Patent Pending

Tania strode over to me, her tall figure cutting an elegant silhouette, her beauty even more striking than in her photos.

She looked me up and down with clear distaste, her eyes lingering on my face for a moment.

"This is our engagement party. What are you doing here, making a scene?"

I shrugged off the security guard's grip and straightened up, fixing my suit collar with an icy laugh.

"Can't you tell what's going on?

"Tania, since when is it polite to have your security rough up guests at the door? Is this how you treat people? Your assistant just–"

She cut me off with a furrowed brow. "Stop it! We're already late for the ceremony, and here you are, picking fights at the door. My security had to step in, or were we supposed to let you barge in and upset everyone?

"You're wasting my precious time.

"You're an orphan, worthless, and stupid. I can't fathom why my mom insists on this engagement."

The onlooking guests glanced my way, their whispers rustling like leaves in the wind.

Their lofty stares made me out to be the jester.

I felt the sting of wasted time, too. I had put in so much effort and even took off work. I could have been updating my latest experiment's data instead.

"Funny. I feel like my time's been wasted as well. If neither of us can stand the other, let's just end this engagement."

Tania paused, her eyes narrowing. "Is this a threat? You think stirring up trouble and threatening to break off our engagement will get you your way? You think you can manipulate me like that?"

As I watched Tania's face, I was suddenly tongue-tied, feeling like I was getting nowhere fast.

Elias stood by her side, the picture of respect, but his voice betrayed a touch of closeness and hurt feelings. "Ms. Jones, if he's making this much trouble at his own engagement party, what's going to happen when he's actually married?

"And he got all red-faced and ready to throw a punch at me just because he saw I'm your right-hand man and thought I was upstaging him.

"I would've been in for it if those security guards hadn't stepped in to protect me."

Tania gave me a look of sheer disbelief. "Elias has been my assistant for two years, sorting out who knows how many issues. Do you really think he's like you, a loser who only got ahead because of who they know? What's there for you to be jealous of?"

I forced a smile, but my eyes were not playing along. "I'm really curious why you would label me a loser. And you're taking your assistant's word over mine?

"Your assistant–"

She cut me off again. "Should I trust my assistant or a lunatic like you?"

Elias covered up a smirk with his hand, blinked back tears, and said, "Ms. Jones, my heart goes out to you.

"You're the one calling the shots in this town, yet you're still under your mom's thumb, getting hitched to a lunatic."

Tania had only been in charge of Jones Group for a couple of years, and her mother, Natalia, could not stop butting in. All that interference had built up a serious head of steam. When Elias finished his spiel, one could feel the tension around Tania thicken.

"Simon, you owe me a serious apology and some form of restitution," she insisted.

"Otherwise, not even my mom's influence will be able to help you out of this one."