The Tyrant's Wife

Chapter 21 - Long Hands

As soon as she got back to her office, Zaria logged into her social media account and searched for Mr. Bryce.

Checking his profile, she found that he liked ginseng tea and rose cake, and was a big fan and talented player of golf.

She happily jotted it down in her notebook, not having expected that it would be so easy to find something. She also noted that Mr. Bryce's next meeting with Desmond should be at a golf course or a resort that offered golf among its services, and she knew just the best destination.

When that was settled, she went ahead to continue looking for information. After all, anyone could read his profile and using this little information may not necessarily impress him.

She was still reading through an old interview of his when Desmond summoned her to his office.

She paused what she was doing and went over.

As soon as she pushed the door open, she was taken aback. Did a burglary happen in the few minutes that she was away?! The sparkling clean office she had left a few minutes ago was now a disorganised mess with files and paper strewn all over the desk and floor.

The man behind the desk swallowed a lump and tried to tear his gaze away from her body. "My office is messy," He croaked.

Yeah, that was obvious. She almost didn't have anywhere to step. "I'll get the janitorial staff to clean it."

He pinched his nose bridge. "No, I want you to clean it."

"What? I…" She was at a loss, but under his fierce glare, she didn't dare to say a word. She had nothing against cleaning his office, but she didn't have much time! She still had to prepare for the meeting which was in twenty minutes.

Since she didn't have much choice, she could only bite her tongue and crouch to start picking up the files and paper.

She could feel the man's gaze on her back. He must be looking down at her in contempt, and there was nothing she could do about it. So she hurriedly cleaned up the mess and was done in ten minutes.

"Is it okay now?" She asked when she was done.

"Yes." It was.

He had nothing to nitpick, but why was his expression so scary?

Deciding not to waste her time trying to understand this bizzare man, she rushed back to her office to finish preparing for the meeting.

When they had five minutes left, she went to help him carry his laptop and the needed documents to the conference hall.

…

Mr. Bryce arrived a minute or two after them. The middle-aged man looked displeased and kept a poker face even while shaking hands with Desmond.

Zaria crossed her fingers and tapped on her phone to signal someone, then casually said, "You must be hungry, Mr. Bryce, so I ordered a rose cake for you. Would you like to have it with iced tea?"

"Okay." The man's expression didn't change much but he was visibly less displeased than he looked when he came in.

Relieved, Zaria summoned the intern she had signalled earlier to bring in the drinks and serve them to their owners.

"How did you know what I like?" Mr. Bryce didn't look too surprised, but he was pleased when he had a taste of the rose cake.

"I looked you up." That, and the fact that there's no way one can possess a beating heart and not like rose cakes."

"Does that mean Miss Williams likes them too?" He eased up and even smiled a bit.

Zaria once again gave an honest answer: "Yes, but just a little. I prefer ice cream to cakes."

"But I know someone who would go crazy for them." She casually added.

At the side, Desmond, who didn't have any particular interest in sweet things, glanced at his black coffee in displeasure.

In the end, he put up a serious expression. "Let's get down to business."

Zaria had the urge to beat him up. He had tasked her with pleasing the man and making sure the negotiation went smoothly, but just when she was trying to do that, he ruined her efforts?!

Luckily, the man was enjoying his cake and tea and didn't mind too much. "Why should I sell my software to Preston and Fort Group?"

"We would make perfect use of it…" Zaria and Desmond went ahead to explain how Preston and Fort Group would use the software to make work easier for the employees.

In the end, the man promised to think about it, and to present the remaining details of the software during their next meeting. Zaria took note of his requirements in her notebook.

When the meeting ended, she was in relief knowing that they had a high chance of a successful deal.

"Thanks for the cake, Miss Willows. If you would like to learn how to bake them, why don't you meet up with my wife? She's a pro." He casually said as he stood up.

"Thank you." She was taken aback by the sudden offer, but she really would love to take it up. If she could learn to bake cakes, she would make one for her dad on his birthday. Mr. Bryce then gave her his wife's cellphone number so they would communicate.

…

"We have a 90% chance now." Zaria cheered as they headed to their offices after seeing the man off.

Desmond ignored her and brushed past her, accidentally knocking her tablet out of her hand.

"Sorry, my hands are too long." He said and walked to his office in long strides.

Zaria glanced at her broken tablet in disbelief. He totally did it on purpose!