The Romance Strategy

A loud slap echoed across the stairwell, followed by a low groan. "You actually hit me?" Todd scoffed, turning his face back to Lisa. "Yes. But I don't feel any better," Lisa replied, holding back tears. "Of course you don't. You're not even trying to understand me." Todd reached for her arm but got pushed back by another loud smack on his face. "Understand you?" Lisa scoffed as her tears betrayed her and rolled down her cheeks. "You cheated. You slept with Karla—" the air held her throat, cutting off her words as she sniffed. "That's all you're looking at!" he yelled. "Every day, I felt like a shadow in your life. Even when I reached for you, you were somewhere else. I was lonely, Lisa." He complained while rubbing the sting on his cheek, which had turned into a visible mark. "What are you talking about?" Lisa's brows furrowed slightly, recalling what he was talking about. "Wait—" she scoffed, wiping her tears from her face with her silk blue office shirt. "Are you referring to the last house opening?" Todd looked away, running his hand through his blonde hair. "You spent so much time on work. You barely even looked at me." Todd sighed, his hand reaching for his neck as he let out another deep sigh. Lisa's face softened as she tried to catch his eyes with hers, but like always, he avoided it. "You get it now—" "You are disgusting," Lisa cut him off. Todd frowned as he shot her a glare. "Excuse me?" Lisa wiped her tears with both hands and then scoffed. "I worked so hard to get this promotion to be closer to you at work. I earned my first job as a team leader. You know how much this means to me, and you know how much work comes with it. You were a team leader too—" "Exactly!" Todd cut her off. "For a whole year! And I never made you feel the way you made me feel. I never neglected you! But you did... so easily..." he trailed off. "That is not what happened. Stop saying that!" Her voice choked up as she tried to speak, shaking her head slowly. "We're done, Lisa. Stop trying to paint me as the only villain in this story." He turned around and walked down the stairs and shut the door, the bang sending a jolt through her body. Lisa held back tears with a clenched fist, and her vision blurred as she slid down on the floor. Her muffled sobs echoed as she crouched up in a corner. "I don't pay you to use my stairwells for a melodrama." A deep voice spoke, causing Lisa to jolt up, wiping her tears as she struggled to find balance on her heels. She turned to her side, and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she identified the voice. It was Seth Miller, the CEO. "I'm sorry, sir." Lisa cleared her throat while adjusting her palazzo office pants and hiding her soaked silk sleaves behind her back. "He's an asshole." he muttered, his eyes glued to his phone, scrolling through. "You shouldn't cry over someone like that." Lisa let out a quiet gasp. He heard what happened. Her eyes trailed down to her feet as she played with her finger. "At least not in my building," Seth added, stealing a short glance at her, then back at the phone. Lisa chuckled but quickly composed herself. "Lunch is almost over," Seth started, checking the time on his watch. Lisa nodded while reaching for her phone in her pocket. "I have a very strict rule about eating during work hours," Seth spared her another glance, but this time with a raised brow and his eyes pointing toward the door. "Oh, right." Lisa breathed out with a smile and then quickly walked down the stairs. She paused at the door and then looked up at Seth. "Thank you, sir." She smiled and then walked out. As the door shut behind her, Seth checked his watch again and raised a brow. "Shit." He shoved his phone in his pocket and walked down the stairs and out the door. ●■□■● On his drive to the restaurant, he already pictured exactly what his grandfather's reaction would be and what he would say. "You obviously don't care about me anymore," Robert scooped the soup with his spoon and lightly blew at it while Seth chuckled as he quickly sat down on the chair. "I knew you would say that," Seth replied with a smile as he leaned back in his chair. "Of course you did. Because you know I'm right." Robert scoffed. "And that's why you still don't want to give me my birthday gift." Seth sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing his phone from his pocket. "Are we really going to do this here?" Seth questioned. "It's been three years already. You shouldn't allow one heartbreak to scar the rest of your life," Robert replied. "That's a low blow, Gramps." Seth dropped his phone and chuckled. "I'm serious." Robert's voice deepened, and then he dropped the spoon on the plate. "You can't keep clouding yourself with more work instead of healing." "I'm fine, Grandpa," Seth countered. "I thought we were going to talk about Everstead." Robert smiled, then leaned back in the chair. "We are." "Thank you." Seth clasped his hands and rubbed them together. "I'm selling Everstead." Robert announced. Seth felt his stomach drop. He slowly looked up at Robert, who was now wiping his mouth with a napkin. "What?" "Well, that is unless..." Robert trailed off. "Unless what?" Seth raised his voice but cut himself halfway, trying to control his breath. "Grandpa, that company is my inheritance—" "Yes, it is. But I built it." Robert countered. Seth scoffed, looking around the room, unable to fathom words. "But I will announce this when I retire, at 75." Robert added. "That's in three years." Seth pointed out. "Exactly! Enough time for you to get married." Robert replied. And the words sank deeper into Seth's head—if he wanted to inherit his grandfather's company, he had to do the one thing he vowed to avoid. Getting married.