Page 39 of All That She Needs

"We'll have lunch tomorrow, okay?"

"Dinner."

"Okay, dinner."

"At my apartment."

"Oh my God, Liam," I blurted out. "You're moving at a speed I can't keep up with!"

"Okay, okay." He finally leaned back, but then he took my hand.

"This is even worse," I told him, looking at my hand, which had disappeared inside his much bigger hand.

"Your hand is so soft. Like silk." He mused, ignoring my protest, like he didn't hear me. His thumb gently brushed my knuckles in a slow, circling motion.

"Dinner here, tomorrow." I repeated, still looking at my hand, wondering why I didn't retract it.

"How about my office? You have never been there before."

"Okay."

"Deal?"

I smiled. "Deal."

I walked Liam out, watching his broad shoulders and confident stride as he made his way back to his office. A swirl of emotions churned in my chest—excitement, confusion, guilt, and something else I couldn't quite name. When I turned back, I spotted Dennis in his cubicle, tears streaming down his face.

"What happened?" I rushed over, worry flooding through me. I inspected his face—his nose was red, his eyes puffy, but he seemed otherwise fine. "Why are you crying?" I asked, my voice softening with concern.

He sniffled, dabbing at his nose with a crumpled tissue. "I heard everything," he admitted, his voice wobbly. "You didn't fully close your door. It's so sweet, Asha, especially that part about plucking the rainbows. He's so incredible. I just can't..." Dennis took a deep, shaky breath. "Why isn't there anyone like that for me? All muscles and gorgeous face, insanely rich, and willing to do anything for me? Where the hell do I find that guy, Asha?"

Part 20: Aiden

Ryan Miles. Vanessa's fiancé. He was there, sitting right in front of me. He had never joined my meetings before; he was too junior for that. But today, somehow, he wasthere.

I just stared and stared at him. Like a creep. I dissected him with my eyes, wondering what Vanessa saw in him. He was good-looking in a preppy boy kind of way, with a cleanly shaved face, sandy blond hair, blue eyes, fake smiles that were all teeth, but he looked stupid. The boy was excited to see me at first, beaming with pride that he got to sit in a meeting with the CEO. Then, gradually, those fake smiles faltered, replaced by confusion. He couldn't understand why the CEO, whom he only met once or twice, glared at him with raw hatred in his eyes.

That boy had his hands on my girl. He got to kiss her, to touch her, to make love to her. He had all her smiles, her laughter, and he didn't have to hide it. He got to claim her openly, to shout his love for her to the world. He would marry her, build a life with her, maybe even have children with her. He would go to bed with her and wake up to her beautiful face every morning. He had everything that was supposed to bemine.

I clenched my fists. I was ready to draw blood. My face must have turned crimson with anger, and my eyes went terrifyingly dark. I saw him flinch and recoil, getting confused even more. For a brief moment, I considered firing Ryan, but I quickly dismissed the thought. If I did that, Vanessa would never forgive me.

Sean, ever perceptive and tuned in to everything, always seemed to know what was going on, even when I didn't. I had no clue how he figured it out, but he knew. He was sitting on my left, his usual spot, which made sense for him to pick up on things. Suddenly, he nudged my elbow and leaned in, whispering, "Stop staring at the guy. You're creeping him out."

That snapped me back into focus. I turned and locked eyes with Sean, now the one confused. He sighed, clearly irritated and finally losing his patience. "Lead the meeting. You're the fucking CEO," he mumbled under his breath. "She chose him. Deal with it."

Oh, my God. Sean knew!

He reminded me so much of Dennis, Asha's assistant. I had always been envious of how she found someone so efficient, perceptive, smart, and intensely loyal. Now that I got one, I wasn't sure I was well equipped to deal with someone like him.

After swallowing hard, I turned my attention to the screen, regretting that I wasn't drunk enough to deal with this so early in the morning. My eyes roamed over the presentation I had been neglecting in the last half hour. But the numbers came easily to me. One glance, and I could already make my own conclusion. I was always good with numbers. Not as good as Asha, who could do complicated math in seconds with her mind alone, but I was way better than the average guy. And I detected a huge mistake immediately.

"Who's the stupid fuck who made these numbers?" My voice boomed throughout the meeting room. In the corner of my eyes, I noticed Sean was about to warn me again.

Something in my expression must have been frightening enough to silence the entire room. Tension filled the air as everyone went quiet. It made sense—they weren't just staring attheir CEO, but the sole owner of the entire company. Besides, outbursts like this were rare. I almost never lost my temper, so I couldn't blame them for being shocked.

A guy named Pierre, who was the head of the communication department, spoke in a shaky voice. "My team and I prepared the numbers, sir."

Pierre was Ryan's boss. For Ryan to be there, he must contribute a lot to the presentation. "Go back to Bryan's previous presentation," I commanded. Everybody quickly shuffled around their laptops, their papers, and someone clicked back several pages to the total P&L numbers of the company. "There." My hand grabbed the clicker on my desk that had a laser pointer and stabbed the numbers with the red dot. "It didn't match. So, which number is the correct one?"

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