The Billionaire Lovely Enemy

The proposition

Julian Cross POV

Flynn Walker my personal assistant walked across the room and whispered into my ears

‘‘Sir, the board members are waiting,’’ he whispered

Then turned to leave, and I felt her small hands touch my suit dragging me back .

I yanked my suit out of her hands .i stepped forward signaling we should leave immediately.

I didn’t even register the sudden shift in movement behind me .

My eyes where only fixed on the doors

I ran my hands through my hair several times.

As I walked through the crowd there was an intense stare from people all around the coffee shop .

I didn’t even turn around to realize she had fallen behind me and was trying to steady herself

As I reach my car , I noticed someone taking a photo of me and turned my head to Flynn.

‘‘You know what to do ’’I say to him in a calm voice .

He went over to the man and tackled the photographer.

‘‘You would have to delete the pictures you took of Mr Cross,’’ he commanded

The man flared up

‘‘This is a free country, I have the right to do whatever I please,’’ he said, not backing down

Flynn pinned him to the tarred floor.

‘‘You were taking pictures of Mr Cross without his consent,’’ he said to the man.

‘‘Brutality ’’ he shouted out.

Leading a mini crowd outside

Rick, my bodyguard, stepped forward and collected the photographer's camera and deleted all the pictures.

I stood beside the car, signaling that they should get in.

As we drove back to The Cross Global HQ.

Flynn, who was seated in the front seat, spoke

‘‘You might want to see this, sir,’’ he said

He handed me a tablet.

It showed pictures of me yelling at the lady in the coffee shop from earlier.

And the man who was just pinned to the ground.

Just immediately. My phone began buzzing with notifications.

My phone began to ring, and I checked it

It was Harold Grayson, a board member of the Cross group

I dismissed the call and tried to stay calm.

In a few minutes, my face was all over the internet.

I looked at the headlines of the article that was just published

Caffeine Chaos: Julian Cross Manhandles Journalist

Another site read

Julian Cross erupts: Billionaire loses his cool in a coffee shop

In less than 20 minutes, a lot of pictures began to swarm the internet from the incident

I gritted my teeth.

Flynn's phone blared nonstop

‘‘I would not be speaking to anyone about this, just try to clear this out and find the journalist who took these pictures,’’ I said to Flynn

I kept the tablet on the seat beside me

He immediately silenced his phone.

I finally reached the Cross HQ, and as expected, reporters were waiting outside

‘‘Take the back door,’’ I commanded

Rick took a left turn to avoid the crowd of people standing in front with cameras and microphones in their hands.

As I entered the HQ and went through the back elevator to the floor where my office was, as I sat down in my office my mind wandering off to the woman at the coffee shop.

Flynn walks in

‘‘Who was that woman ?’’ I ask .

‘‘Feels like I have seen her before ’’

‘‘Yes sir that is Amara Blake ,she works in the newsroom ’’

‘‘You mean she works for my company ’’

Yes sir

‘‘Hmmm ,interesting’’ I say with a small laugh to myself

Flynn broke the silence that lingered in the air

‘‘Mr Cross, your attention is needed at the board room,’’ he said.

I stood up from my chair, and was about to straighten my suit. When I saw the large brown stain on my suit, down to my tie and shirt.

‘‘Can you get me a fresh suit?’’ I said as I sat back on the leather chair.

‘‘Yes, sir,’’ he responded and walked out of the room, and in no time, he returned with a fresh new suit and shirt.

He left, and I tinted the glass of my office

I changed into the suit and arranged the little folds on the neck of the suit.

I walked into the boardroom.

All faces turned to him.

‘‘Julian, I hope the coffee stains came out; it will be such a shame that your reputation ended as messy as your suit.’’ Jack Sawyer said dryly

The man next to him touched him slightly, so he didn’t continue his rude remarks

With an icy glare, I shot back

‘‘Well, unlike me, a suit is replaceable, but your irrelevance is permanent,’’ I responded.

A calm silence flooded the room instantly.

All the board members began arranging themselves on their seats

Jack Sawyer sat up, arranging himself in his chair.

I believe you owe Mr Cross an apology. This board discussion revolves around moving this company forward, not indulging in useless humor ’’ Jean Davenport charged him

All eyes turned to him.

‘‘I was only joking, can’t he take a joke?’’ he responded dryly

Mr David Carlson, an older man who rarely speaks, spoke up

‘‘Jokes that undermine leadership are not jokes, they are liabilities ’’ David Carlson said

Jack's face hardened and instantly turned red.

‘‘Mr Cross, my sincere apologies , it won’t happen again ’’ he apologized reluctantly

‘‘See that it doesn’t repeat it self again,’’ I replied.

‘‘This meeting is dismissed ’’ I said walking out

Back in his office, glass walls cover his office, and a large glass window overlooks the whole city.

His mind lingers back to the coffee shop incident

Lucas Grant, the head of PR storms for Cross Empire and Harriet Emmett Jullian, Personal PR agent, walk up to my office.

Harriet knocked softly.

Popping her head through the glass door.

‘‘Hello, sir.’’

I look up from my desk only to find Lucas with a pile of folders standing in the middle of my office.

‘‘We can turn the press attention away from your recent scandal,’’ Lucas said, dropping the files on his side table

I am all ears ’’ I said, adjusting in my chair

‘‘We can get you a fake girlfriend, I mean the public has been dying to know who the next Mrs Cross is, we can use it as a hook,’’ he suggested

‘‘This is a great strategy,’’ Harriet added.

‘‘It has worked before in other companies, you create new topics for people to talk about so that they automatically leave the old topic,’’ Lucas said

I look at my phone. In the past minute, there were over a thousand messages from investors who want to pull out of Blackash from the public.

‘‘But I only have one concern, it is getting the lady who would be fit for this,’’ he said

There is a very tense and awkward silence in the room

‘‘I got it ’’ she says

They both look at her, waiting to hear what she has to say

‘‘Well, why not, Amara Blake, do it? I mean, since she was involved, we can just make it seem like it was all two lovebirds act.’’ she suggested

‘‘I will think about it ’’ I say dismissing them

A few hours later, I am summoned by the board. Everyone is already sitting, waiting patiently.

At the boardroom of the Cross HQ

As I enter with Flynn following behind, everyone immediately rises.

I sit at the top of the mahogany table with Flynn by my side, and a hint of tension hangs in the air.

Everyone is seated silently

The chairman of the board speaks up.

‘‘Let’s be real for a moment, the coffee scandal has eaten deep into the cross empire, most investors a calling to pull out in less than a few hours. Two major investors have paused their contracts due to public backlash and are threatening to pull out if the backlash continues to linger. Chairman Harold says, darting his eyes from members and then to me.

‘‘This isn’t only about coffee now, Julian. The narrative is particularly out of our hands, people are seeing you are arrogant, rude and self-centered, and you really aren’t for the making as you claim.’’David says

‘‘Our stock has plummeted by ten percent in a few hours; we have to take drastic measures to curb it,’’ Chairman Harold says

‘‘This time, an apology alone won’t cut it , we would need something more,’’ Margaret Klein says

‘‘We have tasted different angles, using philanthropy or doing some charity work, the one that tops the chart is a high-profile relationship, which can turn people’s attention away from the scandal to your love life

’’Jean said

‘‘The company image is at stake here ’’

‘‘We are suggesting a fake relationship, just for the time being, until our stock has received enough stability,’’ Chairman Harold says

‘‘Isn’t this risky? ’’ Stella Hunter asks

They all nod in agreement

Yes, it is risky, but it is worth the shot. I suggest it should be done for at least six months to a year to make it believable , if not, the public will say it was all a charade,’’ Margaret says

‘‘Yes, it is ’’

‘‘Not just with anyone, we suggest Amara Blake, she is the woman of the hour and since she is already in the public eye. So she is the best suitable option, I mean the public already sympathizes with her, so it would be a good’’ Jack says

‘‘It is the best damage control we have now,’’ Chairman Harold says

He turns his attention to me

‘‘So let me get this straight, you want me to tie up my life to a stranger ’’

‘‘Not tie Julian, you get to build a public image for the sake of the company,’’ Stella adds

I let out a dry laugh

‘‘You have to do this, Julian, it is a long shot, but it is the best yet,’’ Reed Sylvan says

It leaned back in my chair, all eyes on me

‘‘Fine, draft the damn contract and I will review it,’’ I say

I stand and walk out of the boardroom