When Love Becomes a Cage by Nora

Chapter 40

Chapter 40



Was it Merritt's warning that did the trick? Clyde had been unusually quiet these days. Even at the office, he'd look the other way when our paths crossed.

Just when I thought he was done making my life difficult, Kayla decided to stir up some real trouble.

Aspire World had sent representatives. And she, for some reason, didn't bother to inform me and left them hanging in the conference room. When I got Vinson's text, I found out he and his team had been at our office for over an hour.

I rushed to the meeting room. "Vinson, you're with Aspire World?"

"I'm so sorry. My colleague didn't tell me you were here. I would've been here immediately if you'd texted me sooner."

Seeing him surrounded by his team, I could tell he held a position of authority. A part of me was secretly thrilled. If Vinson were in charge of the project, it'd be a cakewalk compared to dealing with Bill.

A young lady beside Vinson shot me a disapproving look. "Starting by name-dropping? Ms. Crawford, you made us wait this long. You think this will slide like that, huh? Last time, you made Mr. Jenkins wait, and now, Mr. Davis. What, is this your way of showing dominance?"

put on my best apologetic smile and kept saying sorry over and over. With Vinson smoothing things over, the

when Lina walked in, arms laden with a dozen cups of coffee and a box of assorted pastries. "Sorry, everyone, Ms. Crawford insisted this bakery was worth the hype, so I queued up. My apologies for the delay. I got a variety of the most popular flavors and some pastries. Let's

me. The Aspire World team, mostly young folks, livened up with the offer of good food. "This coffee shop's the talk of the town. I couldn't even get in last

to communicate with the younger crowd, no generation

Crawford did her homework. I haven't

for a meeting or a feast?"

us a Michelin-starred meal then?" I took a long sip of my coffee, feeling utterly

interrupted, "Ms. Osborne, right? We've been here over an hour, and you've been saying Mr. Patterson was unavailable. What's your point in

"We'll take our leave if your company isn't interested in cooperating. Melanie, I'll

afford this little expense." Clyde entered with a forced smile,

a hint of disdain. "What's going on? Making our guests

for snacks, causing the delay. Last time, she made Mr. Jenkins wait. Seems deliberate to me." Kayla was

anyone. The Aspire World team

the corporate world long enough to

blind to it, taking Kayla's word as gospel. "Melanie, be focused when discussing business. If Aspire World walks away, can you bear the responsibility? Will you compensate for the company's

his ignorance. I would have never pursued him if he had always