Chapter 38

The sound of Genevieve's red heels echoed through the lobby of the splendid luxury hotel until she interrupted her steps and stood with her hands on her waist in front of Xavier, who was reading an accounting magazine on a small sofa.

"Where's Tristan?" Genevieve inquired.

"He left early," Xavier replied, without taking his eyes off the magazine.

"Do you know where he went?"

"For a meeting."

"And he went without you?"

"Yes. He wanted someone trustworthy to accompany the shorty to the mall. And guess what? I was the lucky one!" he smiled sarcastically.

Genevieve looked pensively at some corner, remembering the time when she was in a relationship with Tristan. At that time, somehow, she felt special when she was with him, and consequently, she fell in love, which was a big mistake.

"Xavier, you're Tristan's best friend, you must know a lot about him, things that are valuable to me," said Genevieve.

"And what would be valuable to you?" Xavier questioned.

She forced a smile and sat beside him, crossing her legs and tossing her hair to the side, an old seduction tactic to get answers, but Xavier was not slow and figured out her plan right away.

"What's the relationship between him and Aurora?" Genevieve inquired.

"I can't answer that question," replied Xavier.

"Please, tell me!" she pleaded. "It's all so confusing. One day she's throwing coffee on his car, and the next day, he's taking her to Tokyo!"

"There's much more behind it. I can't tell you, so give up trying to get information from me," he closed the magazine and stood up.

"I won't waste any more time. You probably don't know anything anyway!" she shrugged.

Xavier looked at her, not understanding her sudden change of behavior, but he didn't let himself be attacked.

"You doubting my word?" Xavier asked.

"Yes," she replied, getting up and facing him closely. "We both know very well that Tristan is very reserved. My intuition tells me he didn't tell you anything, and you're lying to me."

"Why would I do that?" Xavier asked.

"To keep up the reputation of being the boss's best friend."

The taller man narrowed his eyes angrily, so much so that he didn't measure the words that were about to come.

"You don't know what you're saying! I know everything about that stupid agreement! I can even quote all the rules, I just don't say it because it's none of my business, and I don't want to betray my friend's trust!"

"Agreement?" the word caught Genevieve's attention. "What agreement are you talking about?"

Xavier's eyes widened. Genevieve wasn't doubting his word; her plan was to irritate him with her insinuations that their friendship wasn't worth a penny until he confessed everything just to rub it in her face and come out on top.

A psychological game. Poor Xavier, who only realized it when he had already taken the bait.

"Damn it!" he said, turning his back to Genevieve out of fear of letting more information slip.

"Hey, come back here!" she pulled him by the shirt. "You're going to tell me everything about the agreement right now!"

"Do you want Tristan to cut off my tongue?!" Xavier said indignantly.

"Do you prefer him to cut off your tongue or for me to cut off your little... you know," Genevieve retorted provocatively.

Xavier blushed violently at the response.

"Who told you such a barbarity?" he questioned.

"Aurora says it all the time. One can conclude she must have seen it," she glanced briefly at the man's pants.

"You're mistaken! The shorty didn't see anything!" Xavier defended himself.

"So, it's so small that it can't be seen with the naked eye?" Genevieve needled.

Xavier ran his hand through his hair, a little nervous and annoyed.

"You got it wrong... that smurf only says that because she believes in a theory as idiotic as she is," he explained.

"What theory?" Genevieve asked.

"The taller the man is, the smaller his 'little friend' is," Xavier said, and she laughed. "As I said, it's a lie! Don't even think about spreading this false rumor!" he warned.

"Only if you tell me about the agreement," she pressed him.

He remained quiet, concerned about his image, but it wasn't more important than his friendship with Tristan.

"Well, you've made your decision, so be it," Genevieve concluded.

The secretary walked away, leaving a very frustrated Xavier behind.

"Damn garden gnome!!!"

***

New York, United States.

The hospital wasn't as busy as usual. There were no emergencies, and the atmosphere was calm, which was seen as positive and strange for Griffin, who was used to the hustle and bustle.

With his hands in the pockets of his white lab coat, he walked at his usual pace through the corridors, taking advantage of the quiet day to observe the performance of the new interns.

"How's it going, intern Rose?" he asked the brunette as soon as he entered the pediatric ward.

"Doctor Callahan..." she began to say, but he interrupted her.

"No need for such formality, just call me Griffin."

"Alright," she smiled timidly. "So far, everything is going well, and I'm loving taking care of the children, they're adorable."

The doctor smiled slightly.

"It's good to see that you're committed to helping others. It's very rare to find people with a good heart like yours."

"Thank you very much, doctor... I mean, Griffin!" she smiled timidly and returned to helping the children.

As soon as the brunette moved away, Griffin felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned around and saw one of the receptionists smiling kindly.

"Excuse me, doctor, a woman wants to speak to you at the hospital entrance."

Griffin became nervous and anxious all of a sudden.

"A woman?" He couldn't think of who it could be. "What's her name?"

"Adelaide."

His stomach churned.

"Please, ask her to wait for a few more minutes."

"Alright," she said before returning to the reception.

Griffin now walked quickly towards the wards he hadn't visited yet. Despite being very eager to talk to Adelaide, he carefully observed the interns' situation and helped them with their doubts. Professional life before love life.

He went to the reception as soon as he finished his duty. From a distance, he could see Adelaide sitting on a bench, biting her fingernails; she seemed more nervous than him, so much so that she didn't even notice his approach.

"Princess..." he blushed immediately for letting the nickname slip.

Adelaide looked up, seeing him standing in front of her. She stood up somewhat awkwardly. After all, what was she doing there?

"Can we talk?" the redhead asked.

Shakespeare once said, 'Our doubts are traitors and make us lose what we could often win, by fearing to attempt.'

What was Adelaide doing in that hospital? Simple. She was taking a chance.

***

Tokyo, Japan.

In the mansion owned by a billionaire Japanese, a business dinner was taking place with entrepreneurs from all corners of Asia. They all gathered around the large table in the dining room, savoring traditional Japanese food.

Tristan spoke with some people, something about contracts and companies, while the young woman beside him enjoyed her delicious sake in silence.

"Aurora..." he called her, just as some men stood up, including Xavier. "I need to go to the office to handle some matters. Wait for me here."

Having said that, he stood up and followed the others towards the office, where they had a brief meeting. Tristan was smart when it came to business, and he was also very careful in analyzing the expressions of the entrepreneurs, indirectly manipulating them and thus reaching an agreement that benefited himself the most. Of course, from him, nothing less was expected.

At the end of the conversation, they gradually left the place, with Tristan and Xavier being the last ones.

"Good job!" Xavier patted his friend's shoulder, congratulating him for the great effort.

"It's not that much," Tristan said.

"You're being modest."

"I'm not, I just don't think it was a big deal," he shrugged.

"You only managed to get the richest businessman in Japan to sign a contract with Callahan's, no big deal..." Xavier said sarcastically.

The knocks on the door, which was open, caught the attention of the two young men.

"Xavier, can you leave us alone?" Tristan asked.

Despite Xavier's concern that the woman might reveal that he had inadvertently mentioned the agreement, he didn't protest and left, closing the door. Tristan leaned against a table, looking at the secretary a bit confused.

"What is it, Genevieve?"

"I just want to congratulate you for everything you're achieving..." her steps were slow towards him, and he didn't move a muscle, waiting for her next move. "I also think you deserve a reward for working so hard."

Genevieve's hands landed on Tristan's tense shoulders, moving them to start a massage. He closed his eyes, feeling his bones relax, but soon opened them and pushed her hands away.

"That's enough," he said.

"But I haven't even started yet," she smiled seductively, pulling at his shirt collar and kissing his lips fervently.

Standing between his legs, Genevieve could feel that he was getting aroused. He was a man like any other, unable to control it. She smiled in the middle of the kiss, finally getting that man back.

All that joy was replaced with surprise and annoyance when he broke the kiss and pushed her hands away from his body.

"Stop it. I told you it's not fun with you anymore," he said irritably.

"B-but you were enjoying it... I-I noticed that," she tried to touch him, but he moved away and walked to the door, ready to leave the office. "Is it because of that girl?"

Tristan interrupted his steps. Was he really giving up sex with his secretary because of another girl?

He gave his word to Aurora, and he would keep it. He wouldn't compromise his honor for cheap thrills.

"You know what? I don't care," she continued calmly. "I don't care because I know you'll get tired of her eventually. In the meantime, I'll be by your side, patiently waiting for that day."

Tristan didn't respond and left, leaving Genevieve behind. He didn't take her words seriously; he had heard so many promises in his life and hadn't believed any of them, and this time wouldn't be different.

Returning to the dining room, he looked at the faces of each individual present in the room and then furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Where is she? ― Tristan thought.