"Are you angry, Miss Sinclair?"
Dear Moon Goddess, she was. She had never met a man as clumsy and annoying as Killian Sokolov before. Because of him, she had wasted hours designing those designs, which were not going to be used now.
It was a complete waste of her time and efforts.
Even though she was going to resign today, Inez felt annoyed at the sheer audacity of this man who mocked and insulted her even though he was the one who made the mistake. It was as if the universe knew that she was finally going to get the freedom she so badly craved, that it sent this man as one last straw to test her patience.
Not to mention, she would not be able to enjoy the sight of Eve panicking once she realises that she would have to finally face the comeuppance of her lies.
How could she not be furious?
However, the customer was god. So, she could only smile at the man and say, "Of course not, Alpha Sokolov." Even though she knew that the chances were rather low, Inez wanted to try her luck at convincing the man into signing the contract.
Being perfectly polite and civil was her only option to get what she wanted and that was not the only reason she was being overly polite with him.
Lycans could hardly be considered the stellar member of the shifter community.
They lied, stole, gambled and fought with an intensity and motto that said, Win or die. They were positively fearless and wouldn't back down from a fight at the smallest sign of provocation.
Inez learnt the lesson that you don't piss off a lycan unless you have a masochistic tendency of being beaten until you are only a brink away from death's door when she was six.
And Killian Sokolov, who was known for being the sadistic tyrant and executioner, was the kind of lycan you would think twice before picking a fight with.
Killian drummed his fingers on the table. He hadn't touched the food that was served and was now assessing her with that intense gaze of his. Inez wondered if the man would deem her as impolite if she was to take a bite of the cakes that were served.
To her defence, how could anyone resist chocolate cakes?
Maybe her gaze was way too intense as she looked at the tempting sugary and chocolate delight in front of her that Killian pushed the small bite-size cake in front of her.
"Go ahead."
"You don't want it?" Inez asked politely.
Killian's lips curled into a smirk as if he was relishing an inside joke. He shook his head and said, "No, you can have it."
Inez didn't bother to delve further. As much as her curiosity poked at her inside, she was not the kind of person to act on it. She simply picked up the cake and took a small bite from it. Her eyes lit up when she tasted the molten chocolate coating the inside of her mouth.
Killian watched Inez with an amused glint in his eyes. He had seen that look in the eyes of many females but it was usually directed at him rather than desserts. He originally wanted to decline the contract as he had no interest in doing business with Evelyn.
That woman might be called a genius; Killian didn't see an ounce of wit behind those dumb baby blue eyes. Unless the schemes on how to seduce alphas were counted. Having been speared by her cheesy and flirtatious talks, he often wondered what kind of trauma Dominic went through as a child that he was willing to stay with Evelyn.
However, Dominic requested that he meet with Eve's assistant and have one last talk with her.
Killian had no desire to talk or discuss anything with Eve or her assistant. After all, someone who worked under that woman couldn't be any different than her. However, he and Dominic had an alliance treaty signed and Killian wasn't going to ruin the peace of his pack over a woman.
Thus, he had given a bunch of wrong information to this 'assistant' when she had called.
However, when Dominic told him that Evelyn's assistant was going to meet with him, he had expected a familiar version of a B–doll. Blonde, faker than the smiles that the elders in the council gave him, someone with all beauty and no brains.
But he had to say that Inez came as a surprise to him. She had more substance than the woman behind the designs and event decor, which made no sense to him.
He stopped drumming his fingers on the table and questioned, "Who would be presiding over the next meetings?"
The woman paused and raised her head to look at him and Killian was sure those glittering, cheeky eyes did something to him. Maybe it was because this woman was incredibly intelligent and looked at him as an equal instead of a pole to climb and satisfy her vanity.
"No," she replied crisply. Her eyes were evasive as she said, "I am just an assistant; the one who is in charge is Miss Evelyn. Since she was busy today, she sent me to her place. It's just a one-time thing." What a joke; she had been looking forward to throwing her resignation letter at Dominic's face from the night he rejected her. Why would she get involved in any more meetings once she resigned?
"Since that is the case, I will not be signing the contract."
"What?"
Inez sputtered. She hadn't even shown him a design draft and he was already rejecting the contract?
"You heard me," Killian rubbed the tips of his fingers. "If it's not you who is presiding over the meeting, then I will not be signing the contract. I need someone with a head over her shoulders instead of a woman with the body of an adult and the mind of a horny teenager."
The woman studied him. Her eyes narrowed into slits as her lips thinned in a straight line.
"You never wanted to sign the contract, did you, Alpha Sokolov?"