My Love for You Broke Me

Chapter 46

It was surprising to see Alba here. I never thought I would meet him at a time and place like this. Is Alba a part of the Adams Family?

Alba nodded. "We'd like to have this deal. Will you let us have it, President Felix?" He was asking me nicely and he sounded slightly nervous, as if this deal was important for him.

I tilted my head curiously. "You stood us up, so why'd you want to negotiate with us?"

Before Alice could say anything, Josephine said, "Hey, you wanted to talk to us first."

I looked at her. Wow, she's loud! Doesn't she know silence is golden? Or is she trying to rile me up? I answered coldly, "But you agreed to talk. Why'd you agree if you'd just stand us up anyway?"

Josephine said again, "We just wanted to see you struggle."

Holy sh*t! How did she get this far in life? My face fell and I retorted, "So you're not giving us that deal, then?" I paused for a moment. "Competition is normal in the business world, and it's nothing personal. But honestly, you're way worse at business than Benedict is. At least he has integrity."

Josephine wanted to retort, but Alice stopped her. "We only care about profit here, President Felix."

I smiled. "Ah—so you'll work with anyone as long as they can give you maximum profit?"

Alice smiled but she said nothing. I hated that smug look on her face. She thought she had everything under control. She was confident that she could play me and the Felixes like a fiddle. Well, the joke was on her. I knew I should not back off now. At the very least, I would strike fear into their hearts, which was why I asked, "Ms. Yates, do you think we're pushovers?"

She smiled. "Of course not."

Alba had stayed silent this whole time. I looked away from him and turned my attention to this smug woman before me. I said, "You breached the contract first. We might not have signed any papers, but you turned back on your word. Sure, you don't have to work with us, but I won't go down without a fight. Your business won't get any of Bryxton's market share that easily if I won't greenlight it."

I paused for a moment, and I asked, "I heard your family is going to work with the Normans in Sundew?" Clair brought it up by accident before I came back to Bryxton. He said the Yates were expanding, and they wanted to open up shop in Sundew, Eldham, and Bryxton.

Alice froze for a moment. She looked surprised. "What do you mean, President Felix?"

I smiled at her. "Oh—you know exactly what I mean."

Alice stood up. "Are you saying…" She had beautiful eyes, and she was staring straight at me.

She thought I would deny it, but I smiled. "Exactly what you're thinking."

"Are you threatening us?"

Hey, you breached the contract. Don't bring your family up. They don't scare me. I looked down and played with my fingers. "Alice, I'm here to talk because I respected you, but you just had to invite Alba over to watch while you insult me."

Alice pursed her lips. She wanted to say something, but Josephine cut in, "Ignore her, Alice. She can't stop us all by herself. Besides, the Forgers are on our side."

The Forgers are on their side? I stood up. "But can they protect you forever?"

"You're full of yourself, Renee!" Josephine flew into a rage. I was surprised. I had never seen someone so stupid in all my years of doing business, nor have I ever seen a company's boss breaching the contract without giving me any explanation. Do they think I'm stupid?

I ignored Josephine. Talking to her was a waste of my time. I stared at Alice. "The Felixs control Bryxton, the Craigs control Eldham, and the Normans control Sundew. Try as you might but if I refuse, your family can never open up shop in either of those cities. The Forgers might be on your side, but Nicholas is a businessman as well. He knows what he should do."

Alice still kept up the calm girl act. "Are you friends with the Craigs and the Normans?"

I shot back, "At least I know they aren't your friends."

That was a threat all right. Alice was not as stupid as Josephine was. She would weigh her options, and silence fell on the room. Alice gave Alba a look of hesitation.

Alba seemed upset. I could see that he was desperate for this deal.

Someone came in at this moment, and I was surprised to see that it was Nicholas. He looked as deadpan as usual, and he took the seat beside me right away. I was standing up, so he looked up at me. "Why don't you sit down and talk?" he asked.

I was about to leave, but now that he made his appearance, I had no choice but to sit down. Right after I sat down, he whispered, "You're getting better at threats. Hey, spend a day with me and I'll stay out of this."

I ignored him, but he did not look disappointed. When I looked up at Alice, I noticed that she was in disbelief. Oh—so she likes Nicholas. Are divorced men all the rage now? I smiled calmly, "It depends on Ms. Yates. She can pick who she wants to work with. I know she'll make the best choice."

As long as Nicholas kept quiet, I knew she would work with us. If the Yates wanted to expand, they would never get on my bad side unless Nicholas interfered.

The Forgers were juggernauts in the tech field, and the Yates would work with them if they had the choice. I would work with them if I had the choice. Still, Nicholas had shown no interest up until this point. He was just helping the Adams out.

I knew Nicholas was just trying to get me to cave and spend a day with him.

Alice hesitated for a moment. "We're about to sign the contract with the Adams, but there's Miss Felix to consider."

It was an important turning point. Alice had chosen to work with us.

I looked down and smiled. Just when I thought I was going to win, Nicholas suddenly said, "Ms. Yates, if it's okay, we'd like to work with you as well."

Alice looked at him, surprised. "You want to work with our family?"

Nicholas was looking ahead coldly, as if trying to force me to cave. I wanted to leave, but I remembered what my assistant told me. This deal could benefit our family greatly. In the end, I held Nicholas' arm, agreeing to his terms.

Nicholas got the signal, and he patted the back of my hand. He said, "Oh—I can't take President Felix's deal away. I'm talking about next time. Call me if you have anything good for us."

He was lying as naturally as he breathed, but I heaved a sigh of relief.