Page 86 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
“I understand,” I replied, trying to keep the pain out of my voice.
I went to move a seat away from her, but her warm hand on my thigh stopped me.
“You can still sit by me,” she said and the corners of her mouth lifting.
I turned back to her and we shared a smile.
Progress.
But the happiness faded from her face when she looked behind my shoulder. I turned to see who she was looking at. Silas Shepherd was glaring at us with his arms crossed.
I faced Ivy again, and I rolled my eyes. “Ignore him. He knows that our companies are better than his by a long shot. Deep down, he knows he isn’t going to get this account.”
“You’re right,” she said and tore her gaze away from Silas’. “But there is something weirdly familiar about that cold stare of his.”
“Don’t let him intimidate you,” I teased, trying to cheer her up.
She straightened her chin. “That would never happen. I’m not easily intimidated. Especially by men who don’t think I belong in the boardroom.”
I smirked. “I know. That’s one of the many things that I like about you.”
Ivy blushed, and the Fated Mate bond pulsed with need. I folded my hands tightly together so I wouldn’t reach out and touch her.
When Damian came back, the three of us talked through our presentation again. When we were in the middle of it, the young woman who was running the coffee cart in the corner of the room brought three paper cups of coffee on a tray to us.
“Good morning!” she said with a large smile. “This is our cart’s specialty, and someone ordered it for you three.”
Ivy and Damian looked at each other and shrugged, then reached for the cups.
I glanced at the caramel-colored coffee and tilted my head when I saw that the drink was foaming at the top, almost bubbling over the rim of thecup.
That's odd.
A regular coffee didn't usually look like that.
The drink was bubbling like…champagne.
My head spun and a strange feeling of Déjà vu washed over me like a tidal wave. All of a sudden, I was transported back to seven years ago, to the night of my father’s gala dinner. Although that night was usually hazy in my memories, this time, a moment from that night came back to me in perfect clarity.
A waiter had come up to me and said that someone had ordered me a glass of champagne. After that, there was a block in my memories. As much as I strained my brain, I couldn’t remember anything else from that night. Trying to recall what happened after that one glass of champagne was like running directly into a brick wall repeatedly.
Pointless.
My mouth dropped open as realization flowed through my mind. It was like someone had turned on a lightbulb inside my head so that I could finally see the truth. I hadn’t gotten blackout drunk that night.
Someone had drugged me!
Evelyn had been there that night…could it have been her? Why would she do that when she thought she had my dad wrapped around her finger at that point?
This entire realization only took a split second in my mind. Ivy and Damian were still reaching for the coffees.
Has someone drugged these coffees, too? Was it the same person using the same poison? Was someone trying to hinder our presentation?
“No!” I hissed and stood up.
Quickly, I explained my theory to Ivy and Damian. He looked confused. But Ivy’s eyes widened with the same realization that was making my head spin.
She had seen me that night. She knew how far gone I’d been. Ivy thought that I was just drunk that night, but I had been drugged.
