4

Third Person's Pov

Arthur studied the faces of the people

gathered around the conference table through the security cam and

smiled to himself at the discomfort and

hostility clearly written on their faces.

His gaze moved to the three empty seats at the opposite end of table and he checked his watch,his brows drawing together in a

frown.

Ten minutes past ten and there was

still no sign of Caroline.

He watched as scott leaned back against his chair, lex had duely informed him of all their encounters.

An image of Caroline lying spread eagled on her bed,that pale skin flushed with lust as she awaited in submission came into his mind and he felt a stirring in his groin.

Arthur shook his head to clear the image.

Caroline was not the sort of woman he

took to his bed, for one thing she was far too curvy for his tastes.

He liked his women slim, elegant and well endowed,not plump little snobs with nothing better to do than break

up relationships.

The door to the conference room opened and the very object of his thoughts hurried inside in a haze of a bright colour.

He watched as scott raised an eyebrow at the limp damp hair and ridiculously bright

dress she wore.

Meanwhile his lips curled in amusement

at seeing her so disheveled.No doubt,she

had been busy.

"I am so sorry!" Caroline said completely

flustered as she rounded the table without

looking directly at anyone. She set the brown leather briefcase she carried on the table and shoved her bangs from her face,looking into the faces gathered around with an apologetic smile.

Caroline stilled when she noticed Scott,

her eyes widening first in shock then

incredulity.

"You!"she shot to her feet and glared at him..

"What the hell are you doing here? This is a

private meeting for board members only.Get out!" She said to which Scott only

shrugged and leaned back in his

seat.“I presume you don't make it a habit of

arriving late to meetings Miss Caroline"

Her face heated and Arthur liked the pleasure of seeing her flustered but hated the fact that it wasn't because of him.

"No,I don't."She forced out through gritted teeth her eyes filled with hate as she leveled that dark gaze on him."I was.

delayed."

"Interesting." Scott murmured,thoroughly

enjoying her discomfort.

Arthur felt like wrapping his hands round that bastards neck though thought against it and made a steeple with his fingertips and studied Caroline instead as,a wry

smile playing across his mouth.

The other board members watched them with varying mixtures of fascination and intrigue but no one tried to butt in."Must have been a splendid lover to make you forget your responsibilities." Scott said

Such an imbecile Arthur thought

She gaped at scott in shock."I beg your

pardon?"

"Perhaps we should carry on with the

meeting."A short bald man leaned

forward and leveled a stern look at them

both

"We are already behind schedule as it

is."Scott glanced at the man who had spoken.

The man stared back at scott defiantly, as if

daring him to say otherwise seems like Scott decided to hold his peace...for now.

"Very well,"He said with a shrug,flipping

open his laptop.

"Excuse me."Erin's voice cut in."We are not

starting until Mr. Restervio leaves."She lifted her chin and glared at Scott.

"This is an executive meeting and as far as I know, this mister does not belong here."

Scott smirked and raked her with his gaze.

"On the contrary Miss Timberlake, I have every right to be here."

Caroline looked at the other members seeking support, her eyes landed on Laura Timberlake her father's sister."Correct me if I'm wrong aunt, but this is a management meeting isn't it?"

Laura shifted uncomfortably and lowered

her gaze to the glossy surface of the table.

"It was but Mr Scott put forward a

very convincing argument. He now has a

controlling interest and to all intents and

purposes..."

"What Laura is trying to say is this." Scott

cut in his patience at an end."I now have a

say in the running of Timberlake industry and if you have a problem with that Miss Caroline  I suggest you leave now so we can carry on with more important matters."

There was silence and Arthur watched the

play of expressions on Caroline's face.

Anger, hatred,and indecision passed and finally she sat down with a sigh.

"Good." Scott Said while Arthur  allowed his gaze to sweep over the group once more through the camera.

"Does anyone else have any objections?" Scott asked.

Silence reigned."Now let's get started."

Arthur drummed her fingertips on the table and fought the urge to storm into the room.

Just seeing him there taking charge of the

proceedings rankled him to no end and he

wondered how it had come to this.

Meanwhile Caroline's plan is to use this meeting as a means to discuss how

they could buy back the shares from Scott .

She glared at Scott, so much for them being lovers from way back.

She tore her gaze away and focused her

attention on the pile of papers in front of her, unwilling to let her mind dwell on what had just happened.

"Caroline"Laura's voice cut into her thoughts and she started,looking up at her aunt in confusion.

"Well? What do you think about the proposal for the new menu plans?"

What new plans? Caroline thought mortified to be caught day dreaming in the presence of her arch enemy.

She frantically scanned through her papers, praying that there would

be something to give her a clue as to what

her aunt was talking about.

"Would you like some time to catch up?"

Scott's mocking voice riled her already

frayed temper again but she bit her lip and

held back the scathing retort.

"No,thank you."she replied instead her

face stone cold as she could make it.

Just then she found what she was searching for and scanned through the document quickly.

Her  lips pursed in disapproval at the proposal to cut out a large portion of the foreign exchange and replace them with local exchange.

Her head snapped up and she scowled at

Laura."No.No I don't approve of this.A large number of our clients come from outside the US and we have always sought to cater to their needs by providing meals they are familiar with already."

"An unnecessary expense." Scott replied

smoothly. “American embassy are just as good as whatever else is out there..."

"We aim to provide a wide variety of

choices." Caroline cut in.

"Limiting our deals bit will seriously affect

out clientele."She was angry at him for

presuming to know more than she did.

Who the hell gave him the right to waltz in and start proposing changes?

She really needed a drink.