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Respect

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Chapter 23: Respect (Christian's POV)

"One mint chocolate chip and one strawberry ice cream, please," I told the employee before handing over my card. 

"Who the hell likes mint chocolate chip ice cream? I still can't believe you eat that crap," Jules muttered beside me. 

I turned to her, lifting a brow. "Don't knock it till you try it." 

"I did try it," she scoffed. 

"No, I don't quite think that me smearing ice cream all over your face counts as you trying it." 

She shot me a subtle glare and rolled her eyes with a huff, "I'll get a table." She wandered off after that, grabbing a small, round table for two behind the glass window. 

"Girlfriend?" 

My head snapped over to the employee as I forced myself to look away from Jules. "Hmm?" 

"Is she your girlfriend?" she asked, sticking a spoon in one of the cups before handing it to me. 

"No," I answered, "Fiancé. She's my fiancé." I took the second cup using my left hand, noticing the way her eyes slipped to the band around my finger before she held out my card. 

"Have a nice day," she cleared her throat. 

I nodded once before moving out of line and walking to the table, placing the strawberry cup in front of Jules before sitting across from her. 

"I wanted a cone," she frowned, resting her arms on the table and staring at me. 

"You didn't say that." 

"I always get a cone." 

"Since when? You hate when it starts melting down your arm and becomes sticky. You never get ice cream in a cone," I shrugged, watching her in confusion. 

She leaned back, taking her cup and looking at it once before meeting my gaze again. "You're right. I hate the cone." 

I scoffed, "Was that a test?" 

"No." 

My eyes narrowed. "It was totally a test." 

She turned to stare out the window, watching the cars that drove by, the people that walked by, the dogs that walked by on leashes. After taking a spoonful, she paused and opened her purse, reaching inside and then pulling out the ring, placing it on the table between us. "I brought it. Just in case," she said, eating another spoonful while staring at me. 

I glanced from the ring to her. "What do you want me to do with it?" 

"Why did you choose this ring?" she questioned. 

"What do you mean?" 

"When you bought it for me, why this one?" 

"I thought you'd like it." I sighed, "I asked everybody who could help. Audrey, your Mom, even Alex, for fuck's sake. He didn't really help though. Audrey tagged along when I went to buy it. She said you would hate it, maybe she was right." 

"Then why buy it?" There was such scrutiny in her gaze. 

"Because it was the only ring I could really picture on you." 

She blinked in confusion with a faint hum. 

I pushed my ice cream cup aside and took the ring before holding out my palm. Instead of placing her hand in mine, she narrowed her eyes at me. Ignoring her, I reached for her hand and slipped the ring over her finger, holding onto her hand and slightly brushing the ring with my thumb before tracing her knuckles, each one of them. "It was the only ring I saw that felt like you." 

She continued to stare at the ring while I stared at her. 

"It felt like you, it felt like us. It made me believe we could work. It felt like a promise, Jules." 

Inhaling shakily, she lifted her eyes. "Then why did you break it?" 

Closing my eyes as I felt her hand slip out of my grasp, I let out a soft breath. "I didn't break it, Jules." 

"Christian, I felt you going away. I felt you slipping right through my fingertips. There was nothing I didn't do to get you to finally tell me what was going on. You chose to lie to me." 

"I didn't lie to you." 

"You kept the truth from me. It's not any better." 

"I would have told you." 

"I know because you did tell me. But only because you had no other choice. It felt like I had to corner you to hear the truth I deserved to know. I hated doing that," she chuckled dryly while shaking her head. 

"I'm..." The words got caught up in my throat and the apology couldn't stumble out of me like I hoped it would. I was sorry, I hated myself for hurting her the way I did, but only I knew my reasons, and only I knew that if I hadn't done what I did, she would be in a situation ten times worse and her whole life could have fallen apart at the slightest mistake from me. I couldn't let that happen to her. "It's in the past, Jules," I said instead. 

She offered me a small shrug in return. "Do you want me to just forget everything that happened then?" 

"No. And I don't expect you to simply forgive me either." 

"But you expect me to remember that this time, I came to you, right?" 

"What?" I asked. 

"Isn't that what you want? For me to play right into your hands while you use the excuse that I asked you to do this for me?" 

"No," I said, shaking my head, "no, that's not at all what I expect. I just—" 

"What do you expect then, Christian?" 

"I expect you to let me talk. For starters." I shot her a blank look and she huffed, leaning back in her chair and aggressively taking a big scoop of the ice cream, holding the plastic spoon in her mouth as she glowered at me. My lip twitched as I watched her. 

She pulled the spoon out of the mouth and demanded, "What?" When I didn't answer, she leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "What?" she bit out harshly. 

Without tearing my gaze from hers, I moved in, my face mere inches from hers, and in that blink of a moment, I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. For a split second, that was all I could think of. I wanted to kiss her, hold her, taste the strawberry on her tongue. But of course, I didn't. I couldn't. If I did, she might have slapped me and I wouldn't even blame her. Instead, with a soft chuckle, I reached up, wiping the ice cream off the corner of her mouth using my thumb. 

Jules froze and stiffened in place as the pad of my thumb traced her bottom lip before I pulled my thumb into my mouth and leaned back into my seat. "Nothing," I responded, finally answering her question, "you look cute when you get angry sometimes." 

She stared at me in disbelief and scoffed, "Really? Shall we see just how cute I can get?" 

"No," I said slowly, shaking my head. "I like you better this way." 

Out of spite, she took a scoop out of my ice cream and ate a bite. 

"We should go. Natalie must be arriving any moment." I stood up, throwing away her empty ice cream cup and then handing her mine. 

"I said I don't like mint chocolate chip," she snapped, staring up at me. 

"You have mint chocolate chip on your lip," I mused. "Need a little help?" I reached forward again but she swatted my hand away. 

"I'll bite you." 

"Hmm. Here." I held out a finger in front of her mouth, grinning. 

Groaning, she stood back up while grabbing a tissue for herself and then nudging my back with her hand. "Go," she mumbled. 

Reaching behind me, I took a hold of her hand, hearing her curse at me under her breath as we walked past the counter where the employee still stared. Once we got outside, I pulled her to my side. "Play nice, Jules," I warned as if she were a child. 

She huffed at me but didn't pull her hand out of mine as we walked back to our building right across the street.

We were on our way back upstairs in the elevator when I stole a peek at her hand. "Do you want to take the ring off?" I stared at her as she turned to look at me. "I won't force you to wear it if it really bothers you." 

Jules traced the diamond with her finger before clearing her throat and steeling her spine, watching ahead. "I might lose your stupid ring if I take it off." 

I bit down a smirk. "I can keep it for you if you'd like." 

"You'll lose it." 

"Jules." 

She hesitantly met my eyes. 

"I haven't lost it in the entire year I've had it. I won't lose it, don't worry." I held out a palm and she slid the ring off, handing it to me. I unclasped my necklace and slipped the ring over the chain before pulling it back on and tucking it under my shirt as the elevator opened. The entire time, I felt her gaze on me, following my movements. 

 »»————　➴　————««

"I must say, I didn't expect you to find the perfect location so soon, Mr. Lukov," Natalie said as she sat in the chair across from mine while Jules stood next to the table, her hands together behind her back. 

"We had our work cut out for us, we just managed to handle it, Natalie," I sighed, placing the building papers and contract in front of her. "Once you've signed the papers, within a week's time, you have full authority and possession of that building," I informed her. 

She nodded once and then faced Jules. "I take it you've read through the papers." 

Jules blinked in confusion and straightened up, placing her hands on the table. "No. No, I sent them to you, Natalie. The moment we had them, I sent them for you to have a look before you could sign. I was working here." 

Natalie glanced at me and then back to Jules. "You didn't read them?" 

"No... I was working with—" 

"You work for The Bookmark, Jules. I didn't send you here to do the job that employees here have. You were here on behalf of our company." 

Jules resisted a sigh as her eyes met mine briefly. "Natalie, I was working for our company. There were other things to do, beyond reading a contract made by Lukov Empires and Estates. I had to contact other agents within that building, we met other agents and saw other locations. I just didn't have the time to—" 

"Then you make the time, Ms. Declan," Natalie scoffed at her harshly. "I don't care, you can have a hundred and one things to do, your job is to handle it all. And if you can't then don't work for me, Jules. Because—" 

"All right. She won't work for you then," I cut in with a heavy sigh. 

Wow, this woman talks a lot. 

"Excuse me?" Natalie asked me in confusion. 

"This is Ms. Declan's notice to you, Natalie." 

"What?" We both faced Jules. 

She stared at me. "W-what?" I lifted a brow at her and she glanced at Natalie before sighing and facing her. She cleared her throat, "I was thinking about it, Natalie." 

"Thinking about what?" Natalie ordered.

See, she can't even ask for an answer nicely despite being the one to ask stupid and idiotic questions.

"Quitting," Jules said firmly, straightening her shoulders. Jules may have loved her job and she might blame me, saying I made her quit but the job wasn't serving her the way it was meant to. She wasn't being paid enough, not given enough credit or recognition for her work and success, nor was she being respected the way she should have been. 

And the way Natalie dared to sit before and yell at her was enough for me to understand that and interfere. Not to fight Jules's battle for her but to teach Natalie the basic decency she has to show Jules, the basic respect she owes her. 

"Of course, you're quitting. It's so typically you, Jules. Jumping at the first opportunity to—" 

"Natalie." 

She glowered at me, "What?" 

"I expect you as a client to treat any and every employee of mine with respect. So if you can't do that, then get the fuck out of my office," I said calmly, still leaning back in my seat. 

"Excuse me?" she seethed. 

"And secondly, Ms. Declan is quitting that job not just because she wants to or because I've asked her to—" 

"You asked her—" 

"But," I said loudly, cutting her off. "Because you don't show her the respect she deserves. Do not interrupt me when I talk," I warned sharply. "It's because you don't respect her, credit her, or appreciate her..." I looked at Jules, feeling her stare and letting her finish that sentence. 

"That I would rather work for someone who will," she declared confidently. 

"That someone being me," I smirked at Natalie. "If you'd like to cancel your deal with Lukov Empires and Estates, I will understand. The termination contract will be sent to you upon your request. If not, then take these contracts for your new office building and," I leaned forward, "get the hell out of my office."

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Chapter 23

Team Mint Chocolate Chip or Team No Mint Chocolate Chip?

Personally, I'm in between lmao

I can always have a couple of bites and love it but I could never finish the whole thing, it gets a bit too toothpaste-ish 

next ch: lights