Dark Revenge Of A Jilted Bride: Till Life Do Us Part!-Chapter 32: Asked Out

A knock sounded on the door, disrupting Gianna’s intense work on the design before her.

When she lifted her head, she noted it was banging with aches. Cussing, she opened her drawer, took out the pill container, picked two pills, thought better, took four, threw them into her mouth, then smoothed it down with a gulp of water from the bottle in her bag.

"Come in," she said, leaning back, cocking a brow when Lottie stepped in.

"Sorry to disturb you, Miss Gianna. Director Mason is here to see you."

Gianna sighed, tired. "Let him in."

"Okay, Miss Gianna."

And then she was alone—but only for a few seconds. Mason stepped in with his usual bravado, even nursing a smile.

"Your confidence, Gianna, is a turn-on."

Gianna frowned. It was either that or laugh, and the latter option wasn’t looking favourable.

"That’s not a good thing to say to your employee. She might call it sexual harassment."

Mason snorted, sitting on one of the visitors’ seats. "Call it whatever you want, it’s just the way it is. Each time, I wish I could capture you... very beautiful."

His eyes held hers, but what he found there was muted amusement.

"Your father won’t be pleased with that... it’s like encouraging me to always rebel."

Mason laughed. "Do so, if you must. And besides, we are friends."

Gianna raised her left brow. Friends? When did they get to that stage? Her expression only tickled Mason more.

"C’mon, surely you’re my friend?"

Gianna said nothing. She picked up the pencil instead.

"Why are you here though?"She asked after a beat of silence, aware he was staring at her. "I was working before you came in... with the rising number of orders, the pressure keeps getting thicker."

More than five thousand orders in four hours, price notwithstanding.

"To apologise, really. You didn’t get it from my father or the others..." he sighed. "On behalf of the board members, we are sorry."

Gianna’s lips relaxed into a smile. "Doing representative work now?"

Mason shrugged, pleased to have made her smile. "I’m not complaining."

He paused, watching her make a stroke on paper. "Gianna, would you care for lunch with me..."

When she looked up, he upped the megawatt smile. "You know, when I saw the news, I kind of panicked..."

"And why would you do that, Director?"

He loved the teasing lilt in her voice.

"Well, because I am interested in you... have always been..."

"While taking bedmates left, right and centre."

Mason’s face shifted into mock horror. "Surely, you can’t count that? I am a huge supporter of monogamy in relationships."

Gianna chuckled, dropping the pencil. "Well, supporter, I don’t do work relationships."

"We don’t frown at it here."

She nodded. "It’s a personal code of mine. It’s messy when things go south. I don’t do messy..."

Mason’s light expression was beginning to falter. "It won’t be."

Gianna shook her head. "And there’s the fact that letting it happen would make your employees doubt my competence. I’m new here, Mason. I shouldn’t be dating you in the first week."

"So, in the fifth week?"

Gianna rolled her eyes. "Not in the nearest, or perhaps distant, future."

Mason frowned. "That bad?"

"I have done a lot to build my reputation, Mason. Wouldn’t enjoy it being tarnished or relegated to nothing, especially in this company. I already have enough scandals to last the year."

Mason was silent. It wasn’t always that a woman turned him down—in fact, it had never happened. And he was beginning to find out that rejection wasn’t sweet at all.

It left an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, stomach included, skin prickling too.

Gianna watched him—watched his outward blank expression—and wondered if saying "distant future" had been too far. After all, Mason was a handsome fellow, for all the plays he conducted.

He handled his affairs okay too, seeing as she hadn’t seen any news of a woman calling him out. But... she wasn’t up for it. The whole thing a relationship entailed.

"Mason..."

He sighed, leaning back. "Is it because Esme is my cousin?"

Gianna frowned. "Esme is your cousin?"

Mason looked even more deflated, knowing that his cousin had nothing to do with her decision. Pushing away the ill feelings, he forced a smile on his lips.

"Yes, the one and only. A troublesome fellow, that one... well then, I will see you later?"

Gianna nodded, watching him stand and leave.

When she was alone again, she sighed and ruffled her hair. The heavens help her.

Meanwhile, back at the Whitmans, Zane was telling his secretary to order and send flowers and gifts—with chocolates—to the bimbos that had come to his office at the same time, that and a letter of breakup, as was the custom.

"Make sure none of them shows up here again," he bit out, before the secretary ran out of the office.

Because the women had overestimated their place in his heart, they had dug their heels in, refusing to leave even when he demanded it—until security had carted them away.

Embarrassment upon embarrassments, he thought, remembering that Gianna had seen them. Then he was annoyed at himself for being bothered by that. His lifestyle wasn’t really a secret one, so why did it bother him now?

That sex. he answered himself, gritting his teeth. That sex.

Chelsea, while ranting, had let it slip that her friend still hadn’t remembered what happened that night, and now he was the one left with the burden of it—the memories of it, the taste of it, the longing for it.

"Damn it!" he cussed, noting his body reacting already.

Muttering more curses, he picked his phone and dialed one of the contacts of the women he frequented.

"Will you be available tonight?"

"Of course. I am always ready for you, daddy."

He ended the call, restless, not even appeased.

Just then his phone dinged with a text. When he saw it was from Spider, he opened the message—and cussed again when he saw the content.

Becketts had made her a top jewelry designer? No wonder she had the audacity to turn him down!

Even still... What would she do when her uncle got greedy again?