Page 69 of The Next Door Billionaire's Deception

“Hamburgers! God, I love them.” She bites out of her serving.

“You work in Vibrant Corp, right?”

“Um, yeah. I mean, you already knew that before, right?”

“Who’s your boss?”

Anna sets her burger down, swallowing. “Excuse me?”

“Who’s your boss? The CEO. And don’t bullshit me, because I already know, and I know you’re his assistant.”

“Oh? If you already know, then why are you asking me?”

Good question.

I take a sip from my Coca-Cola. “I’m the CEO of Emerald, and your boss wants to take what’s mine. What I worked for.”

“But Mr. Burnes doesn’t … oops.”

So Alex isn’t lying. “Anna. Please. We might not be that close, but I believe I can call you a friend. Help me out here. I just need to know.”

Anna sighs, then draws a napkin from the table to wipe her mouth. I do the same.

“Richard is the CEO of Vibrant. He’s been making a lot of investments to expand the company, but, his merger with Emerald isn’t out of profit or anything. He has his reasons.”

“Oh, I see. Tell me. What are those reasons?”

“Can I ask you a question first, Melissa?”

I lean back in my seat. “Alright. Go ahead.”

“How did you find out? That Mr. Burnes is Vibrant’s CEO?”

I give her a cold stare, before answering.

“My brother, Alex.”

Anna glances out the windows, and I follow her gaze for a moment. There’s nothing of note outside – just people going about their businesses on a busy afternoon and the never-ending traffic.

“Mr. Burnes didn’t know how to approach you when you first moved into your new apartment. More like, he was weary. Emerald is known to many for its prestige and a few for its underground activity,” she says, still staring out the window.

She turns to me, then drinks some water, before continuing.

“He didn’t trust you at first, and that’s really understandable. It seemed too much of a coincidence that he offered a deal to buy the company, then you moved in just days later. Yeah, that’s how it started.”

“Because of this, he decided to get close to me?”

“He didn’t decide. At least, according to my knowledge. He just wanted to find out if you were, I dunno, someone sent to derail his plans. Somehow, you two got close. Since that time, he stopped doubting you.”

“Then why couldn’t he tell me the truth?”

“That’s another thing I don’t know.”

“Do you have any information about his current takeover plans?”

Anna sighs, then sips the last of her Coca-Cola.

“It’s quite amazing how much about your company is kept from you, even though you’re the CEO.”

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