Rejected: A love story-Chapter 108: What’s this?

"Sir, Mr. Kent?" Alex tried again. It was the sixth time Nathan had blanked out. Could the cold CEO truly be affected by a woman? All along, Alex had thought Nathan was pretending with Fiona, especially since his parents were in town. But now that they had gone back, his boss was still distracted. How could someone like Nathan Kent, the man known for his unshakable focus, be so affected by a woman?

Alex shifted awkwardly, glancing at the papers in his hand. Nathan was staring out the window, his jaw tense, his fingers drumming lightly on the desk. He looked like he was somewhere else entirely, lost in his own thoughts.

"Mr. Kent?" Alex repeated, louder this time, hoping to break through whatever spell his boss was under.

Nathan finally turned his head, blinking like he had just snapped out of a trance. He frowned slightly, realizing he hadn’t heard a single word Alex had been saying.

"You know what—let’s do this some other time," Nathan said abruptly, turning away from Alex in his rotating chair.

"But sir, the meeting is due tomorrow," Alex protested, his voice tinged with concern. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I don’t care!" Nathan snapped, his tone sharp and impatient. He let out a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temple. He could feel the tension building in his chest, the frustration clawing at him. Why was Fiona doing this to him? Why couldn’t he get her out of his head?

"I won’t be able to attend. You’ll go instead," Nathan added brusquely, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Alex stared blankly at his boss’s back, unsure how to respond. Nathan wasn’t looking at him, but Alex couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice as he asked, "Does this mean I’m getting a promotion?"

Nathan turned slightly in his chair, his expression cold, his tone clipped and firm. "You’re not getting any damn promotion, Alex. Your place will always be as my executive assistant. I can double your salary, but no promotion."

Alex blinked, slightly disappointed but still hopeful. "You’ll double my salary, sir? Sir, that’s promotion enough for me!" he said, smiling despite himself. Nathan didn’t turn back to acknowledge him, his attention already elsewhere.

Just then, the door opened, and a man dressed in black from head to toe entered. He removed his black hat before speaking.

"Good day, Mr. Kent," the man greeted, his voice calm but formal.

Nathan spun his chair to face both him and Alex, his expression hardening instantly. "You have news?" he asked curtly, his tone inpatient and demanding.

The man nodded, hesitating for a moment as his gaze flicked to Alex.

"Don’t worry, you can say anything. Alex is my right-hand man," Nathan assured him, his voice firm .

The man nodded again and pulled out a long brown envelope from his coat, handing it to Alex, who in turn handed it to Nathan.

"She got invited to a pool party," the man began as Nathan opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of photographs.

"The guy in the pictures owns a bakery. She works for him, and they seem to have a close friendship bond," the man explained.

Nathan flipped through the pictures slowly, his jaw tightening with every image. His expression was cold and unreadable—until he froze, his eyes landing on one particular photo.

The man swallowed hard, knowing Nathan must have seen ’the picture’, the one he had been hesitant to include.

"What is this?" Nathan asked, his voice sharp and filled with fury.

"A truth or dare game was going on," the man said hesitantly. "She sort of got bored and went to drink, then the guy suggested leaving the party—"

"I didn’t ask for that," Nathan snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence. "I said, what the f** is this?*" He held the photo up, glaring at the man, his anger palpable.

The man’s voice wavered as he tried to explain.

"Did he kiss her?" Nathan demanded, his tone icy and dangerous.

"I... I can’t say, sir," the man stammered, his confidence faltering under Nathan’s piercing gaze.

"What the f*** does that mean?" Nathan roared, his voice booming as he stood to his feet. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his entire body radiating fury.

"I wasn’t able to continue. I almost got caught, so I had to leave," the man explained quickly, his words tumbling out in a rush.

"I don’t give a f*** if you got caught or not!" Nathan yelled. "I pay you to do your job properly. So what am I supposed to do with half the information?"

"I’m sorry, sir," the man murmured, his head bowing slightly in shame.

"Sorry for yourself!" Nathan barked, his voice loud enough for anyone passing to hear. "I pay you to do your f****** job, and you can’t even do it right!

Alex stayed frozen in his seat, his hands gripping the armrests tightly. He knew better than to say anything while Nathan was this angry.

"Get me everything on what she’s doing after classes and tonight. I want every single detail before 4:00 p.m. today. Is that clear?" Nathan demanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, sir," the man said quickly, bowing before leaving through the door.

The door clicked shut, and Nathan immediately rose to his feet, his hands running through his hair as he paced the room, his anger radiating off him in waves.

He stopped suddenly, his gaze flicking to the photographs still scattered across his desk. His jaw tightened as he picked up the incriminating photo again, staring at it like it held the answers to all his questions.

When he turned, his eyes landed on Alex, still sitting in his chair, frozen in place.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Nathan snapped, his voice sharp and impatient.

"I just—"

"Get out!" Nathan cut him off sharply, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Alex didn’t wait another second. He bolted for the door, his movements quick and unsteady, not wanting to be caught in the storm of Nathan’s fury.

As the door clicked shut behind Alex, Nathan sat back down in his chair, his head falling into his hands. He let out a deep, frustrated sigh, his thoughts consumed by the one person he couldn’t seem to get out of his head.