He gulped and looked behind me, as if there was an answer back there. "We are, but I don't… Is it necessary to know that? I don't see why my personal life is important for a —"
"It is, Mr Kevin Stark. You know, my grandfather taught me well." The barista returned with my order, and I thanked him before taking a sip. "I just wanted to know, so I could send my gifts to you. A cooperation doesn't always have to end at a board table. We can develop our relationship from there. Who knows, this could turn into a generational relationship. What do you think?"
His eyes sparkled at that. What I was offering was, after all, better than what he came for. Having a close relationship with my company would benefit him more than us.
"Well…" He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.
'I will just have to lie about it. It seemed no one knew what happened between Rex and me. A small lie won't hurt. I'll tell him the truth after our relationship has been established. Since John is Rex's brother, I don't think he would mind, right? After all, no one knows where Rex is. For all we know, she could be dead. The company would be fully mine soon.'
"My fiancée doesn't want to rush our marriage, you see," he started. "I was hoping to tie the knot with her at the end of the month, but she wanted to extend it. We'll likely exchange rings before the end of the year. Hopefully. Don't worry, I'll bring her to meet you, so you don't think I'm doing all these behind her back."
"Oh. That sounds great." I took another sip of my coffee before I placed the file I came with in front of him. "You can read through this before you sign. When you're ready, you can contact Jax. He'll take care of everything."
I got to my feet. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr Kevin. I wish you luck in your marriage."
"Thank you so much." He got up and took the hand I offered. "I look forward to our collaboration."
'What a fool. I had thought he would give me some issue before agreeing. If I'd known it would be this easy to secure the position, I wouldn't have worked hard for it.'
"Me too."
Forcing a smile, I let go of his hand. "Pay for the coffee," I said before leaving. Even though I didn't hear his thoughts, I knew he was likely cursing me for asking him to pay.
….
The company was the next place I went to. Just like my meeting with Kevin, I took care of everything fast, and also wrote a list of the workers I needed Jax to get rid of.
You see, hearing people's thoughts has more advantages than disadvantages. It's always easy for me to filter out the rats among them.
I rushed home after taking care of my business, eager to see Rex. It had only been a few hours since I last saw her, but it felt like a millennium. I couldn't even tell why I was feeling this way for a human, when I had never felt such an emotion before.
However, I didn't stop to think. All I knew was how badly I needed to see Rex. I wanted to hug her, and to make love to her again, then drink her blood as she climaxes. I wanted to hear her moans of pleasure as she held to me, while coming undone in my embrace.
Jax drove me back since he didn't bring a car. He took a taxi, hoping to drive me back.
The second Jax stopped the car, I was already out of it. I hurried into the house and threw the front door open, like a kid who heard their favourite aunt was visiting.
I breezed through the stairs and headed straight to her room. It only took me a few seconds from the front door to her room. I waited for a minute before I lifted my hand and rapped gently on the door.
"Rex?" I called out to her, but I got no response. I knocked again, believing she was in the bathroom or in the other room.
When I didn't get a response, I wrapped my hand around the doorknob, prepared to rush in when a maid stopped me.
"Sir?"
I turned to look at her. The maid stood in the hallway, her hands trembling around the hem of her apron. Her eyes wouldn't meet mine. They kept darting to the floor, then back to me for half a second before dropping again.
"S-sir?" She swallowed hard. "M-Miss Rex is in the garden."
I could hear it in her heartbeat even without listening to her thoughts, which were all over the place. She was terrified.
I hadn't even been with them for a week, and all the maids looked like they would piss in their pants if I so much as looked in their direction.
I took one step forward, and she flinched, like she expected me to strike her.
"Why?"
"She… She… She …"
I smiled. "Relax. I don't bite… unless I'm invited."
Instead of the words making her calm down like I was aiming for, her face went pale. "She… She…" She gulped. "She wanted fresh air and …"
"Okay." I lifted my hand, letting her know I was done. I doubt she would get all the words out fast. We might end up spending the entire day here if she keeps up with this. "You can go."
"Thank you, sir," she whispered. Then she turned and nearly ran down the hall, her footsteps echoing too loud. One might think the entire legion of devils was after her.
Letting out a sigh, I ran my fingers through my hair. I glanced at Rex's door for a few seconds more before I turned and headed in the direction the maid flew from.
I didn't rush this time to get to Rex. I took my time, thinking of what I would do when I see her…