The CEO’ s second choice novel Chapter 35

　　Elena

　　Sebastian opens the door leading into the boardroom and I brace myself as my eyes fall on the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Adonis sitting at the table. He turns his head and looks at my husband with an impassive stare until his eyes fall on me.

　　Surprise registers on his face as he takes me in, and I could feel the anger bristling from Sebastian while he leads me inside. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long, Elijah, Isla.” He shakes Elijah’s hands as well as Isla’s. I look at Sebastian’s ex-love and notice the longing in her eyes as she stared at him.

　　“Not at all, Sebastian. I am sure you wish to get this over with; as am I. So, let us start.” Elijah says in an all business-like voice, not the carefree voice he presented to me in the coffee shop.

　　“Very well. I hope you won’t mind my wife sitting in on this meeting. She wishes to gain some corporate knowledge and what better way to start than with a merger of Britain’s most powerful companies?” Sebastian says as he looks at me with so much pride that I blush. Elijah nods at this. “Certainly. Now, Sebastian…”

　　The meeting lasted a better part of THREE. FRIGGING. HOURS.

　　Good God, I had a feeling that Sebastian was good at negotiating, but it did not prepare me for this; every counter Elijah had, Sebastian had a better deal. Every hypothesis Elijah brought up, Sebastian squashed, and it went back and forth like this. Testosterone was thick in the room as the two Alpha males battled it out in a debate of wits.

　　In the end, they came to an amicable agreement that satisfied both companies.

　　“Ah, Sebastian, I have not debated like this in a long time. You truly know your stuff.” Elijah compliments my husband as they shake hands once more. Sebastian smiles at this. “I could say the same about you, Elijah. You had good points with certain things so I am quite interested to see what we will come up with in the future.” Sebastian says and I could tell he was truly excited by this.

　　And here I thought both of them did not want this merger. Perhaps now they could put the past behind them and move forward.

　　Elijah turns to walk out and I see Isla pull Sebastian to one corner; this left me with a burning in my chest I could only attribute to jealousy. I moved to walk over, but am stopped by a voice.

　　“Easy, Elena. Your husband only has eyes for you.” The husky voice of Elijah came, and I turned around to stare at him. Gosh, was every business executive in this town as Alpha as Sebastian and Elijah?

　　“I know that,” I answer him, and a chuckle escapes his throat. Turning to him, a thought crosses my mind. “Why were you truly in that coffee shop, Elijah?” I ask him, suddenly feeling emboldened by my jealousy. He shrugs, “I told you, running away from this very meeting.” He says, and I frown.

　　“So us becoming acquainted there was mere coincidence?” I ask him, not believing him at all, but he nods.

　　“I truly did not know who you were, Elena. When Isla told me afterwards, I was just as surprised as you.” He says, then leans down to whisper in my ear, “How Sebastian ended up such an exquisite beauty is beyond me. If only I had met you first…” He whispers in a breathy voice that sends shivers down my spine.

　　I blush at this and step away from him, not meeting his eye after that comment, and move to walk over to Sebastian. But he grabs my wrist and straightens his back. “I don’t know what you’re doing in the corporate world when literature is your first love. This is not the environment where you would prosper in Elena.” He says, and I look at him in surprise. How did this man know what type of person I was just from spending an afternoon with me?

　　I nod and walk over to my husband waiting husband, who was already wearing a murderous expression.

　　“Think nothing of it, love. He’s trying to get to you.”

　　“Well, it’s working,” He says through gritted teeth and I cup his cheeks in my palms, “Don’t show it, then he will know that I am your weakness,” I say, and surprise registers in his eyes before he nods.

　　The following meeting wasn’t as testosterone-fueled as the first one from this morning, but I got to see my husband in action and what a sight it was. He was not a billionaire for nothing; the man knew how to get things done, how to negotiate and plan and put fires out. In short, it was a lovely sight to behold.

　　“Get your fill of the corporate world?” He asks me on our way home and I nod sleepily, “Oh, absolutely. It was lovely watching you, I have learned so much just from this one day.” I tell him truthfully, and he draws my hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. “I’m glad, love. Although you seem all tuckered out. Dinner, bed and bath for you when we get home.” He says, and I smile as I close my eyes, feeling myself drift off.

　　“Oh, were the rooms changed today?” I suddenly ask, remembering that we were supposed to sleep in the same bedroom from tonight. But Sebastian nods. “Of course, I had everything sorted out for us already.” He says with a frown as if I had doubted him, but I just smile sleepily at him, knowing I would sleep next to him tonight.

　　We arrived at the villa a few minutes later and I couldn’t be happier seeing my home. I haven’t been out gallivanting in a while but coming back here at the end of the day always made me happy.

　　I get out of the Phantom bleary-eyed and lean into Sebastian. How did he do this every day without feeling as dead on his feet as I did? He definitely has a higher tolerance for the corporate world.

　　“I’ve been thinking, love,” I start, trying to put into words the thoughts that I have been mulling over in my mind ever since Elijah’s comment this morning. He turns to me as we walk up the stairs and waits for me to continue. “Law is definitely not my forte, neither is the corporate world; that will be your area of expertise. I know I love books and reading, so perhaps join the Faculty of English at Oxford as an undergraduate and see from there? I could attend an open day and learn some more about what the subject would entail.” I tell him my idea and notice the smile spreading over his face.

　　“That would be perfect for you, my love. I didn’t think the corporate world would suit you at all. But literature, most definitely. We can talk about it more when you’ve had some rest.” He says as we step into our unused bedroom. It looked similar to our separate rooms, only much larger with our walk-in merged. I am sure the bathroom looked just as luxurious. Sebastian heads towards the bathroom and runs me a bath as I mull over today’s little adventure.

　　Literature was my first love, and Elijah had pointed it out before Sebastian did. Why was I letting him invade my thoughts? He had no business being on my mind as I stood in my marriage bedroom undressing. The way he had looked at me gave me a shiver down my spine, and I wondered what that look could mean.

　　I just didn’t know it yet, but Elijah would play a bigger role in my life than I originally expected.