Chapter 66: Why Wouldn’t I Want To See You?

The Brilliant Group HQ was a majestically tall building. Some said it was glorious to behold, while others said that it stood out like a sore thumb- but Crystal had no opinion on the matter, one way or the other.

Mike dropped Crystal off at the front door, and then he drove away. Once she was in the building, she went straight to Nathan’s office, and no one impeded her until she got there.

“Miss Smith,” Andy shouted. “I’m sorry, but President Davis is in a meeting. Anyway, you can’t meet with him without an appointment.”

Crystal was surprised to hear this, but she maintained her composure. She forced herself to smile and said, “Then I’ll make an appointment now. Please tell him about it.”

“You should be able to get in to see him in about two weeks,” Andy said. “But this is the wrong place to go to set up an appointment.” A lot of women came to harass his boss, and blocking them was a part of his job, and from his experience, a two-week waiting period was often an adequate deterrent.

Crystal took out her equity certificate and said, “I am a shareholder of Brilliant Group. You should be able to squeeze me in.”

Andy was surprised by the certificate, but it made no difference. His boss had been clear; he wouldn’t see anyone without an appointment. “Even if you are a shareholder,” he said, “I cannot let you in without an appointment, and it wouldn’t be fair to squeeze you in. I’m sorry, I don’t know if you’re looking for Mr. Davis for public or private matters? If it’s a public matter, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the General Department and make an appointment in advance. If it is a private matter, then you should seek him out during his private time.”

Crystal: “It’s a public matter.”

Andy: “Then, as I said, you need to speak with someone in the General Department.”

Crystal glared at Andy. The way things stood, she wanted to stab him in the face with a knife. She didn’t have a knife, though, so she slammed her fist on his desk and shouted, “Tell Mr. Davis that I’m pregnant with his child and that he needs to see me. Right! fucking! Now!”

Crystal’s outburst had her desired effect. Andy was shocked, and because he half-believed her, he didn’t dare brush her off. He picked up the phone and whispered a few words into the receiver. After hanging up the phone, Andy said, “Mr. Davis said that he is in a meeting now. He also said that he will see you once the child is born, but not before.”

Crystal rolled her eyes and shouted Nathan’s name so that he would be able to hear her in his office. When Nathan did not come out, Crystal bypassed Andy and ran to the president’s office. When she arrived at his door, she gave Andy an impish grin, turned the knob, and walked in.

As Crystal walked in, everyone turned to look at her. So he really is in a meeting! - Crystal realized. She looked at Nathan and was surprised by the calm indifference she saw in his eyes. “Carry on,” she said.

Crystal turned to leave, but Nathan said, “Don’t leave. Miss Smith, you can come and sit beside me.”

Crystal felt her scalp begin to tingle. She had thought that Nathan was still angry with her and that he didn’t want to see her, so his invitation made no sense to her. Now she was trapped. She had no choice but to walk around the table and sit next to Nathan.

Once Crystal was seated, Nathan said they needed to get back to business, and one person stood up and said, “The focus of this month is the pre-advertising for commercial drones. The pre-advertising work will entice the appetite of consumers. In addition, the whole world is currently paying attention to our additional investment in the research and development of scientific and technological products. As for the fund, we have recruited a private equity team.”

Nathan suddenly looked at Crystal and asked, “Did you sign the Henry Group’s acquisition plan?”

Crystal began to feel dizzy as everyone turned to look at her, and it took her a while to recover. “I did,” she lied, not knowing why she wasn’t telling the truth.

The board members gave Crystal a curious look, but no one said anything. After a moment, Nathan said, “We’re done here for today. Everyone can leave except Crystal.”

The board members were shocked. Of course, it was out of character for Mr. Davis to end a meeting early. But that wasn’t the only thing that was strange about the meeting. Typically, their boss didn’t allow women into the board meeting, and there were no men on staff. Even his secretary was male. This trend had led most of them to believe that their boss was gay.

***

In the office - faced with the sudden silence, Crystal felt incredibly embarrassed. She cleared her throat and pushed her equity certificates to Nathan. Nathan didn’t pick them up, though. Instead, he looked deep into her eyes and said, “If you are pregnant with my child, you shouldn’t be running around. You should be at home resting.”

She thought Nathan had done talking, but suddenly he leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Are you not afraid of the consequences of your lies?”

Crystal gave Nathan an awkward look. She saw that he hadn’t picked up the document, and she restrained answering his last words, “I was afraid that you didn’t want to see me.”

Nathan: “Why wouldn’t I want to see you?”

Crystal: “Because of what happened yesterday... I didn’t ask Tiffany to wear your clothes.”

Nathan: “I know.”

Crystal: “You know?”

Nathan frowned slightly. His face was still handsome, though, and it transcended all worldliness. His slightly lowered eyebrows and inquiring eyes pierced her soul. Crystal knew that he was waiting for her to talk about the divorce and how she’d snuck into the club to take photos of him, but she was utterly tongue-tied.