My eyes flew wide when the door opened to reveal Stefan and Silvan.
They rushed in immediately, Stefan rushing straight up to me while Silvan panned a skeptical glare on Declan.
"Are you alright?" Stefan placed his hands on my shoulders as he asked. "I looked for you everywhere. I was so worried about you."
Before I could utter a work, the next thing I heard from Declan was a muffled scoff.
"Slut."
It was subtle, but I heard him clearly, and I'm sure every other persom in the room also did.
In the blink of an eye, Silvan lunged himself at Declan and gave him a punch that threw him off his balance.
Before Declan could regain himself, Silvan seized him by the collar.
"The next time you compare her with those bitches you pick up on the way, I'll give you a punch that will wreck your whole dentition," Silvan threatened.
Declan quickly grabbed him by his own collar.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" He snapped.
"Someone that will punch that rubbish out of your mouth the next time you utter it," Silvan stated.
Declan chuckled, his eyes burning with defiance over a smug smirk. "It hurts, right? I mean the truth."
"Dude, I'm not here to play around," Silvan squeezed Declan's collar tighter.
Declan did the same. The look in his eyes was like he was ready now for whatever Silvan wanted to do.
"You guys cut it out!" I yelled at them.
I was so pissed at Silvan. Why did he pick a fight without even knowing what happened before he came into the room?
"No, Daisy. I'd like to hear him blurt that nonsense one more time," Silvan stated, his brows furrowed with rage.
"And I'd like to see you punch me again," Declan taunted.
Stefan stepped in at this point. "Hey, cut it out, you two. Now!"
But none of the two parties seemed like he was about to let the other go. Instead, their grips tightened on each others collars, Silvan's shirt ripping by the neck.
Stefan went between them immediately and slapped their hands off each other's clothes.
"This isn't why we are here," he cautioned Silvan.
"Yeah," Silvan agreed, taking two steps back.
Declan spat out, then he tucked his hands into his pockets and squared his shoulders.
"I'm not surprised by what I see," he remarked.
"One more insult from this bastard and, I swear, I'll trash his teeth, Stefan," swore Silvan.
"Didn't I just tell you that we're not here for that crap. Ignore him," Stefan sounded. "If you're hungry for a fight, save it for later."
"Are we done here, Daisy?" Declan raised his voice. "If we are, then I'd be so glad give you some space to do what you're so good at."
Silvan exhaled, running a palm through his hair. He flashed one more gaze at Declan before he turned toward me.
"Um, Daisy," he began, "my team and I have given it a clean thought. The best solution to your problem now is to work with this idiot's company."
My eyes tore wide open. "What?"
"The best solution to your problem is to work with Declan's company," he boldly repeated.
"I understand how difficult it might be for you," he said, "but trust me, it's the best option you have. That way you can say that the news was nothing but a misinterpretation of a collaboration dinner you guys had."
Declan slid a hand out from his pocket. "Nonsense. You think that's actually going to work?
Silvan's fists bawled at his sides. I could sense he didn't mind going up to Declan and shutting his mouth with a blow.
"You have to take his Silvan's words, Daisy," Stefan said.
Silence bound my lips.
Was it possible to clear the rumor when it had already traveled far? Honestly, I couldn't see the possibility.
"It's going to work, Daisy. Jamie was fast enough to take control of the news and less than ten percent saw it. It's not a hot topic, so you don't have to worry," Silvan added.
Declan snorted a comment. "What a nice plan."
"You better shut it, asshole—"
"No. Don't forget that the success of your stupid plan lies in my hands. I can choose to cancel the proposal of collaborating with FuturaLabs. And, that I will—"
Stefan stepped up to him. "I think I've tolerated you enough. Maybe you find it fun being a pain in the arse. But you know what? If you're not gonna work with us, then get out of here!"
Declan shot him a nonchalant glare and turned his face towards the window.
"I don't remember being invited here by you," Declan retorted. "You can leave when you're done making your stupid plans."
He strolled to the window and sat on the pane as he pushed the curtain aside.
His chest rose as he inhaled the fresh breeze coming from outside.
"Magnificent," he muttered, and then he exhaled, letting it all out.
Stefan shrugged him off and focused on me.
"Listen to me, Daisy. With or without this asshole's cooperation, we'll find a way to deal with this, alright?"
A soft sigh fell off my lips.
When were they ever going to let me deal with my problems by myself? When would they ever believe that I could?
Even with all the success I'd achieved all by myself, they still took me like a baby. If I had followed up Declan the way I planned to, maybe it wouldn't have ended this way.
Look at him now feeling like he had my fate in the palm of his hand.
I could already see it on Stefan's face that he had no idea what to do next. Definitely he had assumed that Declan wouldn't be a problem. Now, the whole thing was all over his head.
Declan distracted me from my thoughts with a cough.
"It's so quiet and I don't like it," he said with a smirk, hopping off the window pane.
He casually strolled up to Stefan, a smug smile on his face as he reached him.
"I gave it a second thought and it seems I missed the beauty of your plan earlier," he said, inching closer.
Stefan's brows furrowed with suspicion.
"So, what are you saying?" He asked Declan.
Declan stuffed his hands into his pockets and let out a soft breath.
"I think I will work with that."