to have shrunk a bit in her seat. The statement hurting her deeply because of how untrue it was.
Zyair turned his attention to Skyla, he wanted to lay some ground rules in front of her husband. The idea was to have Doran place enough trust in the idea that Zyair was uninterested in women.
"There is something I would like to say before we sign any documents and officiate this job. As you might know or not, I am a gynophobe and germophobe as well. I avoid being touched especially by women. They need to stay at a distance from me. Everyone in my office abide by these rules and I would appreciate you doing the same when you join us from tomorrow."