She made him look like failure.

Chapter 4: She made him look like failure.

Cormac’s pov

I watched her stop, but not completely. She was hesitant by a step before she continued down the hallway, her acquaintance with him.

“Sir,” my assistant, Luke, rushed to my side. “You have another appointment.”

It was hard to tear my eyes from Leil…no, Daphne. I didn’t spend my life with her to mistake her for someone else because of three years apart. It was her.

I was so sure of that, but as I stared down at her as she made her way to her car, a black Lamborghini truck, I could almost swear that it was a different person. Her grace, elegance and even aura was so different. Loss of memory wouldn’t alter that, would it?

Daphne was more poise, graceful, like she was raised from birth to be an administrator, like she was brought up with money. Which was a stark contrast to the Leilani that I knew.

Leilani was impulsive, little aura, but I loved her anyways, she was reckless and a people’s pleaser , a hard mix. It was why we’d planned to get married even when we were in college. We made a pact. We were reckless.

That woman was not Leilani, yet she was her in a way I couldn’t quite decipher.

“Sir?” The urging call of my assistant tore me from my trance.

“Another appointment,” I said and he nodded.

“Which one?” I asked

“Mrs. Harris.”

“Not her.” I immediately interjected, doing any sort of business with that woman would be making a deal with the devil. She would ask back in ten folds.

“We have no choice. She’s the only one that can help us at the moment. After Miss Daphne took over the majority of shares in the company, our shareholders are withdrawing their shares and siding with her.”

Traitors! I clenched my fist.

Still, Mrs. Harries was a no go area, I would only suffice to her if we were in code red.

We turned and walked in the direction of my office. “Lei…. Miss Daphne, what can you find about her?” I inquired on our way to the office.

“I did some research before her coming.” He handed me his tablet and I took a look at it.

She has dirty brown hair, tied up into a ponytail as she rode a horse. She handled her reins well like Ike that had mastered it from childhood. I swiped and I saw another picture of her with her parents in Manchester.

What?

And then by her side was the man from earlier. Nicholas. And then there was press about her accident. They were little details, but aside from that, they were nothing major.

I would have to put a trail on her later. Handing Luke back his tablet. We stalked over to my office, just as we arrived I saw my office door open. Some men in black strutted in and out with brown boxes.

Luke grabbed one of the men, “what are you doing?!” He demanded.

The man stared intently at me. “We are clearing the office.”

“And why would you do that, this is Mr. Bass’ office.”

“Not anymore. It belongs to Miss Daphne now. We will help have his properties arranged in his next office.”

With that Luke stepped back.

“Very well then, I’ll have my office set up myself. Don’t fret about it,” I said to him.

I gave a clip and professional nod of my head, whilst I fumed inside like a burning furnace. I didn’t care whoever that Daphne girl was, or her identity at this point. I was fucking going to make her regret having her claws on this particular company.

Luke’s phone rang and he showed me the caller, Mrs. Harries’ secretary. “We need it, we need her. If not , you'll be reduced to a single clerk in your own company.”

True.

But I had to be desperate to need her help. I still had 20 percent of the shares. My grandfather always said that anything done out of desperation was a grave later.

“Stall that for a minute.” I faced my secretary to make him see things in my own light. “She knows our situation at the moment, for her to push for this would be because she has an ulterior motive. One we may never walk out from.”

His eyes transcended to steel and he nodded. “I have some words that would keep them off for a while.”

Going for Mrs. Harries would be a drastic measure and we were not dire yet.

I pulled out my phone and put a call through to the person that had me under this mess in the first place, my twin brother, Trevor.

He picked the phone after two ringings. “If it’s not my favorite brother, Cormac.”

“What the fuck did you do?!” I demanded through clenched teeth, anger seething at the edge of my fist.

“You are going to have to be a pretty specific brother. What did you say I did?”

Fuck!

I loosened my tie and ran a finger through my hair. “Why did you sell that amount of shares to Miss Daphne?”

The line was silent for a bit before he coughed out. “We needed the money to pay off the bank for the loan the company owed.”

My fist was impossibly tight, and every word was strained with each syllable. “What debt, Trevor?”

“Oh just a few I took when I became the director. I needed to pay it back, then I thought about selling some of our shares to her. A pretty sturdy cash lady. She paid in a whoop.”

“TREVOR!” I barked and a few passersby flicked their disapproving gaze at me that I couldn’t give a sheet about.

“Calm down brother. You are no fun. We have other companies. It’s not as if we would go bankrupt if we sell off one company,” he shrugged, tone indifferent that I wished to plant a fist through skull if he was here.

This wasn’t any company, it was the first company grandfather set up. It was the company that generated the most income and he dared treat it with little regard.

“Is that Cormac?!” I heard Ava yell from the other end of the line and I rolled my eyes. The pair were miserably married.

“Yes,” Trevor took to answering for me. “And he’s been such an—-“

I ended the call abruptly and turned just in time to see Luke approaching me. “She’s waiting, but she’s giving you the end of the day.”

That was enough time to ascertain what sort of shit I’d gotten myself into.

“Where do I have to be?”

He walked his eyes over his screen and muttered. “The Art Exhibit that’s opening.”

Normally I wouldn’t go, but I had to make some potential partners in the future.

“And a very important guest will be coming as well as Mrs. Harries.”

In other words my presence was not only needed but commanded. I could do that. That was what I’d been brought up to be.

“And your office is now on the 7th floor.”

Fucking Daphne. Of course she would want to move me from the 10th floor. She wanted to make me look like a failure.

“Let’s head there.”

As we walked down to the floor of my office, stares and eyes were fastened on me. They just watched and whispered.

My things were directly in front of my new office. I was at the end which meant it was only a matter of time before Daphne would have me go down again till I was on the first floor.

Some of my team members moved the necessary things into my office and we began reforming. Arranging it. Since it wasn’t as big on the one on the tenth floor, some things were moved to the store room.

After we were done. We were heading to the Art Gallery that was opening. The owner was still anonymous and Ava’s art would be featured there. This meant that Ava would be there as well.

I could feel my bones groan from exhaustion but as we drove there I felt the urge to meet new partners. Offer them an opportunity on the new project I was embarking on.

Luke opened the car door for me and I stepped out. There were paparazzis everywhere. Camera and media outlets on the standby.

As I stepped out reporters buzzed around me. Microphysique stretched out before me.

“Mr. Cormac, we heard that your company has been taken over by another company.”

“It was the company that your grandfather started with. How do you think he would feel with you selling it?”

“Sir!”

“Mr. Bass, what will become of the company now?!”

With the help of my secretary we were able to push in successfully. My blood roared in my ear from anger. Grandfather would be so pissed, he would be rolling in rage.

The moment we were inside I came face to face with.

“Mr. Cormac, we meet again,” Leilani said, smiling, her hand draped over her husband’s shoulder. Hee easy aura made me want to rip apart hee facade.

And I fucking will!

“It’s nice to see you here as we will be seeing more of each other. Don’t you think so?”