Prologue

2117 Words
My chest is rising up and down. That was f*cking embarrassing. How dare his security to block me? Are they not aware of who I am?! “M-Ma’am, s-sir Frantz told me t-to inform y-you that y-you have to wait h-here outside for a m-minute—” “For a minute?!” I hiss. First, his guards blocked me and did not allow me to enter the premises, and now he’s going to make me wait outside his office? I throw a glare at the currently closed door. The italic title imprinted on the gold plate with his bold name on top infuriates me more. CEO of BM Corporations: Hyko Streiker Frantz I can feel the heat slowly rising on my cheeks. It took me hours to dress up and now I’m completely messed up. I look again at his secretary who is nervously smiling in front of me. I struggled to free myself from the guards earlier. And I am certain they won’t let me go if none of his staff informed him that I am in his office building creating a scandal. That was a shame on my part! Imagine being watched by his employees getting dragged out of his office. I am Ariette Levrinne! The CEO and the heiress of L. Corporation. The leading company in the food industry for years—which is now at the f*cking edge of bankruptcy. And the guy behind that door is my last resort to save our beloved company. I roll my eyes at his secretary. “Fine!” I snort. The sofa seat resting on the side of the lobby is waiting for me to join it. I throw a disgusting look at it before slamming down myself on its soft seat. The coldness of the room envelope my body when I remember why I’m here. I do not know why I am this nervous. I don’t remember myself having shaky hands and cold sweats when I talked to Ace MacNeil and offered the same deal. That freaking loyal bastard! We once had a thing, but nothing serious. We were normal adults doing adult stuff to escape our stressful worlds. I bite my lower lip as I wait for a call from his secretary. F*ck! I can’t believe this. He did not respond to my emails and even refuse to meet me when I asked for an appointment. And now he is letting me wait out of his office. What the f*ck is he doing there anyway? The urge to ask his secretary is running through my mind. The only thing that is stopping me is the fact that he may throw me out of this building if he gets annoyed by what I am doing. I pin my eyes on the door. Every minute that passes, my stares are turning into glares. She said ‘a minute’! I’m already waiting for half an hour. Suddenly, the door opens. I shifted on my seat, straighten my back, and held my chin up high. I look straight ahead—acting snobbishly. However, my act was put to a halt when I hear a woman’s voice from the open door. “I’m glad we had a great talk, Hyko!” My eyes automatically traveled from her wavy long hair down to the hem of her dress just below her bottom cheeks. My eyes landed on her curves and I could not stop my eyebrow from arching. She’s still facing the door. Her hands are on the doorknob while talking to him. So this is his type now, huh? Gone is the nerdy Hyko from college? I did not hear his response or if he did respond because the woman had already closed the door. She looks in the direction of the secretary and slightly bows her head before going. My eyes follow her with my eyebrow still arching. I look back at the secretary and saw her smiling widely at her. When her gaze lands on me, the sides of her lips slowly went back to a formal straight line, and awkwardly smiles. Our eye contact is only interrupted by the ring of the telephone. My brows furrow. She’s smiling at other girls but she’s nervous when she’s talking to me. Who is that woman by the way? Is she always here? Why do I feel like his secretary is used at her visiting this office? “Yes, sir… Yes. Okay, sir.” She put down the phone and look at me. A small smile appears on her face as she graces the currently closed door at me. “Ma’am, sir Frantz said you can already come inside.” I stand in my seat and look at her coldly. I notice how she made a small step backward due to my stares. I arch my brow before gracefully facing my back and walking towards the door. A man sitting on his swivel chair facing his laptop is what welcomed me. I fake cleared my throat to somehow caught his attention. I stop myself from getting annoyed. How dare he ignore me? It’s impossible he did not notice my entrance. He is completely facing the door! “Good afternoon!” I tried to sound cheerful. If I have to fake it, I will. For the sake of our goddamn company, I’ll do everything for it to stay at the top. “Come in, Ms. Levrinne.” I want to blow fire when he did not bother lifting his head to see me. However, I remember why I’m here. It may be hard to swallow the truth for me, but I cannot deny the fact that I need him. So instead of letting my emotion take control of me, I calmly walk toward him and sit right on top of his desk. A smirk playfully plasters on my face when I notice how he froze. There, I got your attention. But the satisfaction did not last when he lifts his head and coldly look at me. I almost bawl in my place. “What are you doing, Ms. Levrinne—” “C-cut the formalities—” Why the f*ck am I stuttering?! “Why would I?” he snobbishly responded. My lips went into a thin line and my teeth grind against each other. I hide the quivering of my hands by clenching them into a fist. Silently, I clear my throat. “I n-notice the woman awhile ago… She c-called you H-Hyko… so I t-thought…” I only realize how embarrassing my thoughts are. So what if they are on the first name basis? His gaze bore at me languidly and went down on my position. His eyes stop at the hem of my fitted leather black dress. I am aware of its length but since I’m sitting on top of his desk, it made it look shorter than it already is. When his eyes met mine, heat filled my face. I’ve never felt insulted by how someone stares at me. My eyes blink uncontrollably. I manage to get a hold of myself. I lift my chin and release myself from his desk. I stand formally in front of him and met his cold-looking eyes. My words stuck into my throat and my mind went blank for a second. Are his features really look this stern or maybe this is the only first time I saw him this close? “What brought you here, Ms. Levrinne?” My face crumples at how he addresses me, but I shove it off. Eyes on the goal, Ari! “W-Well, I’m here to o-offer you a d-deal!” I made a mental facepalm. This is not how I practiced it! His brow arches and looks at me uninterested. Once again, I never felt this insulted! “As someone who is in the business industry, I do not think I have to give you a short background on the state of our company. With that being said, I need your help,” I straightforwardly say. There’s no need for me to make this conversation long. I sent him an email about weeks ago and he did not even bother replying. I tried to make an appointment with him outside his office. I booked a table to a nearby coffee shop only for him to refuse me and sent me a response through his secretary! The thought of wasted effort angers me, but of course, I’m a good actress. I need him and he knows it. That’s why he’s acting snobbishly while I have to act submissively! “So here I am!” I confidently say. I flash a wide smile but deep inside, I want to vanish. We were once at the top. Seeing myself begging for people to stay at the top tramples my pride. “And what kind of help is that?” He asks. Nothing in his voice sounds like he’s interested in what I am about to say. Either way, I continue to execute my plan. “Due to the state of our company, it is impossible for our fast-food chains to operate. Since your company owns multiple malls, I need your help. Let our fast food operate at your malls…” without any payment. But of course, I do not have to add it. As a businessman, he already understands my point. “And what would I get for letting a bankrupt business operate in my malls?” One of his brows arch while he’s looking at me. His voice screams authority. As someone who is at the top of the food chain, I wonder if he’s only acting this way or if this is what he really is—cold and intimidating. “You’ll marry me,” I utter seductively and with full confidence. He stares at me blankly. His thick eyebrows look like they are having a hard time thinking if they will arch or furrow. In the end, one side of his lips rose for a smirk. I can see no humor in that which gives a shiver down my spine. I understand why he acted that way. Who would have thought that the man I hate is also the man I would ask to marry? “Get out of my office, Ms. Levrinne,” he dismisses. He turns his back on me and went to the high table on the left side of the office. He grabs a glass and pours a whiskey on it—completely ignoring me. My jaw dropped. That’s it? I planned this for over a month and he rejected me for what? Half a minute? Not to mention that I waited for him for half an hour outside. I can’t let him do this! While he is busy acting busy, I use it as an opportunity to do the thing I am good at. With my shivering hand, I slowly unzip the back zipper of my black leather dress and let the gravity do the work. The dress slid down on the floor, leaving me with my red sexy, and lacy lingerie. He probably notice my sudden movement since he faces me. He stops for a second and his eyes travel down my body. The surprised expression swiftly passed onto his face but I am quick enough to see it. His jaw clenched and one of his eyebrows is tempting to arch. I smirk. He’s good at hiding his emotions but I’m better at catching one. Sorry, Mr. CEO but I’ve been with boys even before I hit puberty. I exactly know your species’ weaknesses. “Like what you are seeing?” I smirk. I made sure that the way I pronounced every single word is full of seductiveness. His eyes once again travel down to the wholeness of my body and then back to my face. I gulp. He takes a sip on his glass while his eyes are glued to my face. There is something in his stares that made me uncomfortable. Still, I tried to maintain a seductive smile even though I feel like I was being splashed by cold water when I saw nothing in his eyes. He languidly tilts his head while swirling the glass in his hand. One side of his lips rose for a grin. “I’ve seen and touched better bodies, Ms. Levrinne…” his stares crawl from my face down to my body. “There’s nothing special to see here,” he coldly utters and drinks the remaining alcohol in his glass. WHAT THE HELL?! ----- Forcing The Billionaire by: Joanne Cristel ©2022 ----- Note: Unedited. English is not the author's first language so expect grammatical errors. Thank you!
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