That the entire hallway was empty.
"Where did he disappear to?" Augustine questioned out loud as he proceeded in step on the hallway.
With hasten steps, he rushed towards the elevator and there, he saw Charles standing in front of the elevator door with his hands wrapped around his stomach.
"You… you were waiting for me to call you, right?" Augustine questioned with a mischievous smirk on his lips.
Charles scoffed, ignoring Augustine as he stared at the elevator door, patiently waiting for it to open.
And finally, when the door of the door elevator opened, Charles immediately stepped inside, his hands still wrapped around his stomach.
"Hey!" Augustine called out. "You had better think twice about your decision. It could cost you dearly, and also, you are going to regret your actions."
Once more, Charles scoffed, his lips curving into a sly smile. "I bet that I won't." He boldly uttered with a serious expression.
'Pfft!'
Augustine let out a derisive snort, unable to contain his surprise. 'This is quite strange,' he murmured under his breath, his mind struggling to grasp the idea that someone had actually dared to defy him.
In all his years as a powerful CEO, he had never encountered such insubordination, and it left him both furious and intrigued.
Augustine continued to stare at Charles with a stunned expression, his mind still struggling to process the younger man's defiance.
As he stood frozen in disbelief, the elevator doors began to glide shut.
With a sudden start, Augustine snapped into action, sliding his foot in the gap to halt the door's progress, determined not to let Charles escape his grasp just yet.
He took in a deep breath while closing his eyes to compose himself for a while.
After some seconds, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze meeting the intense glare of Charles. "Let's go back to my office. I'm willing to listen to whatever terms you have, but you have to come to my office and we will come to an agreement, one way or another to the conditions that you have."
Immediately after Augustine uttered his statement, Charles immediately stepped out of the elevator, heading straight to Augustine's office, almost as if he had been expecting the earlier statement of his CEO.
'What the hell!' Augustine mumbled within himself and he shook his head sideways while taking in a deep breath.
He trailed after Charles until they both arrived at his office.
Augustine headed straight to his office chair where he took his seat while Charles stood in front of the office table.
"What conditions do you have?" Augustine uttered with a serious tone because he wanted to get over the contract marriage negotiations as soon as possible.
Charles inhaled deeply, adjusting his glasses so that he would appear serious. "Before I accept the contract arrangement I want you to give me an upfront payment. Since I am already in a relationship, I want you to agree that you won't announce the contract to the public and most importantly, I don't want you to fall in love with me."
'Scoffed!'
"Fall in love with you?" Augustine probed with an arched brow and Charles replied with a nod. "Yes. I don't want you to develop any sort of feeling for me." He boldly uttered.
Following the words of Charles, the entire room became extremely quiet as Augustine pondered within himself. 'Why does this mere cleaner leave me at a loss for words?' He mused to himself while flustering his eyelashes.
"If you agree to my conditions, then I am willing to enter into a contract marriage with you," he said, his tone unwavering as he snapped Augustine out of his thoughts.
Inhale!
The corners of Augustine's lips curled into a wicked smile as he rose from his seat with regal grace. "Very well. It's a deal," he said, the words slipping from his mouth like venom. "Tomorrow, come to my office and we will formalize our arrangement."
Charles nod his head, turning around to grab the vacuum cleaner that he had brought to the CEO's office a while ago.
He rolled the vacuum cleaner towards the exit door when all of a sudden, Augustine called out for him.
"Charles!" CEO Augustine called out, prompting Charles to halt on the spot as he turned around to glare at Augustine.
With a graceful stride, Augustine began to approach Charles with an aura of confidence and authority.
As he closed the distance between the both of them, he halted, lowering his face until their gazes locked, his breath warm against Charles' cheek.
In that moment, it was as if time stood still, the world narrowing to the space between them.
Augustine's voice was a low, seductive growl, his tone dripping with a dangerous confidence. "Sweetheart," he purred, his breath ghosting over Charles' skin like a feather, "I think you should be more concerned about falling for me, not the other way around."
As Augustine withdrew his face from Charles, he used his index finger to gently pinch the tip of Charles's nose. "See you around, Pookie." He purred before winking at Charles.