Lena stepped out of her bedroom with her heart in her mouth.
The sound of Drake and his brothers bantering and loud pop music filled the whole house. Lena could immediately detect the stink of alcohol emanating from the living room. As she approached the living room, her gaze was drawn to the kitchen, which was a complete mess.
Bottles of alcohol and takeout plates were littered on the floors, making Lena want to throw up.
She despised it when Drake's siblings or friends came to visit; they usually trashed the house or caused the cops to stop by due to their loudness.
Lena peered from the corner of her eyes at the woman sitting on Drake's lap. She only had a bra and G-string on. Her lips were on Drake's neck, biting it while his hand was squeezing her ass.
When Drake's gaze shifted from his siblings to her, Lena gazed straight ahead.
" Don't tell me you are going for another interview." Drake gave her a disdainful laugh and looked her over from top to bottom. "When will you comprehend that ladies like you are not designed to work in major corporations?"
Lena didn't look at him and neither did she stop walking. It itched her to remind him he was a broke-ass man living with a woman who paid for his meals and basically everything else.
If those words came from someone else, she would have been offended.
" Hey, I'm talking to you, Lena!"
Drake's brothers let out a laugh when Lena still didn't stop or say a word. Embarrassed, Drake pushed the lady off him and took six giant steps to get to Lena before she could open the door.
He grabbed her elbow and twisted her around. " You won't embarrass me in front of my brothers—"
" And you can embarrass me in front of them!" Lena snapped and jerked her hand away from him.
She turned to grasp the doorknob, but he grabbed her hand and shoved her to the floor, causing her head to hit the hard tiles.
The brothers let out a shameless laughter.
" Glad to see you are putting her in her place." Kingsley, his eldest brother cackled.
Drake, who was slightly pained by what he had done, chuckled as he watched how pleased his brothers were.
Lena held herself up from the ground and grabbed her forehead, which had started to bleed. Fear and horror ran through her body as she stood in front of Drake, gazing at the ground with wide eyes.
This man never loved her. He never even cared about her. She was going to end up marrying this beast and there was nothing she could do about it.
Lena was crying internally, but outside, she looked as strong as a rock. He'd made her cry once, never again.
" Where are you off to, baby? I need you to stay here. It's been a while since I touched you—" He raised his hand to cup her cheek.
" If you touch me, Drake, I swear I'll murder you right here." Lena glared at him with steely eyes. Her jaw was tight and her body taut.
He gazed at her blankly for a few seconds before breaking out laughing. As soon as his hand made contact with her skin, she threw a hard slap across his face that reverberated around the house.
Drake's expression morphed from surprise to utter hatred. " You bitch—" He reached out to grasp her, but she swung the door so rapidly that he was hit hard in the face.
She dashed out of the house, slamming the door in his face as he attempted to pursue her.
When Lena was halfway down the street, she heard Drake screaming, " You won't go unpunished, Lena. I'll make you pay for my breaking my face! Mark my words!!"
Some minutes after she left Drake ranting to himself, Lena couldn't help but break into tears. She stopped by a bus stop and sat there for a few minutes before getting herself back on track.
There was no way she'd let Asher Josh see her looking vulnerable. She was going for war so she needed to tighten up her armor.
When Lena arrived at the big building, she saw Asher stroll out the sliding door, accompanied by a brunette and the same foolish bodyguard who had dared to shove her away publicly.
It was when Asher looked at her that a drop of fluid fell on her nose. It then occurred to Lena she hadn't cleaned her wound.
Well, that was too late now. Lena didn't bother faking a smile Asher's way, she walked to him as he was about to step into his Porsche. The guard saw her coming and brought out a taser quickly.
" Stay back." He warned, his body rigid and alert.
" There's no need for the exaggeration. Does she look like someone that can hurt a fly talk more of a personality like me?" Asher responded mockingly to the guard while staring at Lena with a harsh grimace.
Trinity observed her boss and the lady next to him, who looked like she had hit her head on a tree. She recognized her as the same woman Asher was looking at with interest. Trinity felt an instant dislike for Lena.
" That should speak a lot for a personality like you since I know fully well, I'm capable of harming you." Lena spat out, with a condensating smile that made Asher's blood boil.
Trinity and the bodyguard gasped at her temerity. The bodyguard pulled out his taser again, but as Asher glared at him, he slid it into his back pocket.
Trinity expected Asher to tell the guard, Matteo, to sweep Lena away from his sight, but instead, Asher looked at Lena with smiling eyes.
" Have you come here to cause a commotion, or have you finally realized you can't resist me, and you are up for round two?"
" I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you will never be able to make me blush talk more of me not being able to resist you."
Asher frowned and clenched his jaw at her statement. She didn't even move a muscle was saying it?!
Asher wanted to look at the mirror and see if there was something on his face that made her unable to be attracted to him.
Lena sighed and rolled her eyes vehemently. " Well, I'm here for the interview, I'm taking Abby Lowell's place."
"I do not remember seeing your name among the staff who volunteered for the interview."
" That's because I don't work with them—"
" Then there is no way you can conduct the interview." Trinity cut in, with wide eyes screaming for Lena to get away from Asher.
Lena didn't look at her when she said, " This isn't a free interview, according to Abb— Miss Lowell, you requested the company cashed in ten thousand for the interview to be conducted despite the publishing company doing you a charitable and notable thing. The money was paid to you, so you have no right to stop me from interviewing you even if I wasn't the one appointed."
Trinity and Matteo looked at each other in disbelief. Surely they never expected words like that to come out of such a woman's mouth.
Asher would have been surprised if he hadn't read her resume and checked her records multiple times.
" Very well—"
" But, Mister Josh she—"
" I don't understand, " Asher looked at Trinity in confusion. " Haven't I dismissed you already?"
Trinity swallowed down a groan, glared at Lena, who paid no attention to her, and stormed off into the building.
" You came thirty minutes late," He glanced at the fresh wound on her forehead shortly. " Before you teach me how to go about certain things, you should note other important things first. I got paid for a thirty-minute interview by nine AM, and you've missed it. This isn't a middle-class job, sweetheart; I can't just shift my schedule because of your tardiness."
Lena wilted in his gaze for a fraction of a second. She would have been early if Drake didn't get in her way.
No, she shouldn't think about him now.
Asher grimaced and looked away before shoving a hand into his pocket. " Here have it."
Lena looked at Asher to see him holding out a handkerchief to her. She stared at it like it was a maths assignment.
" Use it to clean your bruise, you are bleeding." He frowned. " We'll have the interview in my car. I need to be at a conference in forty-five minutes, so we might as well take advantage of the time on the road."
Lena looked up at him with a puzzled glare. All his words and actions felt like an insult to her.
" Thank you for your kindness but I'd rather bleed than take something from someone like you." Lena wanted to walk to the other side of the car and get in, but Asher grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
Her breath hitched at his sudden move. He took his hand off her hand and placed it on her shoulder before raising the handkerchief to clean the bruise himself.
" You will be in my car. Paparazzi follow me around all the time, I don't want them taking a picture of both of us with you looking like this. " He short-glanced at her eyes before holding her waist and pushing her up to stand straight.
A smirk tugged the corner of his lips when he felt her anxiety, " You can't resist me already, can you?" He slid the handkerchief into her skirt pocket and got into the car.
Lena sneered outrageously. He would know how much she despised him by the time the interview began.