Surrender To Me

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

SLOANE

Thanks to Josiah, who decided that our office hookup wasn't enough last night and booked a room, I woke up late this morning. We went straight there from the company, spending the whole night warming each other's bodies until we were worn out.

It has been like this for the past three years. Whenever we want to have s*x, we will meet somewhere, but we rarely do it in our own apartments. We will leave in our own cars from the company, making sure not to attract suspicion or attention. We will have our way with each other, and once we're satisfied, we will separate like nothing happened.

What Josiah and I have is purely physical. We do not care much about what we do; we do not send each other messages unless it's about hooking up. There is no good morning or good night between us. We do not go out for dates. We let go of our inhibitions and ego behind closed doors, but we are still each other's number one enemy and hater.

We go with the flow, with what our bodies want. No feelings or emotions are involved.

I practically ran around my apartment to prepare, and I had to skip breakfast to eat in the company. To my annoyance, Josiah was already at the company, and he was on his way out with his secretary. I silently cursed him and was about to walk past him to prepare for my presentation later when he said something.

"For someone preaching about functionality, you are not doing a really great job at it, Miss Ellsworth," he said blankly, making me stop walking and turning to him with a sharp glare.

'And whose fault do you think that is?!' I wanted to shout at him but maintained my composure.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "There was an accident on the way, sir. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

As prideful as I am, I know when I did something wrong and when to admit my mistake. Being late is my problem. I shouldn't have gotten carried away, knowing today is an important day not only for me but also for my team.

Josiah smirked, and he was about to leave when he raised a finger as if remembering something. "Ah, isn't that meeting with the investors for an important project today? I hope your irresponsibility won't affect the company."

He's getting back at me for what happened yesterday, isn't he?

"I am aware, sir. Don't worry because I have it all prepared and being late won't affect it."

"There better be no mistake, Miss Ellsworth. This project is important to us."

With that, Josiah walked out with his secretary, trying to keep up with her boss's huge steps, but not before glaring at me and smirking. For some reason, that bothered me. I decided to shake it off; Jane was always like that with me anyway.

I walked to my office to check everything and make sure the projecting room was prepared for my presentation at three in the afternoon. I had to leave my office and go to the production area during lunch to personally pick up my order, which is the samples of the fabrics we'll be using. To my frustration, they made a mistake on two pieces, and I had to change them. It occupied most of my time that I didn't have the chance to eat and just had a quick bite of a sandwich.

Once done, I practically ran back to my office carrying them. I looked at my watch and saw that I had half an hour to prepare. I disconnected my USB with my presentation on it, picked up the portfolio I prepared yesterday, and ran to the projecting room. I spent half an hour setting everything up. I plugged in my USB to the laptop, opened it to prepare it, turned on the projector, distributed the portfolio on the five seats for the investors coming, and also made sure there was water for them.

Five minutes after three, they all started coming one by one, and by three-thirty, I was ready to present it. I started discussing the story behind the idea that my team and I came up with; my voice was steady and confident despite being a little nervous. I have been doing this for three years, but I still get nervous sometimes despite being confident in my skills.

"As always, we will stick to the company's trademark, but we will also add some new and trendy look for this collection. As you all know, knitted shirts, vests, and sweaters are a trend these days, and people have been really liking the classic vintage vibes that some companies, including Wayne, are bringing back. Usually, most people nowadays prefer neutral colors, but my team and I have come up with vibrant colors that can be perfectly matched with earth tones." I started as I pressed the remote to show them some samples of the clothes I mentioned, but not really our designs yet.

I watched them flip through the portfolio with an impressed look and nod while hiding the smile on my face.

"These look impressive, Miss Ellsworth, but how about the price? They look too fancy for some customers to afford." Mr. Williams asked in worry, and I gave him a reassuring smile.

"While we will use quality materials, the budget won't be far from our usual range. Wayne will be always affordable for everyone."

Wayne is a high-end brand built in 1975 by Joshua's grandfather. He was originally from a wealthy family, but their company focuses on technology. Josiah's grandfather wanted to try his hand at the fashion industry, and he has created one of the leading brands now. The company has maintained a friendly price for everyone. The quality is different in price, but the design remains the same.

The investors nodded, looked, and talked to each other.

"Now, these are the designs we prepared for this collection." I pressed the next button just as they flipped to the next page. I saw frowns on their faces, earning the same from me.

"What is this?"

"Is this some kind of joke?"

I snapped my head to the projector and paled when I saw different designs from what I prepared and what we came up with. They were old designs from the company's collection years ago.

"Friendly budget? A thousand dollars is affordable for everyone, Miss Wayne?" Mr. Williams asked in anger.

I quickly checked my presentation, and I was shocked to see that they were all different. I checked it this morning, and they are fine. Someone switched them on purpose!

"No, I... there has been a mistake, everyone. This is not what I prepared. If you could just give me a few minutes to fix it..."

"We left our own companies to see an unprepared project!"

"This is unacceptable! You wasted our time!"

"Do you think of us as a joke?"

They all angrily stood while throwing away the portfolio. I tried to calm them down and ask them for some time, but they stormed off, leaving me with a defeated look on my face. I picked up one, flipping through it to see the same, and crumpled it.

Who would mess with my design?! Josiah? No. He might be an arrogant man, but he isn't one to play dirty.

My teammates came to hear the news, but when they saw the mess, all of them looked at me in disappointment.

"I... I don't know how this happened, but I promise you all that this isn't my doing. Someone messed with our project, and I will find the person behind it."

They didn't say anything and left with a defeated look while grumbling under their breaths.

I was left with my pride hurt. It's been almost three years since I started in Wayne, and I have never once made a mistake, and someone decided to mess with that.

That afternoon, I was called by my superiors to the office. They all blamed me for what happened, and I quietly listened. They reprimanded me like a child, warning to fire me if the relationship with the investors is ruined.

I know when to admit my mistake, but not this time. Sure, it was my mistake for not checking at the last minute, but if someone had not purposely messed with it, it would have been perfect as always.

"Someone messed with my presentation, and I will prove it to you. Now, if you will excuse me."

I turned to leave with a bruised ego, heavy heart, and balled fist. The person behind this better be ready because I will make them pay!

When I was about to go back to my office, a sinister laugh greeted me when I was about to walk past Jane, who was lounging around the hallway. The floor was practically empty, and it was only the two of us.

"What are you laughing at?" I sneered at her, and she only smirked with her arms crossed.

"Aw, did the great genius mess up? What, did it hurt your pride to be reprimanded like that?" Jane taunted me and stepped closer. "That's what happens when you leave your work unattended."

I was taken aback, my eyes narrowing. "You're the one behind this?"

Jane scoffed and leaned closer. "So tell me, Miss Genius, did you sleep with the CEO to get the job?"

My anger faded, and my blood ran cold. So that wasn't imagination after all. She caught Joshua and me in the act.