Chapter 21

Watching the interaction between James and Monica felt as though I’d somehow slipped inside a lion’s den at the zoo. The two were both equally pissed off and maintained their own fierce stances.

A voice in the back of my head was clearly telling me that I should find a way to back out of the situation as inconspicuous as possible. However, the moment I inched backward, James immediately snagged my waist, keeping me locked at his side.

Goddamnit.

I noticed the way his gaze grew stern as the corners of his mouth were hesitating to pull back into an irritated sneer. Monica’s angry expression started to crack beneath the heavy weight of his glare.

She let out a scoff of disbelief and crossed her arms over her chest. “How could you ask me something like that? You know exactly who I am, James,” she stated. “Or, has this mousy little bitch made you forget who your ‘real’ wife is already?”

James’ stoic expression was unwavering. However, there was mistaking the growl that slipped from his chest.

While there were over a dozen unsettling emotions that were swirling around inside of me, the only thought that rushed to the front of my mind was him.

How could Monica speak of Eveyln so lightly when anyone with a working pair of eyes could see how badly it affected him? Regardless of the fact that Monica and Evelyn were sisters, it didn’t give her the right to throw that back in James’ face in such a scornful manner.

An awful feeling of guilt trampled through me. It was never my intention to think that I could ever possibly replace James’ ex-wife. I knew nothing about her and I knew better than to not openly inquire about anything. It led me to feel like even more of an outsider and detached from him.

I felt James tense up beside me. His cold stone eyes flickered with genuine anger.

“If the reasoning behind your poor treatment of Mia is because of my past marriage to Evelyn, then you are in for a rude awakening. It’s been brought to my attention that you have been deliberately overworking Mia when she had been instructed to reduce her workload. I see no reason why our companies need to collaborate any further than this.”

Monica shrank on the spot. Any trace of her earlier sense of superiority had shriveled up and practically vanished.

That so-called position that her brother had given to her was about to dissolve at her feet if and when he ever found out about the failed potential partnership with Crescent Moon.

I would have expected her to storm out of the office, yet she just stood there like a child bearing a harsh scolding.

James, on the other hand, was far from finished with his rant. “And as for your current living arrangements...Going forward, if you do not begin to change your behavior toward her then I will happily see that you are removed from the house, indefinitely.”

Both Monica and I were totally shocked by this announcement. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head while my jaw threatened to fall open.

Monica tore her disappointed gaze from James and turned to narrow her eyes at me with complete disdain. “I refuse to believe that you could lower yourself to someone like her,” she said. “She will never compare to my sister!”

Without so much as another word, we watched as Monica stomped her way out of the office. I was hoping to feel even the slightest bit relieved, knowing that I wouldn’t have to deal with any more of her antics for the day. However, all I was left with was a deep-seated feeling of irritation and uncertainty.

I suppose it was nice of James to fly to my rescue against Monica’s sharp tongue, but I was still exceedingly upset with him for having gone behind my back. I wanted nothing to do with this upcoming press conference.

I’d told him that I needed time to work through all that was going on. And still, he went ahead and completely disregarded everything I’d said.

I could tell that James lost a good portion of the tension he’d been holding in since facing off with Monica. He turned to look at me and spoke softly.

“You must have had a trying day,” he said. “I say we should go out for an early dinner today.”

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. I truly didn’t have it in me to deal with anyone else. Between Monica’s cutting words, and James’ constant need to control my every move, I needed some real time to myself.

“Yes, I did have a trying day. Which is why I plan on going straight back to the house and spending the remainder of my day alone,” I told him.

I pulled away from James and turned on my heels before he could get another word in. I returned to my desk to quickly grab my belongings. The man was hot on my trail but kept his distance.

“Would you at least wait for me to have the car pull around to bring us home?” he asked briskly.

“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “I’m arranging for an Uber to come and get me.”

A bit of James’ earlier frustration came racing back. Yet, he said nothing. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the man head back into his office, looking as ticked off as before.

Normally, I would have felt guilty for making him feel that way. But amongst my exhaustion and my already existing aggravation toward him, I was too numb to care.

On my way home, I pulled out my phone and decided to call Emily. I had to regrettably tell her that I wasn’t going to be able to meet her tomorrow.

“Hello? Mia?”

My stomach twisted in knots as I tried to keep the sadness out of my voice “Hey, Em.”

“You sound upset, what’s going on?”

“I won’t be able to meet you tomorrow at the airport,” I told her. “James has scheduled this stupid press conference and managed to tell me after the whole thing had already been booked.”

“Oh, geez. Well, that’s okay. I mean, I’ll still be around for a while anyway,” she explained calmly. “Mia, is everything okay between you and James?”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “It’s nothing. Honestly, I don’t have it in me to deal with anything right now.”

‘After all, the press conference was the following day and I needed to mentally prepare myself for being put on display,’ I thought bitterly.