Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Chapter 306

and Brielle spotted her cane lying just within reach, propped against the elevator’s handrail. She leaned in to grab it.

Max couldn’t help but let out a chuckle mixed with a hint of exasperation. “Ms. Haywood, you’re quite the trooper,” he said, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

Brielle tensed, fully aware he was mocking her, and her temper flared. “Nothing compared to you, Mr. Dorsey. You’re busy as a bee, as always,” she retorted. It was a clear jab at him for his habit of not answering calls.

Anyone else would think twice before speaking to Max in such a manner, but Max didn’t get angry. Instead, he felt an odd sense of helplessness, even a bit of bewilderment, about how to respond to her.

Amidst his silence, Brielle finally got hold of her cane and stood there in the corner, stiff as a board. After a long while, she feigned composure and asked, “I know it might be redundant to ask, but are you planning to call it quits, Mr. Dorsey?”

For Brielle, mustering the courage to ask such a question was monumental. Max’s actions had made his intentions clear; he wanted to set boundaries between them. She had always found herself too timid and too reserved in the face of attraction. Her past was far from glamorous, riddled with rejections and romantic tumbles, not to mention a family life in shambles. Yet she had never shied away from any of it; she embraced it all, including the faint stirrings of her heart for Max.

It was her one source of pride.

Max didn’t answer right away. The closed elevator was quiet. The seconds were ticking by, and their heartbeats were almost audible in the silence. Just as Brielle thought he wouldn’t respond, she heard a decisive, “Yeah.”

had anticipated this answer, she had clung to a gambler’s hope for a different outcome until the very end. That nascent flicker of attraction was snuffed out with Max’s single word.

more, avoided looking at her as if he was holding back something,

you all the best in getting what you want, Mr. Dorsey.” Max’s Adam’s apple bobbed; his hand discreetly brushed over his

had to be resolute from

and no longer willing to invest her emotions in a lost cause.

Chapter 306

in love. It was all a dopamine–induced

even if Max harbored a small affection for her, his formidable brain would immediately take action to correct any

kind of pleasure. And the only thing

few seconds, having

outside indicated that someone had noticed the elevator malfunction. She

Dorsey, Ms. Brielle, are you in there?” called out Patrick’s voice, along with the

long until the elevator is

making it a priority,”

not

the elevator, Noah was standing with the executives. He had rushed over upon hearing that Brielle was at the company today. He had promised Alivia to win Brielle over within a week. and yet, ironically, time had passed, and he had only met