“You just got here? Did we have guests?” Joshua said, his expression dark.
Xylia, guessing he was annoyed, moved closer and took his hand.
“We did, but they’re leaving soon,” Xylia answered. <ol><li>G) </li></ol>
EX 35 vouchers
She turned to Connor and Sonny, her tone no longer soft. “I won’t walk you out.”
Connor hadn’t expected Joshua to show up here. ‘Shouldn’t he be busy at Garcia Group? What’s he doing here?‘ Connor wondered.
‘Isn’t he supposed to be working at the Garcia Group? Why did hee here instead?‘ he questioned silently.
But when Connor saw Xylia and Joshua holding hands, looking so close and intimate, his face. instantly fell–he couldn’t hide his displeasure.
Sonny was still a little scared of Joshua.
He still remembered thest time he’d tried to find his mom, and that guy had kicked him
out.
Joshua looked super scary to him–like one of those grown–ups who could eat little kids for breakfast.
Sonny shrank behind Connor, not daring to say a word.
Connor stood up and fixed his gaze on Joshua.
Their
eyes met, and the air was thick with an unspoken tension.
“Mr. Garcia, shouldn’t you be running yourpany instead of showing up here?” Connor asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Joshua shot back, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You just got to Norhill, and your foundation is shaky at best, but now you want to throw money around on overpriced deals? Ford Group must be having a rough time with a fool like you calling the shots<b>.</b><b>” </b>
Connor was just being passive–aggressive, but Joshua went straight for the jugr with his words.
Connor’s face darkened even more.
Xylia lowered her head and chuckled softly.
13:09 Mon<b>, </b>Sep 22
:
57
35 vouchers
Joshua let go of Xylia’s hand, then with practiced case slipped his arm around her waist, gazing down at her with tender eyes.
“Baby, yourpany is running better than ever. You’ve got so much cash flow, you could go public anytime you want. So why are there people out there so shameless, practically pushing themselves onto you, desperate to invest? I’m pretty sure it’s just because they see how bright your future is and want to get a slice of the action. Don’t let anyone fool you.”
Joshua spoke earnestly to Xylia, paying no mind to Connor standing right there.
Xylia chuckled. “Rx, give me some credit–I’m not that dumb.”
Joshua made a show of letting out a relieved sigh before reaching up to ruffle her hair.
“See? That’s my smart girl,” Joshua grinned, clear pride shining in his eyes.
Joshua amped up the sugary affection right in front of Connor, evenying on a cutesy voice just to annoy him.
Xylia’s skin crawled at the disy–she could’ve sworn she actually shivered.
She hadn’t realized Joshua could put on such a show; the man reallyid it on thick.
She turned her head and, just as she expected, Connor looked absolutely furious.
Even Sonny, sticking close to him, was clearly peeved too.
Joshua saw the two still lingering and snapped, “What, waiting for someone to throw you out?”
Connor knew sticking around any longer would piss him off beyond belief, so he grabbed Sonny’s hand and made straight for the exit.
As he passed by Xylia, Connor shot her a cold look. “Hope you don’t regret this.”
Joshua was so pissed off he nearly went to kick Connor, but Xylia held him back just in time.
“Enough, why get worked up over someone so irrelevant?” Xylia said, her tone cool and unbothered.
Joshua’s mood instantly brightened when he heard her call Connor “irrelevant.”
As Connor and Sonny stepped outside, Sonny couldn’t help but grumble.
“Dad, you were supposed to apologize to Mom, but you totally chickened out! And then you just started yakking about work instead. You didn’t really mean to say sorry at all. Now Mom’s even more ticked off, and it’s all your fault!” Sonny huffed.
13:09 Mon<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>
He puffed up his cheeks, ring in obvious annoyance.
Connor was a bit embarrassed and irritated by Sonny’sint.
He really was here to say sorry.
<b>57 </b>
<b>35 </b>vouchers
Sonny’s words at the hospital made a lot of sense, and Connor had genuinely nned to apologize to Xylia.
But when push came to shove, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
So he ended uping over with an investment contract, figuring it would at least let Xylia save face.
Honestly, Connor saw that kind of money as nothing short of a favor–like he was doing Xylia a huge service just by offering it.
But to his surprise, Xylia t–out refused.
After the way she and Joshua teamed up, putting on that little show just to mock him, there was no way he could actually swallow his pride and apologize.
“Don’t you get it? Even if we tried apologizing, she wouldn’t forgive us. Her whole mind is wrapped around that bastard Joshua now,” Connor spat.
Just thinking about the way Xylia looked at Joshua made Connor’s blood boil.
They’d only been divorced for a little over six months, and already Xylia was practically joined at the hip with Joshua.
‘She must’ve been cheating with Joshua even before we split!‘ Connor thought furiously, jealousy twisting in his chest.
Connor felt like he’d walked right into Xylia’s trap.
He thought, “That whole divorce thing was just so she could end up with Joshua. And I was such a fool, feeling all that guilt over the earlier drama!‘
‘Since she doesn’t know a <i>good </i>thing when she sees it, I’m pulling my investment–end of story.‘
‘<b>It’s </b>not like I’m the one who’s missing out!‘
‘When Xylia finally crashes and burns with thatpany, she’ll be the one kicking herself!‘
Sonny was having none of it–he tilted his chin up, fixing his dad with a stubborn, no-
nonsense stare.
13:09 Mon, <b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>
467
<b>57 </b>
<b>35 </b><b>vouchers </b>
“Dad, you’re getting it all wrong. Apologizing isn’t about making Mom forgive us, it’s about owning up when we’ve messed up. If she decides to forgive or not, that’s her business, not ours,” Sonny said, not backing down an inch.
Sonny may have been right, but Connor couldn’t care less at this point–none of it got through to him.
He swept Sonny up in his arms, impatient.
“Just forget it. If she doesn’t want to be your mom, then stop calling her that. Don’t mention it ever again,” Connor said sharply.
“No way!” Sonny shot back, his voice firm.
“Pick one–me or your mom,” Connor said, his tone icy, clearly trying to intimidate Sonny.
Connor’s voice was cold, a clear threat aimed at Sonny.
Sonny instantly shut his mouth, intimidated by his father.
Even though he desperately wanted his mom, in that moment, with his dadying down thew, he felt like he’d better stick with Dad.
He kept quiet, a heavy silence hanging between them.
Connor scooped Sonny up and strode out without looking back.
As Connor and Sonny got into the elevator, Josie finally rounded the hallway corner.
She watched the elevator doors seal shut, then shrugged, giving an exaggerated sigh–like she was some all–knowing spectator in a drama she couldn’t bother to join.
“And that right there is why you’ll never catch up to Mr. Garcia,” Josie murmured, half amused, half pitying.
With that, she slipped into the office, not sparing them another thought.
Back in the office, Joshua took Connor’s seat and looked over the investment contract Connor had just dropped off.
Once he was done, Joshua barely spared it a nce before ripping the contract to pieces and tossing them in the trash.
“Six hundred thousand and he acts like he’s saving the world. Seriously, what a joke,” Joshua scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Xylia, with a yful smile, handed Joshua a freshly poured ss of water. “Come on, I didn’t
13:10 Mon, Sep <b>22 </b>
say yes to him, so quit sulking already.”
:
57
35 vouchers
“I’m not mad,” Joshua replied coolly, setting the ss down on the coffee table. Then, with a teasing glint in his eyes, he tugged Xylia onto hisp.
Xylia immediately got flustered, bracing her hands on his shoulders to push herself up. “The office door isn’t even locked! Someone could walk in any second.”
Joshua didn’t let go, his arm locked tight around Xylia’s waist. “We’re not up to anything— unless you’re seriously thinking about locking that door and getting a little wild?” he teased, ncing at her with a wicked grin.
He leaned in, his breath warming her ear, and she felt goosebumps prick her skin.
Just a second ago, Joshua had been all fired up and annoyed, and now he was shamelessly flirting again—like he could flip the switch whenever he wanted.
Xylia gave him a dead serious look and warned, “If you keep this up, don’t even think about setting foot in my office again.”
Joshua couldn’t help but pout, pulling her into his arms and resting his chin on her shoulder.
His voice was filled with exaggerated hurt, practically whining.
“I’m feeling so wronged here, and you’re not evenforting me. Now you’re saying I can’te in anymore?” he grumbled.
Xylia knew Joshua was just being dramatic again. She shook her head with a helpless sigh, reaching out to give his cheek a resigned little pat.
Joshua was already grinning, totally convinced she was about tofort him.
But Xylia just teased, “Seriously? All this, and you’re already feeling wronged? Guess you’re still too soft, babe. You definitely need more practice.”