Chapter 7 Seven

Florence's POV

Remember when I said Anthony wouldn't do anything to me because he would want to get his hands dirty, I forgot that he had a boat load of people to do it for him.

I couldn't help but smirk to myself as I saw Anthony's hand hovered near the desk phone. Of course. The great Anthony St Louis wouldn't soil his pristine hands by personally dragging me out. No, he'd call someone else to do it for him. His very expendable minions. Men like him never did their own dirty work.

"Godswill," he said into the receiver, his tone flat, seemingly almost bored, at me. The nerve of this rich ass spoilt....

I crossed my arms. "Really?"

He didn't answer me, just continued tapping instructions on the touchscreen receiver.

"You are going to get someone to throw me out? You can't do it yourself or is that how pathetic you really are?"

He didn't bother answering, just gave me one of those unreadable glares. The kind that made employees scatter like pigeons. Too bad for him, I wasn't a damn pigeon. I'm human.

The door opened and stepped in Goodwill, Anthony's loyal bulldog. He was an intimidating guy. 6'8 with large muscles coupled with his height it made him look like a hulk. If it was anyone else they would have been quaking in their boots but not me. Godswill was like a large bulldog who was as sweet as sugar. He was generally intimidating but a very sweet soul.

"Miss Florence," Godswill began carefully, looking at Anthony's stern face and looking back at mine with a very obvious conflict in his eyes "the boss has asked you to..."

"I'm not leaving," I cut in, planting my heels firmly into the marble floor. "Tell your boss that I am not going anywhere."

Godswill stopped in his tracks and looked back at Anthony. Anthony was busy glaring at me until he caught sight of his most trusted man standing in the middle of the room looking like a kicked puppy.

"Why are you just standing there? Get her out of here." He instructed.

"But she said she doesn't want to leave." Godswill said innocently. The blank look on Godswill's face combined with Anthony's exasperated expression was so comical that I wasn't able to hold back the burst of laughter that came out of me.

Anthony just tossed me a chilling glare that shut me up instantly. He then sighed and walked towards Godswill, looking up and the figure that easily towered him.

"What do you mean by that? I said she should leave and she's refusing, who is in charge of this company."

"You sir."

"Who pays your salary."

"You sir." Godswill said happily grinning like a happy dog.

"And so who are you meant to listen to."

"Your wife sir."

Pfft!!

I couldn't help it, it was out of my control. I sealed my lips with my hands but it wasn't doing anything. My entire body shook as I racked with laughter. What in the world was this? Was this how the incredible St Louis and his intimidating bodyguard operated? Like a large dog and his owner.

Anthony just stalked towards me. He grabbed me before I could even think and hurled me out of his office.

"Hey what was that for." I grumbled out but he paid no heed to my words. He grabbed my arms and dragged me towards the elevator side.

" Don't you dare lay a hand on me." I pushed him away from me.

Anthony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose like I was the world's biggest migraine. "You're wasting my time.amd energy, just go."

"And you're wasting your life pretending you're not the villain in this story," I shot back. "I am not leaving, how many times do I have to say it."

Something flickered in his eyes-annoyed, amusement, I couldn't tell. He stepped forward, clearly intending to escort me out. That was when instinct took over and I did the most absurd thing. I grabbed his sleeve and yanked him towards me with as much force as possible.

It happened so fast. One second we were glaring at each other so hard I was sure one of us would combust into flames, the next we stumbled backward, and the elevator behind us dinged open as if mocking me. My hand slipped on his arm, he tried to steady himself, and somehow we both tumbled inside and I landed on him.

We went motionless for a while, trying to get our sense. But then the doors slid shut with a smug little ding. Now that brought us back.

"Let go," he said sharply pushing me off him as he stood up.

"No!" I tightened my grip on his collar, standing up along with him. "If you throw me out, I'll drag you down with me!"

"Are you insane?"

"Possibly!"

We both lunged for the button panel at the same time, and in the chaos the elevator shuddered. Then it froze between floors with a groan.

I blinked at the still numbers above the door. "Oh. Perfect. Just absolutely perfect. You have trapped us."

"I trapped us? You were the one clinging to me like a fucking leach."

"Um... Mr St Louis?"

"A leach?"I shrieked back. "How dare you call me that, have you looked at yourself in the mirror."

"Miss Davidson there is...."

"I don't care how I look, at least I wake up everyday knowing that I am not insane."

"Ha says a person who works night and day without rest and treats others like objects. You aren't insane, you are just not human."

"Umm..hello."

"WHAT?!!"

"WHAT?!!" Anthony and I screamed at the same time.

There was an uncomfortable silence for some seconds, then static crackled overhead, and a voice from the intercom stammered nervously, "Uh... Mr. St Louis? Miss Davidson. Please don't panic, sir, we'll get you out in a moment."

"Don't panic?" I echoed, throwing my arms wide. "Do I look panicked to you?"

"Yes," Anthony muttered. "And feral as well."

I glared at him. "This is your fault."

"My fault?" His brow arched. "You dragged me into an elevator."

"You dragged yourself! This happened because you wanted to fire me."

"No this happened because you did a lousy job of keeping your revenge plan a secret."

We bickered like children while the intercom stayed awkwardly silent. I almost laughed at the absurdity, almost.

"Look I don't care about anything you do, just leave and don't come back. I love my life free of complications and you are a bunch of strange things that I cannot understand or even bother to try and explore."

Florence's POV.

I wanted to scream and shout and slap the back of his fucking head. But instead, something inside me cracked.

"My mum still sets a place for Gabriel at the table," I blurted, my voice trembling. "She says he'll come home one day. And if I walk away now, if I stop fighting, that hope will die. She'll die with it. Do you understand that?"

Anthony's face softened, barely, but he stayed quiet.

I swallowed hard, forcing the next words out. "And you.." I jabbed a finger at his chest. "If my brother is alive, who benefits from making you think he's dead? That's not just cruel, it's dangerous. For you. Someone wanted you to buy the company, someone counted on it. Doesn't that scare you, even a little?"

For the first time since I met him, Anthony didn't have a comeback. His eyes narrowed, thoughtful, and calculating.

"How can someone easily predict that because of his death you would acquire the company. How sure are you that you aren't involved in some weird ass conspiracy."

The elevator jolted, then hummed back to life disrupting our conversation. Seconds later the doors slid open.

Anthony stepped out like nothing had happened, straightening his suit. Not a hair out of place, while I stumbled out behind him, hair a mess.

Godswill stood at the entrance with a bunch of security guards. I just sighed in resignation. Anthony wasn't going to understand. He may be involved in this and is just trying to throw me off but somewhere in me believes he is telling the truth and knows he has the resources to find my brother but I don't know if he would agree to let me help him.

"Sir are you okay?" Godswill asked stepping closer to Anthony. "I brought extra company to escort her out."

"Because you were too scared to do it yourself?" Anthony gave him an unimpressed look.

Godswill just touched his nose in embarrassment. The guards stepped closer to me and I just prepared my mind for what I was to come.

I walked forward just for me to feel a tight grip on my arm. I looked to my side to see Anthony holding my forearm tightly.

"It was all a misunderstanding. HR made a mistake and sent her a termination letter deactivating her pass. That is what set the alarm and locked down the elevator."

I stared at him in shock but he didn't even look at me. The guards retreated and even Godswill nodded like it was the true narrative.

We landed in the office cubicle floor and all the employees were either on the corridor or peaking through their spaces. The attention made me shrink but It had no effect on Anthony. He just tightened his grip on my arms and led me through a bunch of whispering employees whose eyes were filled with fierce curiosity. Once we got to the stairway I shook his hand off, but he just brought out a bottle of sanitizer and sanitized his palms. How charming.

"What was that for? I thought you were so determined to push me away." I was puzzled by what just went on.

"I am still determined but not now. You are too unstable to leave in the outside world."

I opened my mouth to disapprove but he just shut me up. "If you still want to be my secretary then fine, we have a meeting now and I do not like being tardy."

And with that we just started walking towards the conference room leaving me to rush after him. Having an ass as a boss is one thing, but having an ass with extremely long legs and large strides is practically hell.

"Hello!! Mr St Louis can you pull the brakes

"

Sigh, this was going to be a long period.

******

The investors' meeting was a sea of suits, laptops, and stiff nods. I marched in at Anthony's side like I belonged, ignoring the curious stares. He sat at the head of the table, calm, commanding. I plopped into the chair beside him and crossed my legs.

One investor cleared his throat, eyeing me.

"She's with me," Anthony said smoothly, before anyone could ask.

I smiled sweetly. "His assistant."

His glare could've melted steel. I beamed back.

The presentation began. Numbers, graphs, market projections-boring. I leaned over and whispered, "You're losing them. Add a joke."

His jaw clenched but he just ignored me. Then they brought up my brother's company and I immediately stiffened. They were impressed with the progress but it was time to aim higher.

When one man suggested restructuring, due to his belief that the structure was poorly organized. I couldn't help but blurt, "That's ridiculous! My brother would never have-"

The room went silent instantly. All eyes landed on me before they darted to Anthony

"I mean, we did a lot of research on this company and if the previous owners hadn't made a few mistakes the company wouldn't be under us, that shows that level of skill they had to some extent." I tried to salvage the situation by acting professionally.

Slowly, he set down his pen and turned his head toward me. The look he gave could've killed a lesser woman. I gave him my most innocent smile.

To my surprise, one of the Chinese investors chuckled. He murmured something in Mandarin, glancing between us.

Anthony's composure flickered. "No," he said firmly in the same language.

Another investor smirked. "Ah, not married yet, then? She already acts like a wife."

The table erupted in polite laughter. Anthony's lips pressed into a thin line.

I frowned. "What? What did he say?"

"Nothing," Anthony snapped.

"Oh, come on. Your face twitched."

"Florence."

"Tell me!"

He ignored me and continued the presentation, though his ears had turned faintly pink.

---

After the meeting, I followed him down the hall.

"Why are you following me?" he asked, voice clipped.

"Because my office is next to yours," I said sweetly. "Unless you plan to illegally fire me again."

"I'll have your office moved."

"Excuse me?" I gasped. "Did you just call me crazy?"

"I didn't say-"

"You implied it!"

We bickered all the way down the corridor, our voices echoing. Employees peeked over cubicles, eyes wide. The terrifying Mr. St Louis, reduced to... this.

By the time we reached his office, both of us were red-faced and furious. He slammed his door. I slammed mine.

A beat of silence. Then whispers drifted through the office.

"Did anyone else see that?"

"Is he... smiling?"

"No way."

Alone in my office, I pressed my palms to my burning cheeks. My heart was pounding, my head spinning.

"I'm not leaving this place," I whispered to myself. "He'll see."