From outside Elijah's office, Natalia paced restlessly in front of his desk, still unable to believe that the man of her fantasies was already married.
Natalia Fuentes had worked for Veritas for four years, yet all she knew was that their CEO was a single bachelor. She wasn't just attracted to him because of his good looks, but also for his immense wealth. Natalia harbored high ambitions; she wanted to marry a billionaire, and Elijah perfectly fit her criteria. Despite his gruff and strict demeanor, she had done everything to catch his attention. Yet, her dreams of becoming a billionaire's wife shattered the moment she discovered he was married and had a child.
"How could Mr. Penelton be married? What will happen to all my plans and dreams now?!" Natalia exclaimed, her gaze darting to the door of Elijah's office.
It never crossed Natalia's mind that Samara might be reporting her actions to Elijah. Natalia's focus remained solely on Elijah, whom she desperately wanted for herself, though now he seemed even more unattainable with a wife and child.
"Mr. Penelton is still a man. There are no loyal men left these days. I can still snatch him away from his wife. Right, I can still have Mr. Penelton if I continue to persuade him with my--"
"--If I were you, Ms. Fuentes, I wouldn't go through with what you're thinking."
Natalia spun around in surprise, coming face to face with Augustus, whose arrival she hadn't noticed.
"M-Mr. Mo-Mori, have you been there long?"
"I know you're fantasizing about our CEO, and I don't blame you, Ms. Fuentes. Mr. Penelton is handsome, wealthy, and intelligent. However, even if you were to strip naked in front of him, only one woman holds his heart. I'm sure you've met Mr. Penelton's wife, right?" Augustus declared, stepping closer to a speechless Natalia.
"If you still want to be an employee of Veritas, know your place, Ms. Fuentes. Mr. Penelton is different from the disloyal men you speak of these days. Well, he is very smitten with his wife, and Mr. Penelton's sternness and seriousness melt away only when it comes to his darling. Persuading a man who is deeply in love with his wife will be the end of your career," Augustus added to Natalia.
"H-How can Mr. Penelton be married when everyone here at Veritas believes he's single? If he loves his wife, why is he hiding his child and his wife? Does it mean they're in a contract relationship?" Natalia asked, causing Augustus to chuckle softly at her words.
"Do you really think they have a contract relationship? I'm sorry to ruin your hopes, Ms. Fuentes, but it's not. There's a reason why their marital status is low-profile. If I were you, I'd just focus on doing my job well here at Veritas. You're still lucky to be his secretary, but once his wife requests a replacement, even if you're excellent at your job, Mr. Penelton will do what his darling wants," Augustus stated with a smile as Elijah's office door opened and he emerged.
"Oh? I can see you're in a good mood today, Mr. CEO," Augustus remarked as Elijah approached them.
"What are you doing here?" Elijah asked seriously, while Natalia stared at him silently.
"I wanted to chat with your wife. This is her first time visiting you with your princess. Besides, it's been a long time since I had a good conversation with Samara. I finished all my work at my desk so I could have a little chitchat with your wif--"
"--My wife doesn't need a little chit-chat with you, Mori. Just go back to your f*cking office and do things as an executive manager of my company," Elijah dismissively stated.
"You're so possessive! I just wanted to chat with your wif--"
"--Leave now, Mori. Don't ever come near her, or I'll rip out your eyeballs," Elijah interrupted Augustus again, before turning his gaze to Natalia.
"Tell all board members to come at once to the conference hall. I have something to tell them all," Elijah commanded.
"Y-Yes, sir..."
"Don't tell me you're calling your board members just to show off your wife and child? Come on, Mr. CEO--"
"--Shut the fck up, Mori. My wife and my daughter are mine alone, so why would I fcking introduce them? They are not worth seeing my family," Elijah snapped again, cutting off Augustus, who merely chuckled at Elijah.
"M-Mr. Penelton, why don't you want to introduce your wife to the employees of Veritas? All we know is you're a bachelor and--"
"--Should I have to answer your question?" Elijah coldly interrupted Natalia.
"N-Not exactly, Mr. Penelton, but--"
"--If you're thinking that I'm ashamed to introduce my wife to Veritas, then you're gravely mistaken. I am territorial when it comes to my wife and my daughter, and I prioritize their safety over flaunting them to people," Elijah explained again as Samara emerged from his office.
"Samara! Your husband will have a meeting with his board members, why don't we have a quick ch--" Augustus couldn't finish his sentence as Elijah covered his mouth.
"Do you need anything, darling?" Elijah asked softly. Natalia once again noticed the change in Elijah's tone when he spoke to Samara.
Elijah spoke to them with authority, with coldness and plainly, but it completely changed once he was talking to Samara; Natalia felt she was seeing a different Elijah Penelton.
"Lorenzo is on the phone. Should I tell him to call you later?" Samara asked, prompting Elijah to walk closer to her.
"Ms. Fuentes," Elijah called, turning to Natalia.
"Ye-Yes, Mr. Penelton."
"Do what I told you to do: bring all the board members to the conference room and tell them to wait for me," Elijah instructed seriously before he and Samara re-entered his office.
"See what I told you? Do you still think you have a chance with Mr. Penelton? He would even kill for his darling; he would start a war for her," Augustus said to Natalia, who sighed and put her hands in her pockets.
"Don't even think of competing with Samara, because from the beginning, you've already lost," Augustus added, before turning his back on Natalia and deciding to return to his own office since Elijah was being possessive of Samara again.
Natalia was left clenching her fists, unable to accept that she no longer had a chance to become Mrs. Penelton. Yet, fueled by her ambition, the plan to entice Elijah remained firmly in her mind.
"I will wait. Maybe he's smitten with that woman, but I'll make sure Mr. Penelton's attention turns to me," Natalia vowed, straightening herself before carrying out Elijah's orders.
Inside the office, Elijah was already on the phone with Lorenzo, the call on speaker so Samara could hear their conversation; he had no secrets from his wife. She knew everything, from their company to his Mafia responsibilities.
Veronice, their daughter, was busy coloring a new art piece to show her father and paid no attention to the ongoing conversation.
"Pencarte the Second is starting to torture Vittorio Mancini, and while Pencarte is torturing him, Mancini sang like a canary, Il Capo," Lorenzo reported from the other end of the line.
Samara left her enjoying daughter at the table before approaching Elijah, who pulled her onto his lap.
"What did he f*cking say?" Elijah demanded.
"He knew about Samara, that she is your wife, because of a certain spy who got into Veritas," Lorenzo replied. Samara turned to Elijah, who sighed.
"So he fcking had the fcking guts to put a spy inside my f*cking territory, huh?" Elijah growled.
"Do you need a name, Il Capo?" Lorenzo asked, prompting Elijah to look at Samara.
"Who?"
"Wilson Clemente. Mancini gave him fake status to become part of your board members, to spy and tell Mancini your daily routine. No wonder why some enemies ambushed us before, Il Capo. For quite some time, a termite has infiltrated Veritas," Lorenzo revealed.
"Tell Miro not to kill Mancini, just torture him. I'll face him myself," Elijah instructed before ending the call with Lorenzo.
"That explains why enemies knew your movements back then; someone uninvited got into Veritas, and we didn't notice," Samara said, observing the serious Elijah.
"Mancini must have laughed at me the whole time for not noticing these goddamn flies who f*cking entered Veritas," Elijah muttered. Samara cupped his cheeks, causing their eyes to meet.
"Don't let this get to you. Why don't you give the spy who's enjoying his stay at Veritas a nice warm welcome?" Samara suggested, bringing a slight smile to Elijah's face.
Elijah had momentarily forgotten that his wife was not a damsel in distress but a fierce woman.
"You have a good point, darling. I might as well welcome him in a Penelton way," Elijah declared, making Samara smile.
"Then go meet him. Show that spy that he entered the wrong company. Show them how ruthless you can be. My daughter and I will wait here," Samara said with a smile, and Elijah kissed her lips.
Once their lips parted, they stood up. Elijah adjusted his tie and polo before patting his muscular chest.
"Have a nice meeting with him, darling."
"I'll be back shortly, darling," Elijah said, turning to Veronica.
"I'll leave for a while, baby," he bade his daughter, who waved without looking up.
"Okay, Daddy!"
"She's not looking at me," Elijah commented, and Samara, laughing, accompanied him to the door.
"She's busy making you proud, so go make us proud by eliminating the spy, or I can do it for you, darli--"
"--Your hands are not for killing anymore, darling; they're for caressing me and hugging me. Let me handle this in a minute," Elijah softly interrupted, kissing her again before finally leaving the office.
Samara looked down at her hands and smiled.
"There's nothing wrong with taking a life again just to protect our family, but my alpha said he'll handle it, so let's let him be," Samara mused, returning to her daughter to help with her art.