Alpha's Regret: Losing His True Mate-Chapter 167

Elodie’s POV ~

The paper felt heavy. I flipped the page, my eyes scanning the technical specs. Rex Hardin. He’d come later than everyone else, but God, he’d done his homework. This proposal wasn’t just good; it was terrifyingly precise. It matched the schematics I’d drafted in my secret files almost perfectly.

I kept my face stone-cold. Don’t let him see you’re impressed.

A soft knock resounded. The door opened a crack. One of Johnny’s junior secretaries poked her head in, looking terrified. She scurried over to my side and leaned down, her voice a barely-there whisper that tickled my ear.

"Miss Miller? Um... there are visitors downstairs. They say their names are Logan and Sienna Brown. Should I... should I show them to your office?"

The air in the room suddenly felt too thin. Logan and Sienna was here?

My stomach dropped, a cold, heavy stone sinking straight to my shoes.

I didn’t even look at the secretary. I kept my eyes on the document, on the black ink blurring slightly at the edges.

"No need," I said. My voice was quiet, and flat. Dead. "Send them away."

"Oh. Uh, understood." She practically ran out.

I took a breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. I pushed the image of my father’s disappointed face and my half sister’s smug smile into a box and locked it.

I looked up at Rex, offering a tight, apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. Where were we?"

I went back to reading. Or at least, I looked like I was. I could feel Rex’s eyes on me. He wasn’t buying it. He thought I was just Johnny’s decoration, a pretty face he kept around. He probably thought I was looking at his proposal and seeing gibberish.

Let him think that, I told myself. It’ll make it funnier when I tear it apart.

But I wasn’t going to tear it apart. It was too good.

Thirty minutes. I let him sweat for thirty minutes. I turned a page. I frowned. I nodded. I played the part of the serious executive.

Finally, I closed the folder.

"Mr. Hardin," I said, leaning back in the chair. "Your proposal really aligns well with what our company needs. We’ll give it serious consideration."

Rex stood up. He was bored. I could see it in the way he checked his watch. He didn’t want to talk to me. He wanted Johnny.

"Thank you for your recognition," he said, his smile not reaching his eyes. "I look forward to the opportunity to cooperate with your company." He paused, clearly fishing for an exit. "I have other matters, Miss Miller. See you next time."

Please don’t let there be a next time, I thought. But I smiled. Business is business. I didn’t need him to like me. I just needed his tech.

"Alright," I said sweetly. "See you next time."

I pressed the intercom. "Secretary, please see Mr. Hardin out."

Rex left. The door clicked shut, and the silence rushed back in.

I stared at the folder. He was good. He was really good. And he was an arrogant prick. Perfect.

I got up and walked to the window. We’re on the 14th floor. The view of the city is usually calming. Today, it just looked gray.

I watched the front entrance. I saw Rex walk out, adjusting his cuffs.

And then I saw them.

Logan and Sienna. They were still there. Standing by the fountain, looking stubborn. The secretary hadn’t just "sent them away." She’d told them Johnny was out of town, and they’d called her bluff. They were waiting. Like vultures.

Rex stopped.

From up here, I couldn’t hear them, but I saw the way Rex’s posture changed. He wasn’t the arrogant CEO anymore. He walked over to them. He spoke to Logan first, a polite nod.

Then he looked at Sienna.

And his whole face... crumpled. Just a little.

I remembered what Johnny had said. Sienna had been "injured" a few weeks ago. Badly. She’d been in the hospital. She looked pale, I could see that even from here. She looked thinner. The usual vibrant glow she had when she was playing the victim was dimmed.

Rex said something to her. He looked... heartbroken. Actually heartbroken. He reached out, like he was going to touch her arm, but stopped.

Of course. Rex. He’s been circling the Pack for years. He knows them. He probably knows Sienna better than I do at this point. He knows she’s Dante’s little pet.

I watched him look at her like she was a broken doll. And I watched Sienna look up at him, her eyes wide, probably summoning a tear.

I turned away from the window.

Pathetic. All of them.

I sat back down and pulled Rex’s proposal back in front of me. I opened it to the first page.

"Let’s see how much you’re really worth," I whispered to the empty room.

_____________

“Miss Brown?”

The air in the lobby was thick enough to choke on.

Rex stood a few feet from the Browns, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes fixed on Sienna’s face. The sympathy radiating off him was so potent it was almost visible. He was remembering the hospital reports, the whispers about how she’d taken a hit meant for Dante Wilson.

Logan, oblivious to the undercurrents, just saw a man in an expensive suit. He nudged his daughter. "Sienna, who is this?"

Sienna didn’t flinch. She turned her head slowly, her movements graceful despite the obvious stiffness in her shoulders. "Rex Hardin, Mr. Hardin." Her voice was flat, neutral. She gestured to Logan. "This is my father, Logan Brown." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Ah, Mr. Brown," Rex said, shaking Logan’s hand, though his eyes kept darting back to Sienna. "A pleasure."

"Are you here at Cole to discuss a partnership with Mr. Gray?" Sienna asked, cutting straight through the pleasantries.

"Yes," Rex said. "And you?"

"Yes. Did you meet Mr. Gray?"

"No," Rex replied. "Mr. Gray went on a business trip."

Logan let out a short, bitter laugh. "So he really went on a business trip. I thought he was just making an excuse not to meet us."

Rex paused, his brow furrowing. "Didn’t they invite you up?"

"No," Sienna said. Her voice didn’t crack. "Mr. Gray’s secretary said Mr. Gray was away, so they asked us to leave."

The temperature around Rex dropped ten degrees. His jaw hardened. He turned his head sharply toward the elevators, where Elodie was probably still preening.

"Mr. Gray is indeed not here," Rex said, his voice icy. "But the person I spoke with earlier was Miss Miller. Elodie." He said the name like a curse. "She said that since Mr. Gray is away, she is handling all matters at Cole. She can represent Cole in negotiating cooperation with me."

Logan’s mouth fell open slightly. He looked from Rex to his daughter, waiting for the explosion.

Sienna just blinked. Once. Twice.

"Is that so?" she said.

She turned to her father, her face a mask of bored indifference. "Since that’s the case, Dad, let’s go back."

"But—" Logan started.

"Dad." One word. And it was final.

Logan clamped his mouth shut and nodded. "Alright."

Rex looked like he was about to march back upstairs and burn Elodie’s office down. He opened his mouth, fury in his eyes.

Then, a phone rang.

Sienna pulled it from her bag. The screen lit up her face, and suddenly, the boredom vanished. The pallor was still there, but her eyes sparkled. She looked... soft.

"Dante?" she answered.

Rex froze.

"You’re here?" A small, genuine smile touched her lips. "Alright, I’m coming out now."

She hung up.

"Has Mr. Wilson arrived?" Rex asked, the anger in his voice replaced by awe.

"Yes." Sienna’s voice was tender now, like velvet. "My wound hasn’t fully healed yet. Dante is too worried, so he came over to pick me up."

She didn’t look at Elodie. Not even a glance. She started walking toward the revolving doors, her chin high.

"Mr. Hardin, we’re leaving now. See you next time."

Rex stood there, torn. He looked at Elodie, who had just stepped off the elevator and was watching the scene with a smug little smirk. Then he looked at Sienna’s retreating back that was proud, unbothered, walking away from the woman who had just stolen her meeting like it was nothing.

Something shifted in Rex’s eyes. The anger at Elodie curdled into disgust. The pity for Sienna turned into admiration.

He didn’t say a word to Elodie. He didn’t even look at her again.

He turned and hurried after the Browns. "Ms. Brown, wait up. I’ll walk you out."

Elodie stood alone in the middle of the lobby. The smirk slid off her face.

Through the glass doors, they could see a black SUV idling at the curb. Dante’s driver stood by the back door, waiting. Sienna walked right past and got in the car.

As the car pulled away, Rex glanced back through the glass.

He stared right at Elodie.

It wasn’t a look of anger anymore. It was colder. It was the look you give a bug on the windshield.