CHAPTER 3

Mandy

I can tell that my face is indescribable as I keep switching my attention to Victor and to the man, who I bumped into just a few minutes ago.

The two of them—make it three if I am going to add the other man beside the man I bumped into—are having a conversation that is about me, and yet they are acting as if I, the person they are talking about, am not with them. And it pisses the hell out of me.

Is this their way of showing their disrespectfulness towards me? Because if it is, then I am going to show them that I am not appreciating it and that they should stop, or I am going to enjoy pulling every strand of their hair; it doesn't matter if one's my boss and the other one is a man who looks rich and powerful enough that he is able to meet my boss' gaze with his head held high and could make me lose my job with just a flick of his fingers.

“Just in case the three of you forgot, I, the literal person you are talking about, am still here, and I would like to join in on the conversation,” I said in a voice loud enough.

Finally, they turn their attention on me—the first time that they do after we get inside Victor's office.

And did I already say that I was already here a while ago, and after hearing what Victor had to say, I quickly bolted out of his office? If I haven't, then I am informing everyone now that that's what happened. That's when I bumped into this rich-looking alpha. And now here I am, back in Victor's office, not because I wanted to, but because I was literally dragged here by one of Victor's men. I do not want to be here and be with them, alright? But my son of a bitch boss made sure that I won't be going anywhere until this conversation about me being sold is over, until they come out with an agreement that would benefit the two of them.

God. Even thinking of the word 'sold' makes me want to puke. And no, this is not me being a two-faced bitch because obviously, I have been selling—or maybe renting is the better way to call it—myself to alphas for years. It's just that this time, it will be different. Because if I agree with this, it means I will be an alpha's sole property for all eternity, and that is something I will never ever allow.

The secretary-looking guy is about to speak, obviously to reprimand me because that's exactly what his eyes are telling me, when the rich-looking guy raises one of his hands to shut the secretary-looking man up.

The rich-looking man meets my eyes. His gaze is piercingly cold, one that I can feel permeating my body, but I did not let him see that he is affecting me. I held my head high as I met his gaze too, even raising one of my eyebrows as if I were daring him.

“May I have a moment with the lady?“ The rich-looking man asked, his gaze still on me, but his question was clearly for the two other men in the room.

Without any questions, Victor and the secretary-looking guy stand and leave the room, leaving me and the rich-looking guy to continue staring at each other.

“I am Landon,” the rich-looking guy says the moment the door is closed.

“I did not ask, and I don't care,” I answered as my eyes started to go sharp.

“So you're Mandy.” He crosses his legs, making himself comfortable. “I've already known quite a lot about you.“

“Is this your way of telling me that you have been stalking me?“

But Landon ignored what I said and just continued to talk as if he couldn't bother about the words that came out of my mouth. And that irritated me a bit. “And because I have a handful of information about you, I am confident that you will undoubtedly take what I am about to offer you,” he says with full confidence.

I scoff. “You sound like someone that has never experienced being denied too. If that's the case, then let me have the honor of being your first, Mr. Landon. Because whatever it is that you offer, I am not taking it.” I made sure that I looked and sounded so sure and serious, hoping that it was enough for Landon to give up.

But of course, that did not happen.

Landon's gaze remains focused on me, his eyes telling me that he's not someone I can easily turn away from. Then he grabbed the manila folder that is in Victor's office and gave it to me. “Take a look at it.“

I stared at the folder for a few seconds, then my gaze went back to his face. I crossed my arms over my chest and said, “No, thank you. I am not interested—” But Landon cut me off by practically shoving the manila folder towards me, leaving me surprised and with no choice but to take it.

“Just take a look at it,” he says. And although he looked and already sounded serious the moment I bumped into him, the seriousness in his voice and in his eyes this time is different in a way that it makes me weak and makes me do whatever he asks me to do.

I gulp several times to normalize my breathing and to kill whatever this feeling I am having in my body is.

I cleared my throat and schooled my face just in case I was wearing my heart on my sleeve. But even if I did, that did not bother Landon at all. His face remained stoic as if he does not give a shit about what I feel.

With no choice at all, I roughly opened the manila folder to see what's inside, only to find a contract in there.

I frown as I look at Landon again. “A contract?“

Landon said nothing and just gave me a look that told me to read it. And because I know that he won't take 'no' for an answer, I decide to just give it a read.

Five minutes have not even passed yet since I started reading the contract, and my eyes are already bulging in wonder and amazement.

Like, holy shit! Is this real? Is this contract fucking real?

I continued reading the contract down to the last page, and once I was done reading and comprehending everything, I thought, 'I am taking back my words. Maybe being sold isn't bad after all.'