When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie) novel Chapter 40

Was it Merritt's warning that did the trick? Clyde had been unusually quiet these days. Even at the office, he'd look the other way when our paths crossed.

Just when I thought he was done making my life difficult, Kayla decided to stir up some real trouble.

Aspire World had sent representatives. And she, for some reason, didn't bother to inform me and left them hanging in the conference room. When I got Vinson's text, I found out he and his team had been at our office for over an hour.

I rushed to the meeting room. "Vinson, you're with Aspire World?"

"I'm so sorry. My colleague didn't tell me you were here. I would've been here immediately if you'd texted me sooner."

Seeing him surrounded by his team, I could tell he held a position of authority. A part of me was secretly thrilled. If Vinson were in charge of the project, it’d be a cakewalk compared to dealing with Bill.

A young lady beside Vinson shot me a disapproving look. "Starting by name-dropping? Ms. Crawford, you made us wait this long. You think this will slide like that, huh? Last time, you made Mr. Jenkins wait, and now, Mr. Davis. What, is this your way of showing dominance?"

I put on my best apologetic smile and kept saying sorry over and over. With Vinson smoothing things over, the atmosphere lightened a bit.

That was when Lina walked in, arms laden with a dozen cups of coffee and a box of assorted pastries. "Sorry, everyone, Ms. Crawford insisted this bakery was worth the hype, so I queued up. My apologies for the delay. I got a variety of the most popular flavors and some pastries. Let's enjoy these while we talk."

I shot Lina a grateful look. She wiped the sweat from her brow and winked at me.

The Aspire World team, mostly young folks, livened up with the offer of good food.

"This coffee shop's the talk of the town. I couldn't even get in last time."

"It’s easier to communicate with the younger crowd, no generation gap, similar tastes."

"Ms. Crawford did her homework. I haven’t seen these pastries in the store before."

As I thought we were about to get down to business, oblivious to the room, Kayla barged in. "Already digging in? Are we here for a meeting or a feast?" She sneered at the spread on the table. "Melanie, this is what you serve your guests? Store-bought cakes that cost a few bucks? Embarrassing."

But Clyde was blind to it, taking Kayla’s word as gospel. "Melanie, be focused when discussing business. If Aspire World walks away, can you bear the responsibility? Will you compensate for the company’s loss?"

I was tired of his ignorance. I would have never pursued him if he had always been so dense.

"Clyde, have you lost your mind? If I knew Vinson was coming, I’d have been at the door to greet him. Do you think I'd have him wait in the meeting room?" I glared at Clyde, adding, "Or maybe someone didn’t want us to get divorced, intentionally keeping me from meeting Vinson?"

After all these years together, I knew how to push his buttons. Back then, I hardly gave Vinson a second glance, and Clyde would be jealous for ages. Even if Clyde didn't love me anymore, the idea of Mrs. Patterson caring for another man was more than he could stand.

As expected, he exploded the next second. "Melanie! Leave now. You’re out of this project! Get out. Now."

Kayla smirked triumphantly behind him, but I rolled my eyes.

Vinson's calm voice filled the room as I was about to ensure I got my share of the initial commission. "If Ms. Crawford isn't heading up the Design Department's efforts, Aspire World will pull out of this collaboration." He smiled at Clyde, "You didn’t think I came to the Patterson Group solely for you, did you?"