Leandro's Revenge

chapter 07

The mere feel of her skin against his fingers was enough to make his groin twitch painfully in his pants. Hours passed and he was still hard as f**k. He groaned as he laid on the bed while Isabelle was sleeping peacefully beside him.

Leandro cursed her in his mind. He was agonized by all sorts of things he wanted to do to her and yet she was sleeping soundly without a care for the world.

Unable to endure any longer, he rose from the bed and took a cold shower, repeatedly cursing her under his breath.

‘Divorce? Who is she kidding? No way I’ll agree with that. At least not until I break her apart.’ Leandro thought to himself.

The morning came and he managed to only get a few hours’ sleep. Isabelle might have already gone to work as she was nowhere in the room.

He dressed in an expensive navy blue 3-piece Armani-tailored suit and went downstairs for breakfast. Patty and Laura gaped as he entered the dining area. He was surprised to see Isabelle was still at home having breakfast and yet busy typing something on her phone. When he sat down, only then the busy Isabelle lifted her eyes.

Leandro smirked when her jaw dropped at the sight of him. “Like what you’re seeing?” The cockiness in his tone made her snap and she shook her head trying to shake off the momentary trance. Caught gawking, her cheeks flamed a beat red.

“Where are you off to?” Isabelle asked curiously as she resumed eating her food. Laura put a steaming coffee mug in front of him and he took a sip before he helped himself with bacon and eggs.

“To my company.”

“But shouldn’t you be resting for a while?”

He shot her a curious glance. ‘Did I hear worry in her tone?’ He mused but pushed the thought aside.

“My father wants me to take over as soon as possible.”

There was silence after that. Then, her phone rang, and she excused herself. Grabbing her handbag, she walked outside the house. When he finished, he too, stood up and took his leave. He was about to enter his Rolls-Royce when his ears perked up. In the distance, Isabelle was talking with someone with her back to him.

“I’m sorry. I love you, baby. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

‘Is she talking to Ethan? They still have an affair?’ The thought made his stomach knot. The pain was as raw as the first time he found out four years ago, but he steeled and composed himself when she turned and saw him.

For a moment, she stood there unmoving, looking at him with a pale face.

“Is he the reason why you want a divorce?” He asked, his voice deep as the deepest trench of the ocean. There was an uncomfortable ache that settled in his chest.

Never in his life had a woman ever had such an effect on him. So strong that he fell victim to self-destruction four years ago. All because he did not know how to handle his emotions better back then. The accident had cost another person’s life. If only he could turn back time, he would have rather taken the life of the person who hurt him than of an innocent man’s. And if chance had presented itself, he would have done it intentionally.

“No. I want a divorce because…. because…” She was unable to find the right words.

“Just admit it. You’re having an affair, aren’t you?”

“No!” She denied vehemently. “I would never do that to you. What you saw last time was meant to make you believe I do so you’d agree to the divorce.” Her eyes dilated. For a fleeting second, he almost thought she was genuinely shocked and appalled by the accusation.

‘Still lying until the very end, huh?’ He thought silently.

Isabelle sighed. “No matter how unhappy our marriage life is, I would never cheat on you. For what happened last time, I’m sorry. It was a bad idea. I listened to Ava’s suggestion.”

“Unhappy? As far as I can remember, you enjoyed the s*x very much. You didn’t seem unhappy whenever you were on top or under me before.”

Red painted her cheeks fleetingly. They did all sorts of dirty and wild things together and he almost thought they were perfect together. Happy was an understatement. He was elated. He had loved her then. He realized as soon as he found out about their deceit. He had loved her all along. But not anymore.

“Yes, I was happy until you cut me off.” Her voice hardened. She walked past him and climbed into her car.

He shot daggers into the back of her car as it sped away before he got into his.

The drive to Gonzalez Service Ware, Inc. was short. Leandro was welcomed by the board of directors, including his father, at the skyscraper’s entrance. The men bowed while his father shook his hand.

“Welcome back, son.”

The rest of the men greeted him. By the look of them, they seemed pleased to see him. But he did not expect too much. He knew they had doubts about him taking back his position as CEO and they were simply scared to make their thoughts known. After all, who would want to question the top executive? They could kiss their ass goodbye.

He straightened his stance, gathering courage before he and his father led the men into the building. Nothing changed much. It was still immaculately organized. Employees bowed as they passed. He even caught some gasping as soon as they spotted him.

Getting into the private elevator with his father, the board took another and aimed to go back to their offices. He tugged at his tie, feeling suffocated.

“Uncomfortable?” His father grinned, his wrinkles visible.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

“You’ll get used to it again. Don’t worry.”

They got off the lift and the corner of his mouth tugged when he saw his long-time secretary, Mason Peterson, 34 with dark hair and black-rimmed round specs.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Gonzalez.”

He nodded, smiling. At least he knew he would be working with someone competent. He thought his father and Elijah replaced Mason while he was gone.

“You can take time to refamiliarize yourself today. Elijah is on another business trip and will be back tomorrow. Let’s have the transition then.” Conrad stated, patting his shoulder. “I’m glad you decided to come back.”

When his father finally left, Leandro stepped into the CEO’s office. Not wasting time, he asked Mason for the last four years financial reports and spent hours studying and reviewing them. When he finally finished, he couldn’t keep a pleased smile. His father and Eli did an excellent job. The company's profit increased by 10% over the years.

In the next few hours, he met with David Yale, the head of the Engineering department, to discuss the progress of the new product development. He was pleased that the same person was still managing it. He had hired him before, and he knew his level of competence. The product releases in the past four years have immensely increased their sales. And the department was developing new products they planned to market in the next few months.

After Leandro complimented him for a job well done, David left with a pleased smile.

Gonzalez Service Ware Inc. developed and marketed software, services, and hardware devices. The company was known as the world’s leading software developer for ten consecutive years, and he planned to stay on top. Therefore, he asked the man to give him regular updates on the development.

Completely immersed in reviewing all the sales reports, time flew by. He sat for hours, and he realized his back was becoming sore. Then, the glass door opened. A smiling Celeste peeked inside before she stepped in, she made her way towards his large mahogany desk.

“Let’s have lunch. I have already made a reservation at a nearby restaurant.”

Not pleased by her unannounced visit, he kept a stoic expression.

“Oh, come on. I’ll leave right away once we’re done. I know you don’t like being disturbed during working hours.”

He watched her for a moment. She was not a bad catch. In fact, she was quite attractive, with blonde curly hair, massive t**s, small waists, and large hips. A ton of men chased her way back in college. A mutual friend introduced them, and they hooked up a few times. After graduation, they stayed friends. Though it was her who kept in touch and would randomly ask him to party. He would accept most of the time, but he refused to hook up with her again when he discovered her possessive quality. She had threatened women that got close to him. She even went as far as making a scene in the company of one of the girls Mateo and Leandro got acquainted with. Assuming she was his new hookup, Celeste made a scandal and warned the woman to stay away from him and beat the hell out of her in front of many people.

That completely put him off. But then she promised not to do it again. Unfortunately, he believed her, and he even made it official with her because of her nonstop begging for attention. That was his biggest mistake, since she became more aggressive towards every woman that came close to him. Pissed, he ended things with her two months later. Then he found out his father had arranged his marriage to a daughter of one of his business partners. The Smiths. And Leandro was livid.

Finally, he stood up and grabbed his coat. It was only lunch. Besides, she seemed fine now. She did not look like the same jealous, overly possessive girlfriend she once was.