Free Web NovelChapter 28: TREATED WITH LESS RESPECT
Chapter 29
Lumi
The air up here on the penthouse level was freezing and smelled heavily of stale paper and dust.
The desks were completely buried under thick sheets of protective plastic that looked like ghosts in the dim afternoon light.
Ren didn’t say anything immediately, but his dark eyes watched me carefully as I flipped to a fresh page, my thumb nervously clicking the top of my pen because the heavy, hollow silence of this dead empire was starting to press down on my chest.
It felt like walking through a museum of my family’s past.
"You’re going to break the spring if you keep doing that," Ren murmured, his deep voice breaking the quiet as he stepped closer and gently placed his large, warm hand over mine to stop the repetitive clicking.
I looked up at him, my breath catching slightly in my throat because he was standing so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his massive frame, and his dark eyes were looking down at me with an intensity that made me feel completely exposed.
"I’m just overwhelmed, Ren, because looking at the amount of damage up here makes me realize we need a whole crew just to patch the roof, and I can’t build an empire if the roof falls in on us first."
"We knew it was going to be a reclamation project, Lumi, so stop trying to rebuild the entire corporate structure in your head before we even have a single lightbulb working," he replied softly, his fingers lingering on mine for just a second too long before he pulled his hand back into his leather jacket pocket.
Instead of backing away, I stepped around the massive, dust-covered desk and looked at the large leather chair behind it, a soft, genuine smile finally breaking through my exhaustion as a rush of vivid memories flooded my mind.
"When I was twelve years old, I used to beg my mom to bring me to work with her on Saturday mornings," I said softly, my voice carrying a warmth it hadn’t possessed in weeks as I gestured toward the empty corner of the massive room.
"She would sit right here, surrounded by mountains of contracts and blueprints, looking so fierce and completely in control of the world, and I would just drag a little stool over to that corner and sit there for hours, completely captivated, just watching her run her kingdom. I used to think she was a superhero."
I turned back to face Ren, my eyes locking onto his with a newfound spark of absolute certainty.
"This was her room, and I want it to be my office too, because I need to feel her strength in these walls if I’m going to finish what she started and take back my son."
Ren’s dark eyes softened as he listened to me, a quiet look of profound respect washing over his face while he took in the determination radiating from my posture.
"Then it will be your office, Lumi, and we’ll make sure it’s even bigger than it was when she left it."
He crossed his arms over his chest, his broad shoulders blocking out the view of the tarnished Vale Global Holdings sign through the dusty window as his tone turned practical again.
"But you’ve been running on pure adrenaline since we left London, you haven’t eaten a single bite of real food today, and your hands are literally shaking while you hold that pen."
"I don’t have time to worry about food, Ren, because every hour I waste trying to catch my breath is another hour that Callum has my three-year-old boy in his toxic grip," I snapped, though my voice cracked with a wave of raw exhaustion that I couldn’t hide from him no matter how hard I tried.
I pressed the notebook tightly against my ribs, feeling a familiar lump rising in my throat because the silence of this abandoned building was suddenly reminding me of how isolated I truly was in this fight.
"You aren’t going to save your son by destroying your own body before the battle even starts, so we’re going to head back down those stairs, drive to the commercial plaza a few blocks away to get some food and proper flashlights, and then we’ll map out the renovations when your head is clear."
I wanted to argue with him and tell him that we needed to check the lower offices immediately, but my knees felt suddenly hollow and my stomach let out a loud, embarrassing growl that bounced perfectly off the bare walls.
A slow, dark smile touched the corners of Ren’s lips, a flash of quiet amusement dancing in his eyes that made my face burn with a sudden heat, forcing me to look away so he couldn’t see how much his protective nature was affecting me.
"Fine," I muttered, tucking the notebook into my purse because I knew it was completely useless to fight an alpha who had clearly made up his mind.
"We’ll go to the plaza, but only because I need a heavy-duty ledger and a high-powered flashlight to inspect the electrical closets, and we are coming straight back the minute we are done."
The drive to the nearby shopping plaza took less than five minutes, but the sudden transition from the silent, abandoned graveyard of my mother’s company to the bustling, noisy reality of the commercial district was completely dizzying.
Ren pulled the black car into a spot near the main entrance, his movements smooth and deliberate as he killed the engine and turned his head to look at me.
"I’m going to run into the large stationer’s shop right past the main lobby to grab the supplies, so you can just wait here or stretch your legs while I find what I need," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt quickly because the restless energy was clawing at my chest again and I needed to be in motion.
"I’ll come with you, Lumi," he said, reaching for his door handle, but I was already stepping out onto the warm pavement.
"No, stay and finish checking the car’s navigation system like you wanted to and I’ll only be five minutes," I called back, shutting the door before he could protest and walking quickly toward the sliding glass doors of the grand entrance.
The moment I stepped into the air-conditioned warmth of the shopping center lobby, a loud, piercing voice shattered the pleasant hum of the shoppers and made me stop dead in my tracks.
"Are you completely blind, or do you just lack the basic intelligence to pour a simple liquid into a cup without ruining an expensive garment?"
The words were dripping with an unbelievable amount of arrogance, coming from a high-end coffee kiosk just a few yards away from the entrance doors.
A young girl in a green barista apron, looking no older than eighteen, was standing behind the counter with her face burning a bright, shattered red while her hands shook so badly she was dropping paper napkins onto the floor.
In front of the counter stood a woman around 23, her blonde hair pulled back into a flawless, tight ponytail, wearing a tailored cream trench coat and holding a designer leather handbag that probably cost more than the barista earned in a year.
She was glaring down at the teenager with an expression of pure disgust, pointing at a tiny, barely visible dark spot on her silk sleeve.
"I am so sorry, ma’am, the espresso machine pressure valve snapped unexpectedly and splashed the ice," the young girl stammered, her voice trembling violently as a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.
"I can remake the entire order for you right now, completely free of charge, if you’ll just give me one minute..." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
"I don’t want another disgusting drink from this pathetic little stand, and I certainly don’t want someone like you touching anything else that belongs to me!" the blonde woman barked, slamming her plastic iced coffee cup down onto the counter so hard that the lid popped off, splashing sticky dark liquid all over the clean pastry display.
"Look at this mess! This coat is a custom piece from London, and your entire pathetic monthly paycheck wouldn’t even cover the professional dry cleaning bill for this fabric, so don’t you dare look at me like you expect me to be patient with your incompetence!"
"I really am sorry..." the girl whimpered, trying to reach for a rag.
"Shut up! Just shut your pathetic mouth!" the blonde woman shrieked.
Consumed by rage, her hand flew out in a sudden, vicious motion, and a loud, ringing crack echoed through the lobby as she slapped the young barista across the face.
The teenager let out a sharp cry, stumbling backward against the metal espresso machine, her hand flying to her bright red, stinging cheek as tears poured down her face.
The shoppers in the lobby were backing away slowly, pulling their children closer and whispering among themselves, but not a single person stepped forward.
But the blonde woman wasn’t done. A smile appeared on her face and she raised her hand back a second time.
Before her hand could connect with the barista’s skin a second time, my legs moved on pure instinct.
I lunged forward, stepping directly into the space between them, and my left hand shot out automatically, catching the blonde woman’s wrist in mid-air with a firm, resounding grip that stopped her fingers mere inches from the teenager.
The blonde woman’s eyes widened in absolute, staggering surprise. freewebnovel.cσ๓
I hated when people were treated with less respect because of their status.
