Page 61 of The Grumpy Billionaire Baby Daddy

"Get out, Eva."

The moment she leaves, I let out a loud pained grunt.

"Aaaaargh!"

I couldn't take it anymore. The pressure, the stress, the overwhelming feeling of loss and despair - it was all too much. I slammed my hands down on the desk, over and over again until they hurt. It was a physical manifestation of the frustration and anger that had been building up inside me for a week.

When I couldn't bear the pain in my hands any longer, I buried my head in them, hoping that the world would just stop for a moment. But it didn't. The weight of everything that I was losing came crashing down on me all at once - Fiona, my child, my partnership through marriage, and my businesses. It was like a storm, raging inside me, threatening to tear me apart. The telecom rings again. I clear my throat before picking up.

"Emma."

"A man is here to see you. He says his name's Douglas."

"Douglas?" I wrinkle my nose. "I don't know a Douglas."

"He says you struck a deal with him in Haiti."

I grunt. I met Douglas in Haiti, and he was looking for an investor for business. Now's not the time to deal with this.

"Please tell him to return next week. I'm caught up in so much at the moment."

The call drops, and almost immediately, my phone vibrates. My heart jumps into my mouth when the name appears on the screen. Andrew Davidson.

Oh God, this is it.

I stand to my feet and pick up the call.

"Hello, Mr. Davidson."

"Yeah, Jason. How are you?"

"Err… good, sir. And you?"

"Great. So straight to the point. Uh.. Businesses are fragile, Jason, you know that?"

I swallow. "I do."

"That means what was built for twenty years can come crashing down in one day as a result of just one careless move."

I shut my eyes, tapping my temple without saying anything.

"You there?"

"I'm here Mr. Davidson. I hear you."

"I've been thinking about our deal and from all indications, it really looks like going along with it will be business suicide for me. I respect your drive and hard work, but I'm unwilling to go through with a deal."

His words pierce my heart, and I sink into one of the couches by the wall.

" I'm sorry, Jason. Maybe sometime in the future, this will work out, but for now, I think it's best we lay it to rest."

An angry tear escapes my eye, but I wipe it off immediately. I can't feel sorry for myself. I have to do everything to prove to everyone that I don't need them. I can do just fine without them. Consco can soar without them.

"I understand, Mr. Davidson. Thank you for taking the time to have this conversation."

"One more thing," he says. "I hear Eva's no longer interested in the marriage. I want you to know that I had no hand in her decision. It was all her."

"It's alright."

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