Page 66 of My Ruthless Opponent

I don’t make eye contact as he approaches the battered lounge chair and takes a seat. I expected him to directly launch in the discussion that he had left off yesterday. He doesn’t. After a full minute of waiting, I start to squirm.

Never thought there’d be a day where I would be squirming in front of him. But then, I never thought I’d be attracted to him.

“I need to tell you something.” I start. Because the silence between us is awkward as hell. I might as well start this meeting with good news.

“I received a call from Mr. Smith’s assistant.”

“Hannah?” Why is he calling me by my name? Please taunt me with the nickname you gave me. I need you to call meprincesswith your usual mocking tone. Because I am beginning to get attracted to your voice.

Is that a thing? Can we get attracted to a person’s voice?

“Why aren’t you looking at me?” Because I don’t wish to see those baby blue eyes of yours. They make you look breathtakingly beautiful like an angel when in reality you’re the devil. But I can’t tell him that, can I?

So, I lift my eyes to look at him. “Happy?” I meant to snap but the word comes out as a genuine question.

“Very. Now continue what you were saying.” It is an order. And I don’t like taking orders. I narrow my eyes at him but bite my tongue.

“We have a meeting with Mr. Smith tomorrow morning.”

A slow devilish grin stretches his lips. He slaps his thigh with his big palm, victory shining in his eyes.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It is just a meeting.”

Raleigh leans forward and places both his elbows on his knees. “He is a billionaire tycoon, Hannah. He doesn’t have a single minute to waste. Time is money. And he is investigating that time in us because he liked the idea we pitched.”

“The ideayoupitched.” I raise an eyebrow.

“The idea which youagreedto later on.” He cocks his head to the side. And I clamp my mouth shut.

“We need a story,” Raleigh says and I sit straighter.

“A story?”

He shakes his head. “No. Not a story. Alovestory. We need to come up with a love story so we don’t fumble during the meeting tomorrow. Our stories should match. We should plan every minor detail. How it all started, when was our first date, and stuff like that so our answers could match when someone raises a question. And believe me, everyone is going to have questions. Hell, my phone hasn’t stopped vibrating in my pocket since we left work.”

“Speaking of work, why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

I thin my lips and give him a pointed look.

“Well, I was one hundred percent sure we’d get the contract. So I decided to prepare a base for our story.”

“A base?” I squint.

Raleigh sighs and gets up. “You’re an awful host, princess. You didn’t even offer me a drink. I am thirsty. Do you have a beer?” He doesn’t wait for my answer, he simply heads to the kitchen which is on my right and is connected to the living room.

I remain seated as he takes his sweet time in finding a beer. He won’t find it.

“No alcohol. How does she survive?”

I crane my neck to peer at him when I hear his murmuring.

My eyes widen when I see him gulping down my juice straight from the carton.

“Use a cup or a glass for god’s sake, Raleigh!”

He turns his head to stare at me, his mouth full of juice. He raises a finger as if asking for a minute. He gulps and sighs then drops the carton back into the fridge and shuts the door.

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