Chapter 4

4

Liora's POV

"Mommy, there's a man at the door looking for you," Selina says as she runs into the room where I'm packing up clothes for laundry.

Placing my hands on my waist, I narrow my eyes at her. "Selina Wilder. Did you, by any chance, go to the door again? I've told you to stop that. A bad man could take you away."

Her giggles stop, her face falling. "I'm sorry, Mommy. It's just that you were busy. I wanted to help you."

It's just so hard to stay angry at her. But her safety is still my priority, especially with her crazy father out there.

At the door, I meet a man in a suit, his eyes shielded by dark sunglasses. Behind him are three black SUVs, men dressed in similar attire patrolling the area.

My heart thumps. Could they be Ronan's men? He always used two cars.

"Miss Liora Wilder?"

I gulp, then nod. "Yes. That's me."

"I'm Levi Santiago, executive assistant of Mr. Evren Valesca. May I come in?"

Oh, not this again. I specifically told my doctor I wouldn’t be a surrogate for that arrogant man. He tried to plead with me, make me see the importance of accepting that offer. But I'd dealt with one arrogant ass before. See where it left me now. There is no way I am signing a deal with another. Absolutely not.

"No. You may rather go back to your boss and tell him I am not interested in his stupid offer."

"Uh, Miss, maybe—"

"No. He should get someone else. He's a billionaire, right?"

The man clears his throat, digging into his suit and bringing out a small envelope. When he hands it to me, I'm about to tear it into shreds when he chuckles,

"You don't wanna do that, Miss. Maybe read it first."

I freeze. My eyes drop to the envelope, and the bold words make my stomach coil.

"Lawsuit for Attempted Murder by Poisoning."

What the hell?

"What is this? Poisoning? What do you mean... What poisoning?"

"Mr. Valesca will best explain things to you. Please be at his main office building by 1 p.m."

He's gone before I can say another word. My throat clogs, my breathing harsh. I have no idea what this means. I didn't poison anybody.

I drop Selina off at Adriana's place and drive to the Valesca building. My car isn't allowed to get past the first gate to the property. The building looms in the sky, towering easily over every other building in the city. Bright glass walls line it from top to bottom, glittering as the afternoon sun shines on it.

The name "Valesca" boldly written mocks me from below. Arrogant jerks.

"Miss Wilder. So good to see you. Please come with me." Levi smiles, motioning for me to follow him into the building and into an elevator labeled Private.

It stops for no one, and in no time, I hear the ding that makes my heart race.

"You can go in there. He's expecting you." He points towards a door labeled "CEO Evren Valesca."

My palms start sweating before I can even walk in. I wipe them against my pants—random jeans I threw on in a haste—and knock twice on the door.

"Come in."

A deep, guttural voice sends my eyes bulging.

I step in timidly, making sure I don't stare at the man who summoned me here. Instead, I look around—the high ceiling-to-floor windows, a small seating area with glass tables and red sofas, a bookshelf almost bigger than my entire office—and finally, my eyes rest on the round table where sits the arrogant man who made me come here.

He's facing away from me, staring out into the city. He doesn't turn to face me even after a few minutes. I frown. Who the hell does he think he is?

Having had enough, I decide to speak my mind. "Hello, Mr. Valesca. I am sure there must be some mistake. I don’t know about any poisoning incident."

Silence. He doesn’t say anything, just continues looking outside.

I close my eyes, fisting my shirt so I don't walk over and slap his arrogant face. "Mr. Valesca, I said I am—"

My words get caught in my throat as his chair turns around, and I stare into the face of the most handsome guy I have ever seen. The man whose face had been imprinted in my mind since the party last night.

The employee whom I kissed. I tried to find him afterward, but nobody seemed to recognize him.

It all makes sense now. He was never an employee. The chilling realization dawns on me... Oh my goodness. I kissed a Valesca. I kissed the man who owns New York City. And I also bossed him around. Oh my God somebody kill me now.

Those lips lift up at the edge, his silver-grey eyes fixing onto my face. "Miss Wilder, I see you've finally recognized me. Splendid."

"..."

"Oh, cat got your tongue? It didn’t seem to when you were bossing me around."

"M-Mr. Valesca, I swear I had no idea you were the one. I thought—"

"I was an employee of yours?" Leaning forward, he arches a brow. "Tell me something, Miss Wilder. Do you always go around kissing all your employees? Or was I the lucky one?"

"...Sir, I can explain... It w-was a total misunderstanding—"

He raises a hand to stop my rambling. "Please, spare my ears. I didn’t call you here for that. I’m pretty sure Levi told you already. So I’ll go straight to the point.

Why did you try to kill my VIP guest?"

What?