Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law

Chapter 439: Seduction

"Come on, Adam. I’ve even seduced a man for you, and you cannot even give me a chance to explain?" Max said as he strode into Adam’s office without so much as a knock because he knew that if he paused even a second at the door, Adam would probably bolt it in his face. Better to push straight through.

Of course, he would not have dared not knock in the past for seeing something ’umpleasant’ but with Melanie already back to work now, he knew he was safe. He was wrong to assume that. So. VEry. Wrong.

Because the moment he stepped in, regret hit him like a slap. The office wasn’t empty. Sitting on the other side of Adam was Stormedge’s board of directors.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed his face, though he quickly masked it as he turned to look at Adam questioningly.

But Adam simply gazed at him indifferently, making his hackles rise. His eyes swept the table and he caught the faint, guilty looks some of the men exchanged. That was enough to make his chest tighten with suspicion.

He plastered the same easy going smile on his face that irritated these old coots and said jovially,"I didn’t realize Adam had guests. Did we have a meeting of the board of directors scheduled for today that I missed out on?."

Hurriedly, one of the older men, his hands twitching on the edge of his chair, stood up and stammered, "O–of course not, of course not. There is no meeting. We only dropped by to inquire after Mr. Collin’s health... after the recent fire scare."

Max’s lips curved into a cold smile. "Everyone decided to drop by at once, did they? How wonderfully considerate. Then I’ll leave you all to it. Adam, do tell them... all about your health."

With that pointed remark, he spun on his heel and walked out, his stride calm but his face seething beneath the mask.

Those vultures. They didn’t waste a moment, did they? The second they smelled weakness, they gathered, circling in their polished shoes and expensive suits, waiting for a chance to pounce.

As he returned to his own office, Max’s expression hardened. He cast a sharp look at his assistant and snapped, "I want to know who leaked news about the tension between Adam and me."

And without waiting for a reply, Max pushed inside and slammed his door shut. The sound was dull and unsatisfying. That stupid carpet and door! One couldn’t even bang it shut.

Irritated, he kicked the wood, but even then it gave no satisfying bang, only a muted thud that left him angrier than before.

Did they really take him for a fool? All these years he had stood at Adam’s side, and they thought he hadn’t learned a trick or two?

He’d played the loyal companion, yes, but he had never been blind nor weak.

If those hyenas thought they could overthrow him as CEO, they were about to learn just how costly their mistake would be.

Bloody parasites. They clung to him when there was profit to be made, fawning over him when they thought Adam was a nobody.

And now, with Adam’s identity revealed, they fancied themselves righteous enough to discard his as if he were a used pawn. They really did think they could manipulate Adam better, didn’t they?

A bunch of dogs. Snapping at scraps and desperate for favor.

With a huff, he walked to his chair and glared at his door as if he could have Xray vision and stared at Adam.

If he truly intended to fall in with their schemes just to get on his bad side and take revenge, then Max had gravely overestimated him. Adam was a dog too.

Taking out a cigarette, he lit it and puffed slowly. The heat of his anger cooled just enough to allow something heavier to creep in.

Adam was furious. He had seen it in his eyes, in the set of his mouth. And Adam was not the sort of man to forgive easily. freёwebnovel.com

Max knew that better than anyone. He had always known it. That was the real danger, the one that gnawed at him in quiet moments.

It was why, over the years, he had done his best to do as many favours for his best friend, so that when the time came, Adam would at least be willing to listen to him.

But it seemed, Adam was still unwilling. And now, he had a bigger problem. Adam was the largest share holder in Stormedge and he was the second largest Together, they made majority which worked perfectly for them to suppress most of the leeches who had been trying get into the board.

However, if Adam shifted his support then, it would be easy to make things difficult for him. His eyes narrowed at that. It was time to create put the back up plan in action.

With a huff, he made a phone call and then, without wasting time on pleasantries, directly asked, "I have a deal for you. Would you be interested?"

The other person seemed to pause for a moment before answering, "Sure. But why so sudden?"

"Because the board is moving faster than I expected and Adam is being a knucklehead. I need this back up faster. Are you in or not?"

"And you are sure this will not affect anything else? It sounds dangerous. I didn’t think you would use something like this against Adam."

"I didn’t think so too. Now, are you in or out?" Max snapped at the veiled reprimand.

"Fine. Where do you want to meet?"

Max’s lips curled into a thin smile at the words. Perfect. "Not here. Too many ears listening. Tomorrow evening. The café on Dorsett Street. Let’s meet there. And you can name your price."

"Oh I will, Max. I will name my price. But the question is, will you be willing to pay the price? What a mystery. Alright then, I’ll see you tomorrow. Be on time, okay?"

Max agreed and then disconnected the call. He needed to protect himself... And if that meant doing a few things that might not be totally ethical... well, he’d never claimed to be perfect.