The pair of eyes in the shadows narrowed as those words reached him, but he still made no reaction.
"A massage, my dear. Of course, you want me to listen to your proposal, don't you?" Mr. Briggs said.
Realization suddenly dawned on Anne in this moment. She wasn't so naive as not to see right through them.
Right now, she was like a toy they would like to play with.
Her hands subconsciously tightened around the file she held.
"I don't have all evening, Anne. I'm already giving you my precious time to listen to your proposal."
Anne had received the promotion into the PR department by chance, or perhaps a stroke of luck she hadn't had in years. She knew many would think she didn't deserve it—she was one of the many who thought so too.
It had been given to her and not earned, and she wanted to do everything she could to prove to herself and others that she did deserve the job. She would only attain her peace of mind then, not to mention she really needed the pay that came with the job.
'Okay, it's only a massage,' she said to herself before she slowly began to approach.
The men gave each other knowing glances while watching the whole situation unfold with keen interest.
Anne was familiar with how power worked. Sometimes the lesser people had to bow down to those in power just to achieve their goal. However, there was a limit to how low one could bow, even to the most powerful person in the world.
She moved behind the man's seat, swallowing the rush of disgust that rose up her throat. This disgust rolled even more potently than the one she'd felt when she'd sold herself away to save Kristen. She hesitantly placed her hand upon the man's shoulders.
The man smirked, sharing glances with the people in the room with him.
Anne began to hastily recite everything she'd planned to use to convince the investors. She was done in less than two minutes, and immediately after she finished talking, she removed her hand from the man's shoulders.
"Mm, everything you just said sounds nice, but I already have another project which is sure to bring twice as much profit for me. Won't it be a loss to continue staying with your company?" Though he'd said these words out loud, internally he cursed the thought of even leaving Sterling Enterprises.
It was a well-known fact that one of the most beautiful women in Verizon City worked in Sterling Enterprises' PR department—Clara Hastings, the beauty men talked about but no one had gotten to taste.
Last year, Briggs and his bunch of friends came up with a plan. PR would go crazy if they submitted a proposal to pull away—it was their job to keep their investors.
Of course, Briggs was aware of the fact that there were so many rushing to invest in the mall projects, but this fact Clara Hastings wouldn't know, and she wouldn't risk losing two trusted investors for others she couldn't trust. They had used that as a tactic to lure her to them. If the employees failed, the manager would come out herself—and that would be their ultimate trap. But before Clara Hastings would come out herself, they could at least have fun with the beautiful little minion that had come in her place.
"Young lady, I believe this proposal of yours concerns me too. My shoulders have been really stiff. Give me a massage too, and we'll see if you manage to change my mind." Caleb Scott was the one who spoke up this time.
Anne couldn't believe these two men planned to toy with her this far. Were they planning to toss her back and forth between one another?
"My hands are a bit tired, sir. You see, I didn't come here with the intention of becoming a masseuse. I know a lot of massage parlors around here—I could recommend some. I'm certain they'll help ease the tension in your shoulders."
Anne's voice sounded polite enough that it took out the sarcasm in her words. She maintained a professional smile on her face while she spoke.
It was bad enough that she'd had to massage one—the other was actually bringing himself along?
Caleb Scott cleared his throat as an annoyed expression surfaced on his face.
"You see, Anne, business should be discussed in the most comfortable place possible. My mind can be changed, but that depends on how agreeable you are," Briggs said.
Yes, she'd brought herself into this—walking into a den of lions of her own free will. Perverted men absolutely disgusted her to the core.
"Agreeable on what, sir?"
Mr. Briggs poured whiskey into an empty glass and passed it to her.
"Have a drink."
She hesitated, looking from the glass to his face suspiciously.
"Are you scared I'll poison you? I wouldn't do that with so many people here, right?"
Anne scoffed internally. Poison wasn't what she feared. What she feared were the man's terrible intentions.
Anne slowly took the glass from his hand. She wasn't an alcohol drinker, but knowing that she was here for a specific reason, she gulped down the contents in the glass, holding back a wince at the burn it left on her throat.
"Wow, you're quite a good drinker," he remarked. "That's entertaining. Why don't you come with me? This place is quite noisy. I have a separate space in there—you can tell me all about your proposal again. Like I said, it's much better talking about business when you're comfortable."
The man stood up, and she noticed the impressed gazes he was getting from the people around him. He seemed to tilt up his chin proudly towards the men with him in the room as he suddenly held her arm, making her gaze drop to his shameless hand.
Instantly, she stepped back and put distance between them.
This was no longer about the investment—this was them playing games with her. She wouldn't tolerate this anymore.
"I'll take my leave now. You may think about the proposal I just gave you and let us know if you'd still like to withdraw. As for that other company you plan to invest in, I believe you know that they can't rival Sterling Enterprises. But if you still believe so, you're more than welcome to pull out. Have a nice evening."
Anne knew this was a dangerous decision to make without authorization from the PR team, telling them to their faces that they could pull out if they wanted to was a huge risk. But somehow she had a feeling that these men would absolutely not pull out.
After saying those words in the most professional tone she could muster, she turned around to leave.
All the men in the room were taken aback. She was supposed to grovel to them, ready to do anything on their command, but she was just leaving—just like that?
Briggs had started the game, so of course he wouldn't let it end until he saw it to the very last part—after he'd had a taste of the girl.
His face contorted in rising anger.
"Who said you could leave?" he shed all pretence, saying in a hostile voice.
Before Anne could react, two bodyguards had moved on command from Joshua Briggs and barred the door so she couldn't get out.