No matter how shocked Tanya Sinclair was, she accepted this fact within a few seconds.
"Come with me." Declan Pierce’s chest heaved violently, suppressing his anger, his voice so deep it was hoarse, "Go clean up and change your clothes."
Without looking at her again, he took Tanya Sinclair and turned to leave, fearing that another glance at her in this state would make him lose control.
Declan Pierce coldly ignored her.
Tanya Sinclair, unable to stop him, in a moment of desperation, could only reverse his grip on her hand. Chapters first released on novęlfire.net
Her palm was suddenly filled with an unfamiliar softness, Declan froze, slowly turned around, a dark cloud looming between his brows.
Tanya Sinclair clung tightly to him, as if desperately clutching at a lifeline.
"I know I’m late, I can go change right away, but can you give me one more chance for the face-to-face cooperation discussion... I beg you, President Pierce?"
She mustn’t lose this opportunity!
Declan Pierce stared at her silently, slowly asking, "Is it that important?"
"Yes!" She didn’t hesitate for a single second.
Five years ago, it was Tanya Sinclair who secured the five-year strategic collaboration with Westgard Pharmaceuticals, allowing Vincent Hawthorne to solidify his position as general manager of the group and gain a seat on Zenith Group’s board.
Now, is she fighting for a second five-year term for that man?
Just a few days ago, she was asking him for a divorce lawyer...
The boiling blood in his chest subsided.
Declan Pierce became completely indifferent.
He looked coldly at the woman holding his hand, moved his thin lips, ’Let go.’
Tanya Sinclair immediately released his hand, looking at him with eyes filled with a hint of pleading.
Securing the collaboration with Westgard Pharmaceuticals was her only chance to gain a seat at the table and negotiate with Vincent Hawthorne!
She wanted a divorce and to get custody of the two children, this step was especially crucial!
But Declan’s eyes were too deep, hiding something she couldn’t see clearly.
Yet she could feel that this man was very displeased...
Just as Tanya Sinclair was feeling uneasy, Declan Pierce turned and coldly dropped a sentence: "I’ll give you fifteen minutes to tidy up."
The receptionist took Tanya Sinclair to the lounge, where there was a shower.
"Ms. Sinclair, you wash up first. I’ll bring clean clothes over in a moment."
"Wait." Tanya Sinclair asked her, "Does your company have a woman named Claire Walsh?"
"Yes, she was fired yesterday. But she left some stuff at her desk, so she came by this morning to clean it up."
Using a departed former employee as a knife.
Cindy Lynn was ruthless enough!
Tanya Sinclair forcibly suppressed the surge of anger in her heart; she would certainly settle this account with Cindy Lynn fiercely!
Having only fifteen minutes, Tanya Sinclair quickly removed her dirty clothes, took a shower, and simply rinsed her hair.
With just fifteen minutes, dealing with her long hair properly was definitely impossible!
Tanya Sinclair glanced around and directly grabbed the scissors on the nearby cabinet, cutting off a handful of hair.
Her hair, originally waist-length, was suddenly reduced to shoulder length.
Midway, the receptionist came by, handing in a paper bag with clean clothes, including undergarments.
Tanya Sinclair quickly put them on, half-dried her hair, and hurried out.
Only to see Declan Pierce sitting on the sofa outside, deep in thought.
Upon hearing the commotion, he raised his eyes languidly, his gaze as if weighted, landing heavily in front of Tanya Sinclair.
It made her heart inexplicably flustered.
"President Pierce, I can explain today’s tardiness. A former employee at your company, Claire Walsh, was used by someone to trick me into the bathroom and lock me there. I used a lot of effort to break the door and climb out..."
Yes, her nearly ruined hands were the proof.
Declan Pierce squinted his eyes, coldness rampant in his gaze.
The client sat there silent, which made Tanya Sinclair feel somewhat anxious, as if he hadn’t been listening at all.
She stepped forward: "President Pierce, I..."
Declan Pierce’s thin lips moved, interrupting her.
"Tanya Sinclair." He called her name with the weight of many years, slowly saying, "Long time no see."
Tanya Sinclair suddenly fell silent, then responded quietly after a while.
"Yes," she said, "it has been a long time..."
The hurried encounter in the car didn’t count, she had been avoiding him, and he might not have recognized her.
Strictly speaking, seven years...
Declan Pierce suddenly stood up and walked toward her.
With his sudden rise to full height, he still carried that deadly oppressive aura.
Tanya Sinclair instinctively retreated until her back was against the cold wall, with nowhere else to go.
Declan was slightly taller than Vincent Hawthorne and more imposing, his towering figure closed in, and Tanya Sinclair’s breaths were filled with his scent.
It was the smell of incense burnt in a temple during winter, mingled with faint tobacco, cold and overbearing.
Tanya Sinclair felt a little at a loss; her face, already warm from the shower, was now scorching hot.
Declan saw her blushing earlobes.
He remembered that evening before graduation seven years ago when she rarely got drunk, looking just the same.
Only much cuter than now...
The twenty-year-old Tanya Sinclair, after drinking too much, clung to the grass on the sports field and wouldn’t leave, tugging at his clothes so he wouldn’t leave either.
She rambled on about her research dreams.
She said: "Declan, I want to save many, many people."
When she said this, her eyes shone brightly, as if galaxies had fallen into them.
Later, in the midnight quiet, he often dreamed of those eyes.
"Declan, do you know, my grandfather is my only family... he is the greatest doctor, but even healers cannot heal themselves." Tears fell from her eyes, "I won’t let him forget me."
The drunken girl insistently asked him, "Declan, do you believe I’ll succeed?"
In the moonlight, he could clearly see the tear stains at the corners of her eyes, restraining himself from crossing the line to wipe them away for her.
Later, alone, he waited for her for seven years, in the future she wished to go to...
Memories were the fiercest beasts.
Declan Pierce closed his eyes.
"Tanya Sinclair..." The man’s voice was hoarse with tension, as if bound by something. He slowly said, "Apologize to me."
You are late by so many years...