The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 50

"Why does it matter whether or not we were married?" She grabbed the file of details to check for any part that would influence it and probed when she didn’t get any.

"I’m a divorce attorney. A young couple who accidentally had a child before their marriage and broke up is not up to my forte." She closed her briefcase to signify the end of the case even though it has never begun.

Avery felt insulted. "So what if we are not divorcing? He is trying to take my son away!"

"I’m sorry to break it to you, but if he can prove he didn’t know about your son’s existence, he would be given equal custody rights." Isla deadpanned. "In the worst-case scenario, he might end up having the upper hand since you deprived him of such an important right."

"Just great. I’ve been to hell and back and now this?" She was furious.

"I understand how upset you must be, Miss Vaillant, but I know a losing battle when I see one and this is not one you can win."

"Well, do something. I’m not hiring you to tell me I’m fighting a losing battle." She insisted, but Isla had nothing to do.

"I suggest you give him an actual chance since that’s what you promised him. If he found out your promise was all a plot to get him to mess up, you might not like his retaliation. You don’t want to lose your child, do you?"

"Yikes. Thank you for the unneeded counsel. I suggest you ditch your job and become a shrink." She dismissed Isla and immediately regretted her rudeness.

"Maybe she’s right," Mina remarked when she saw Avery at the window, looking like she wanted to blaze the building down. "Well, I didn’t overhear your conversation if that’s what you’re worried about. Your expression is all I need to know Isla told you the truth which is not always pleasant to the ears."

Avery grabbed an m&m and popped it into her mouth. "Do you happen to know any cleaners?"

"Avery!" Mina exclaimed. She knew what her friend meant by that.

"Relax, I’m joking." She patted Mina’s shoulder on her way to the door.

"Can you not make jokes about the murder on your way to a meeting with your worst enemy?"

It was initially a joke but soon after she entered the conference room for the meeting, she wanted to make it real and get someone to clean after her crime scene. Damon walked in, looking ravishing as usual in a perfectly fitting sapphire suit and black shirt, but just when she opened her mouth to speak, she caught sight of a blonde behind him.

She looked disturbingly familiar, but that was not nearly as annoying as the fact that she was wearing a skirt suit identical to Damon’s, except her skirt might as well not be there. It was nearly nonexistent, and her hair covered up what was left uncovered by her halfway-buttoned blouse. Was she auditioning as the head of a brothel?

"Damon, am I late? I’m so sorry." She pressed her red-lipsticked kips against Damon’s cheek.

"Miss, this is a conference room," Avery spoke up in discomfort.

"Sorry. My assistant is a little too friendly. Charlie, you can’t do that." He chided her, but he sounded as though he was praising his little pet.

Avery rolled her eyes. "Take your seats."

"Oh my God!" The young woman nearly screeched. "Are you Avery Vaillant? I have always wanted to meet you! You are my idol and I..."

"I don’t have any time for this, Mr. D’aboville. If you are not ready for this meeting, we should reschedule." She closed her files ready to leave.

"Of course we are ready. It’s just..." he lowered his voice to whisper to his companion, "put yourself together, will you?"

"I guess I’m stuck having this meeting then." She shrugged. "What would you like to discuss?"

"The project you asked for. Why don’t you take a look?" Damon held out a USB flash drive and when she reached to take it, her fingers brushed against his. She ignored the sudden sensation and inserted it into her computer. Heaven knew she was ready to reject it even before seeing it.

But when she saw the details, she was stumped. Without letting him see her expression, she smiled stiffly. "There are thousands of telecommunications companies in the world. Why do I have to accept your project?" She pretended to be displeased with it.

"Because it benefits Vaillant telecommunications the most. I tailored it, especially for you—I mean, for your company."

She shrugged. No matter how much she scrutinized it, she couldn’t find anything to say against any of the features he had proposed. She was going to ask for time to think about it but when she looked over at him, she was just in time to see Charlie’s hand disappearing under the table. She watched Damon’s reaction and a poker face was not what she expected as he pulled the little hand off his lap.

"I’m sorry. While I would like to discuss this, I cannot do so with the two of you treating my office as a motel to act out your lovey-dovey moments. If you’ll excuse me." She stood up and walked out of the conference room.

"Avery, wait!" Damon called out to her but she was gone. He shot a glare at Charlie. "This was my best chance and you just had to ruin it." Her giggle made him want to curse at her, but there was no time for that.

He dashed out the door and was lucky to catch Avery just as she entered the elevator. He dragged her right out. "We need to talk."

"About your little girlfriend who can’t wait to get your clothes off? I suggest you tend to her needs first—not in my conference room, of course."

"Avery," he knew his explanation was going to sound crazy. "She is not my girlfriend."

"Just a multiple-night stand, then. Good to know." She rolled her eyes.

"Not my anything apart from the assistant. She came in yesterday and boy has it been crazy. I can’t breathe with her around." He lamented. "I’m currently looking for someone more competent and less...crazy."

"Not my business." She pulled her hand out of his. When he grabbed it, she nearly lost it. "What the hell do you want from me? I don’t care who you fuck!"

He raised an eyebrow at her tone. "That sounds like jealousy to me."

"Why the fuck would I be jealous of disrespect?" She concluded that he had several screws loose in his head.

"I know. But I still want you to know that I didn’t intend to disrespect you. I simply had no choice. I thought she was..." he stopped his statement midway. Charlie seemed to check all the boxes when he hired her but he couldn’t be certain anymore after seeing her work. There was no way one could have such qualifications and be obsessed with the notion of her boss wanting to undress her. However, that would have to be done later.

"Think about the profit. No telecommunications company would think along these lines and for the first time in two years, you will have something that cannot be duplicated by your competitors." He tried to convince her, leaving out the details to avoid leaking the secretive information to a passer-by.

"Why would I want to work on a project with you? You are already a thorn on my side." She argued, but he was right. Just when she was about to accept it, she remembered an important point. "What do you want in return?"

"A weekend."

A slap landed on his face before he could elaborate.

"What do you think I am? A harlot?" She raised her hand only for him to grab it.

"What was your dirty mind thinking? I only want a weekend with you and Angel. He would love that more than anything." He grinned after getting under her skin.

His words always had a way of making her question her intelligence. Did he mean that, or was he messing with her after realizing he couldn’t have his way with her? No matter what it was, she decided she didn’t care.

"Well, well.’ Mina cheered when she returned to her office.

"Not now, Mina." She complained.

"Why the hell not? You are jealous. It’s not every day this happens." Mina pulled the swivel chair to sit on and looked like she would grab a tub of popcorn if there was any nearby.

"Don’t be dramatic. What am I supposed to be jealous of?"

"Okay, Queen of pretending you don’t know what’s happening." Mina crossed her legs at her knees. "Damon showed up here with your doppelganger, wearing the same clothes as he was. Was that a coincidence, or are they in love? I bet they are in love considering how obsessed she is with him."

Avery finally understood why Charlie looked so familiar. She was similar to her. She shook her head. "Constance D’aboville stoops way too low even for a brainless villain." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

_____

AN

As promised, I will start stockpiling so I can release more daily Chapters in future.

Also, check out my new books!

The Helio’s Bride for fantasy romance lovers.

Taming The Villainess for contemporary romance lovers. It’s the second book in the Villainess series but is a standalone and you don’t need to read Villainess 101 first. I hope you try it out!