Chapter 45: Introduction
After those threatening words, Harold froze in his seat and stared at Christian with a look of disbelief. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and not a sound escaped his lips.
Camille, on the other hand, was clutching her elbow so tightly that her long sleeves were wrinkled excessively. She looked nervously back and forth between Christian’s cold gaze and Harold’s shocked, frightened expression.
Perhaps the old man had forgotten, but Christian had more power and influence than he did. Even though they worked well together in business matters, there was a clear line that was not to be crossed.
And that was never to offend Christian Callahan no matter what.
“I would like to have a few more words with Mr. Huckington here, so please leave us for a while, Miss Parker,” Christian spoke up calmly.
He didn’t even spare Camille a glance. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on Harold, who was currently trembling like a leaf.
“U-Understood, sir,” Camille stammered before hurrying out of the room. She was not going to be involved in this any longer. The power play alone would be too much.
Ten minutes later, she watched in bewilderment from her desk as Harold quickly left Christian’s office and headed straight for the elevator. He didn’t even give her a look or say goodbye like he usually did when he came to visit.
She wondered what Christian had said to him. Even though Harold wasn’t as powerful or influential, he still had some impressive connections in the industry. It was those connections that helped him and Christian a lot with their joint venture, which was a new tech startup.
When the day ended and work hours were over, Christian came up to her and said the most surprising thing she had ever heard out of his mouth.
“He won’t be bothering you from now on.”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Then he left, leaving her to gawk at him from behind.
So even though Christian was a scary jerk most of the time, she preferred being with him rather than perverted old Harold.
At least Christian never touched her inappropriately. It was ironic, but he was a man who wouldn’t touch a woman without her consent. He wasn’t some kind of pervert, thank God.
Unfortunately, to her dismay, Christian continued to work with Harold. But after this incident, Harold never touched her again. He never made disgusting remarks, and he even avoided meeting her eyes or looking at any of her body parts when she entered the office to bring them their coffee.
It had been a few months since then, but Camille still felt uncomfortable in Harold’s presence. If Harold was one of the partners that Christian wanted to introduce her to…
What if he recognized her?
Did Christian have all the possibilities under control?
“You’re nervous,” Christian suddenly remarked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“What?” Camille had been so distracted that she didn’t realize he was talking to her.
“I can feel your fingers trembling,” he clarified. “Is something wrong?”
She gritted her teeth at her carelessness, but then again, there was nothing wrong with being honest. He would sense it later anyway.
“Is Mr. Huckington one of those men?” she asked.
Christian was silent for a moment, and they both stopped. It was then that he realized what she was worried about.
“I see,” he finally said after a significant pause.
‘That’s it?’ Camille echoed in her head incredulously.
“But you don’t need to worry about that,” he soon added. “I will handle it.”
‘What is this man talking about now?’
She was annoyed, but as she remembered the time when he helped her out with Harold Huckington, she supposed that she could feel a little bit reassured with him when it came to her safety.
Christian Callahan might be an irritating jerk, but he took good care of his loyal subordinates. He would not let anything happen to her. He was just arrogant enough to think that he was the only one who could hurt her.
When they finally reached the group of businessmen, Camille felt the air slowly leaving her lungs. She couldn’t quite make out any of them yet, since they had their masks on, but some of them looked familiar.
The men turned to look at her, and Christian took the opportunity to remove his own mask.
“Oh, Mr. Callahan!”
“We didn’t know that it was you!”
“Forgive our rudeness!”
The men began to remove their masks one by one, although their female partners did not do the same, preferring to maintain their anonymity.
“Mr. Doyle, Mr. Roberson, Mr. Nolan, and Mr. Huckington,” Christian greeted with a polite smile. “It’s good to see you gentlemen here.”
The men chuckled in response. They were all in their late forties or fifties and were wearing obviously tailored, expensive suits. Harold Huckington’s partner for the evening, interestingly enough, looked twenty years his junior, with a voluptuous body and lips painted in bright red lipstick.
“Ah, Mr. Callahan. It’s a pleasure to meet you here,” greeted Harold Huckington, always the obsequious man. Whenever the opportunity arose, he would shower Christian with a lot of flattery just to win his favor. After all, his connections with the Callahan family brought him many benefits.
Camille stiffened, but decided not to say anything. She had no choice but to rely on Christian, just this once.
“Hello, Mr. Huckington,” Christian greeted politely.
“And who is this young lady with you?” one of the businessmen asked, his gaze resting on Camille’s form.
Camille resisted a shiver as his eyes roamed over her face and body in admiration.
The other men seemed interested as well, turning their full attention to her.
Christian’s escapades with other women were mostly under the radar, especially from the media, but those in the business knew of his tendency to date many women. It was rumored that he dated a new woman every month, sometimes several at a time.
The rumors ranged from believable to outright ridiculous, but one thing was certain: Christian Callahan never settled for only one woman.
He never introduced any of his women publicly and never even had them as a partner for any social event. He treated them as affairs never to be discovered, as temporary pleasures that never had any real value.
So this was the first time he was with a woman, and in public, no less. Of course the men would be interested.
“Ah, this here…” Christian said, reaching out to grip her waist and press her firmly against his side. “Let me all introduce you to my fiancée, Camie.”