Chapter 200

Max’s POV

Julie’s question was so damn shocking I wished the ground would’ve just opened up and swallowed us whole. But to make things a hell of a lot worse, Diego had to stick his nose in with that trashy response. I felt my blood hit a boil. I turned on him, my voice like steel. "Diego, back off! This ain’t your business!"

Julie’s cheeks turned a deep crimson; she hung her head, looking like she wanted to just vanish. Diego gave a cold, annoying shrug, his eyes darting between us. "I’m just answering the lady’s question. When a guy stays up like that, it means he’s either craving it in the morning, or he didn’t get enough of it last night."

I ground my teeth so hard they ached. "Diego! I said shut it!"

Julie started stuttering, taking shaky steps back. "I... I’m going."

But he stopped her with a tone that made my skin crawl. "I can give you answers to all your questions, sweetheart."

I stepped right into his space, chest to chest, my fists clenched white. "I’m dead serious. Walk away right now, or something real bad is gonna happen."

He held his hands up in a mocking surrender. "Fine, I’m out."

Then he looked at Julie with a creepy grin. "My room’s on the left, number 7. If you ever need some ’help,’ don’t be a stranger."

He strolled off slow. I turned to Julie, who was still reeling from the shock. "Don’t you even think not for a goddamn second about going near him!" I barked.

"Are you crazy?" Julie snapped, trying to pull herself together. "Of course I won’t!"

I let out a heavy breath. "Now do you see where these pointless questions of yours lead?"

She looked at me, eyes full of blame. "If you’d just answered me, this wouldn’t have happened!"

I slapped my hands together, out of patience. "How the hell do you expect me to answer something like that?"

She looked away, trying to hide her mess of nerves. "Well... he did!"

"Because he’s a low-life scumbag!" I shouted.

She muttered with a childish stubbornness, rubbing her arms. "At least he’s useful. At least he gave me an answer."

I let out a long sigh, a headache already thumping in my temples. I pointed toward the heavy bag. "Enough! Let’s finish the training, Julie. And keep your mouth shut!"

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Robert’s POV

My day was packed with back-to-back, draining meetings. Finally, I caught a break in my office. Damn. My neck and shoulders were screaming from the tension. I leaned my head back and spun my chair toward the wall, closing my eyes, trying to catch a second of peace.

A knock came at the door. "Yeah, come in," I said, not botherin’ to turn around.

I heard the click of high heels approaching. I figured it was my secretary. "Elena, come here and work on my shoulders for a minute."

I felt soft hands on my shoulders, and my tight muscles started to give way under the pressure.

Suddenly, I felt a surprise kiss on my lips. I snapped my eyes open, shoving her back hard. "Natalia?!"

She gave me a confident smirk. "In the flesh, Robert dear."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I growled, my face darkening. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

She swayed her hips in front of me. "Did you forget? I told you, you’re gonna be mine."

"Stop this goddamn madness right now," I snapped.

She stepped closer again. "My father’s putting the squeeze on me. He says I should tell you to step up and make it official."

I let out a bored, angry shout. "You’re delusional, Natalia! I ain’t marrying you. Forget it. Ever."

Her face twisted with rage. "Why not?"

"Because I’m not the marrying type. Not to you, not to anyone. Now, get the hell out of my office."

Her eyes turned venomous. "I’ll ruin you," she threatened.

I raised a mocking eyebrow. "Really? And how you gonna do that?"

Suddenly, she reached down, grabbed a small statue off my desk, and slammed it against her own head with a shocking force. Blood started pouring down her face. "I’ll show you exactly what I’m gonna do!" she gasped.

I sat there cold as ice, not moving a muscle. She took the same statue and bashed her own arm until it turned blue, then she raked her nails across her neck and shredded her dress, messing up her hair like a total psycho. "Don’t want to marry me?" she hissed with a triumphant look. "Fine. I’ll make you marry me!"

I let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Let me guess... you’re gonna tell ’em I tried to rape you?"

She wiped the blood off her face. "Exactly."

"And you think anyone’s gonna believe that bullshit?"

"I’m gonna walk out of this office screaming my head off. Who do you think they’re gonna believe, Robert?"

I sneered at her. "Really, Natalia? You don’t have a single grain of sense in that head of yours, do you?"

She paused, confused. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

I sat up straight. "You think I own a security firm and I don’t have surveillance in my own private office?"

"I checked this place top to bottom!" she snapped. "There ain’t no cameras. You’re bluffing."

"Just because you can’t see ’em, doesn’t mean they ain’t there."

I pulled out my phone and showed her the live, crystal-clear feed from a hidden angle. Her jaw dropped. She took a step back, whispering, "My god..."

"Now get out," I commanded, my voice lethal. "If you ever pull some crazy stunt like this again, I’m sending this video to the press. You’ll be the scandal of the season."

"Damn you, Robert!" she hissed, shaking with rage. She wrapped her coat over her shredded clothes and scurried out like a beaten dog.

I pulled out my phone and hit Carlos’s number. When he picked up, I didn’t waste time. "Carlos."

"Yeah, Robert," he answered with that calm voice of his.

I narrowed my eyes, thinking of my enemy. "Is the Snake enjoying the hospitality?"

"Don’t worry," Carlos said confidently. "He’s resting real comfortably."

"Good," I muttered.

Then Carlos dropped a bomb that made my blood boil. "You at the Club?"

"No, I’m at the office. Why?"

"I figured you were here," he said, his voice making my skin crawl, "since I’m just about to walk into your office."

I went stiff in my chair. "Get the hell out of there, Carlos!" I shouted.

"I’ll be waiting for you," he said coldly, then hung up in my face.

Damn it! That bastard is getting close to Julie again, and just the thought of it makes me want to rip his throat out. Suddenly, my mind flashed to Julie... that magic night we had.

A wave of heat hit my chest just thinking about her.

I bolted from my chair so fast it went flying back. I stormed out of the office. I ran into Daniel in the hall. "I’m leaving, Daniel," I barked without stopping.

He tried to stop me with some paperwork. "Sir, these files need your signature—"

I snatched ’em out of his hand. "Fine! I’ll do it at home!"

I tore out of the building, jumped into my car, and hit the gas like a maniac, heading straight for the Club.

There was no way in hell I was gonna let Carlos be alone with Julie or even catch a glimpse of her while I was gone.