Anxiety….
Daphne felt a strong wave of anxiety crash on her as she made her way into the impressive building belonging to the Cy's.
Today she was officially signing the contract she would be leading with the Cy group and there was going to be a press conference afterwards.
“This way Miss Ross,” Rosa, who was Quinn's personal assistant, said while gesturing for Daphne to follow her.
Daphne responded by nodding slightly with a faint smile as she followed Rosa to Quinn's office.
When they got to the door Rosa knocked on it softly.
“Come in,” Quinn's calm voice drifted through the door and a foreign sense of relief washed over Daphne.
What was that……
Her thoughts were interrupted at the sight of the CEO in his elements.
Behind a huge salvaged wooden table sat Quinn Cy. He immediately stood up to greet her and Rosa took note of this exchange as this meant Daphne was an esteemed guest.
After all pleasantries were exchanged Rosa was excused and the pair started to discuss.
“The signing will happen at the press conference,” Quinn said and all Daphne did was nod distractedly.
As much as his presence brought her relief she was still a tad anxious.
“Everything will go as planned today I assure you. No hiccups or surprises,” Quinn assured, noticing her stiff posture.
“I am fine,” Daphne responded sharply.
“If you say so,” Quinn responded, his voice still emotionless.
“We'll be on our way to the conference room…..” Quinn was suddenly distracted by the vibration coming from his phone.
“I need to take this,” he said.
Daphne nodded and he disappeared into another room in the office.
While he was away, she used the opportunity to admire the beauty of his office just because and it was also a good distraction.
She honestly expected Quinn to be a minimalist but the absurd number of paintings in his office said otherwise.
Seems like he is an art enthusiast, who would have thought.
After sometime Quinn appeared and sat opposite Daphne.
“I can tell you're nervous,” Quinn said a bit mockingly and a scowl immediately appeared on her face.
“Why am I surprised that’s the first thing that left your mouth,” she muttered under her breath.
“Did you smell the fear on me? Are you a dog,” Daphne replied sarcastically.
Quinn's eyes immediately hardened as he stared at the brazen woman in front of him. It was obvious that she was nervous yet she was masking her emotions so perfectly that he almost couldn't tell. The woman was an enigma and he was hellbent on figuring her out.
“What? Cat got your tongue,” Daphne asked, laughing slightly as she expanded on her earlier dog joke. After having a good laugh she finally focused on the silent man in front of her.
“I need this to go perfectly. After this, my grandfather shouldn’t have a reason to be worried, Daphne said.
“Why are you acting like you’re doing me a favour and it's not the opposite,” Quinn asked.
“You aren’t doing us any favours Cy, from what I remember your family isn’t that generous to just anyone”
“But you aren’t just anyone,” he replied immediately like the words were at the tip of his tongue and silence enveloped the office.
“I mean you are Mira’s friend,” Quinn replied flustered, shocked at his own words.
“Either way, your family is doing what is expected after what I went through because of you,” Daphne replied, quickly recovering from his surprising
words.
“Let’s be clear you didn’t go through anything because of me. Everything happened because YOU decided to follow them and your already strained relationship with Edward and your sister didn’t help your situation,” Quinn responded leaving Daphne dumbfounded but not speechless as she was ready with a comeback.
“ First of all, it’s Ethan not Edward and Jezebel on the other hand is my STEP sister, don’t get it twisted. As for the alms your family is so generously giving poor little me which by the way is the bare minimum, considering all this could have been avoided if your father wasn’t so obstinate is not needed. If you think this agreement is one sided then take it and shove down your ridiculously long throat and hope it doesn't get stuck because I'm so over men thinking they’re always right,” Daphne snapped then proceeded to stand up.
Quinn, who had been sitting perplexed at her outburst immediately stood up when he noticed she was planning to leave.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“To my home, unless you want to buy another house for me out of pity?” Daphne said harshly.
“I was out of line and I apologize. This project is benefitting us just as much as you. So please just don’t leave,” Quinn said sincerely and was shocked at his tone.
Daphne stared at him for some time before deciding to let the matter go.
The fact was that they were both using each other. Daphne needed this to improve her image and Quinn to prove that he was still fit to handle the CEO position
After the unexpected fight the two sat in silence deciding it was better not to engage each other as they always ended up locking horns.
Ten minutes later, they were both headed to the hall where the press conference was being held. Although Daphne was a bit uneasy as this would be the first time she would be addressing a crowd in over two years, she wasn’t all that frightened as she was used to being in the public eye. The main issue is that her arrest and the circumstances surrounding it would be brought up and she still wasn’t ready to recall her harrowing experience in prison.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a warm hand resting on her lower back. She slowly looked to her side to see that the source of warmth was from Quinn who was staring back at her. His eyebrows were raised slightly as if trying to read her mood.
“You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to because this conference is for our partnership and nothing else. I can’t promise that questions concerning your situation wouldn’t be raised because no matter how much we sift the reporters, one or two fools still ask very inappropriate questions,” Quinn said.
“Mira said you didn’t talk much but here you are consoling me. I guess I should count myself lucky,” Daphne said with a genuine smile gracing her lips.
It was indeed unusual for Quinn to take it upon himself to console someone and even more surprisingly initiate physical contact.
The two finally made it to the conference room and we're immediately bombarded with flashing lights.
Daphne took a deep breath and made her way to the chair reserved for her with Quinn not too far behind.
What's the worst that can happen…..
YOU ARE READING
STEEL CITY
RomanceDaphne Ross was a rising star in Steel City and was taking Hollywood by storm but her shiny life and career crashed down after she was betrayed and framed by her stepsister and a man who swore he loved her to the moon and back. After being unjustly...
