CHAPTER 13 - THE CLASH OF WILLS
768 Words
The call came the next morning while Lily was midway through reviewing a complex vendor contract. She stared at the unknown number for three long seconds before sliding the bar to answer.
“Yes?”
A measured silence followed before a deep, controlled voice spoke. “You took longer than expected.”
Lily’s brows drew together. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve called three times,” he said. It wasn't an irritation but a simple statement of fact from a man who clearly wasn't used to being ignored.
Lily leaned back in her chair and allowed a cool edge to enter her tone. “And I answered now.”
“Fair.”
Something about the brevity of that single word made her still. He spoke with the delivery of someone who never felt the need to repeat himself, yet he didn't seem offended by her resistance.
“Who is this?” she asked.
“Adrian Morrison.”
The name carried a weight that Lily felt even through the phone. The Morrison Group were giants with connections that reached into shadows most people didn't even know existed. Her mind went into high gear, sharp and alert, but her expression didn't flicker.
“I see,” she said.
“Do you?” he challenged.
Lily almost smiled. “Enough to know you don’t call people without a reason.”
“Good. I want a meeting about your branch. I’m considering working with you.”
Lily’s fingers stilled on her desk as she processed the potential of an empire-building opportunity. “Be specific.”
“I’m considering a partnership,” he stated.
Lily leaned forward and let her voice drop into a quiet, dangerous register. “Then consider faster, Mr. Morrison. I don’t structure my schedule around maybes.”
The silence on the other end stretched longer this time. When he spoke again, his tone had shifted from cold acknowledgment to something closer to genuine interest. “You’re different from what I was told.”
“And what were you told?”
“That you’re new.”
Lily almost laughed. “I am.”
“Ten a.m. tomorrow,” he stated. “My office.”
It wasn't a question, it was a command. Lily’s gaze hardened.
“No.”
The silence that followed was absolute. “No?” he repeated, his voice dropping an octave.
“I don’t go to people who are considering me,” Lily said firmly. “If you want this meeting, you come to my office.”
Daniel froze in the doorway with a stack of papers, looking at Lily as if she had just slapped a god. The line remained quiet for ten seconds before a soft exhale came from the other end.
“Interesting.”
Lily didn’t respond because she wasn't playing a game of cat and mouse; she was setting a standard. She wasn't the convenient Smith daughter anymore.
“Eleven,” he said, marking a small but massive shift in his stance. “My time is limited.”
“So is mine,” Lily replied.
“I’ll be there.”
The line went dead.
The room was suffocatingly quiet until Daniel managed to find his voice. “Who was that?”
Lily set her phone down with a soft click. “Adrian Morrison.”
Daniel ran a hand through his hair, looking like he was on the edge of a panic attack. “The Adrian Morrison? Lily, that’s not normal. The fact that he called you is a miracle, but you just spoke to him like that. You don't tell a Morrison no.”
“He called me, which makes us equals in this conversation.”
Daniel stared at her, finding the logic flawless but the boldness terrifying.
Across the city, Adrian Morrison sat in his office with his phone held loosely in his hand. The city skyline stretched out behind him like a kingdom, but he wasn't looking at the view.
“She said no?” The man across from him sounded half-amused and half-shocked.
Adrian didn’t respond immediately, but a faint, predatory smirk touched his lips. “Yeah,” he said quietly. For the first time in a very long time, he felt something sharper than curiosity. He felt a challenge.
Back at her office, Lily stood by the window. Her reflection was calm and controlled, but her eyes were brighter than they had been in years. She tapped her finger against the glass, thinking of the name. Adrian Morrison didn't feel intimidating; he felt noted. He wasn’t Ethan Cole, and this time, Lily Smith wasn’t waiting for permission to rule.
- Writer
