Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 311 - 49

Chapter 311: Chapter 49

The headquarters of Thompson Enterprises stood as a gleaming monument to modern architecture in the heart of the city. The building’s sleek, mirrored facade reflected the bustling streets below, creating a dynamic interplay of light and movement. Rising fifty stories high, the structure was composed of glass and steel, its sharp lines and elegant curves exuding an air of sophistication.

Inside the building, two women could be seen standing near their desks, organizing files and chatting quietly. The spacious office was filled with the low hum of activity, but their conversation was far more interesting.

"He never loses his temper nor does he curse," said one of the two women, who happened to be Liam Thompson’s secretary.

"I heard he is the most polite wealthy man anyone has ever seen," remarked the other who was new to the company.

"Yes. For the past two years I’ve worked in his company, I can vouch for that. I have never worked for a man as good-natured and calm as him. He rarely smiles or laughs, nor does he do anything other than work, but he is what we call a silent man with authority. You will—"

Just then, the door to their boss’s office opened, and Liam Thompson strode through, his long legs carrying him swiftly across the polished marble floor. He wore a dark blue suit that fit him perfectly, accentuating his broad shoulders and slim waist. His dark hair was immaculately styled, and his chiseled jawline was clean-shaven. His piercing dark eyes, framed by dark brows, scanned the room briefly before he continued toward his destination.

Trailing closely behind him was his assistant, always attentive and ready with a tablet in hand. Liam nodded briefly at his two female secretaries, who quickly bowed slightly in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Thompson," they chorused, their voices harmonizing in a well-practiced tone.

"Good afternoon," Liam replied, his deep voice resonating through the air as he passed by.

Once he and his assistant had entered the conference room, closing the door behind them, the new secretary let out a soft sigh and continued their conversation from where they’d stopped.

"I do have one concern," she admitted half-seriously. "How long does it take before one stops noticing how incredibly handsome he is?"

The other laughed at her candor. "When you realize he does not play around with his employees, ever, you’ll relax and forget his looks—in two or three years," she joked.

"Does he have a lot of girlfriends?"

Since the new secretary would be involved in facets of his personal life, such as arranging for theater tickets, making dinner reservations, and dealing with everything pertaining to his penthouse apartment, she decided to talk about his personal affairs with her.

"Yes. He is currently dating Mallory Malachi, also known as MM in the entertainment industry."

The secretary’s eyes widened at the mention of the acclaimed Hollywood actress who was known for her magnificent acting.

"What’s MM like? I’ve never seen her in person."

"She’s a little on the arrogant side, but she’s so gorgeous and so talented, who can blame her?"

"Was that a tactful way of saying she’s a conceited snob?"

"Was I that obvious?"

"No, you were..."

Their gossip was cut short by the telephone on the desk that gave out a low, distinctive double ring.

"That’s Mr. Thompson’s private line. He answers it himself if he’s in his office, but if he isn’t, we always answer it," she explained as she picked up the receiver.

"Mr. Thompson’s office," she said; then she listened a moment and replied in a friendly tone, "Yes, he’s here, Mr. Galverra, but he’s in the midst of a conference meeting. He should be finished very soon though, and—" The man on the phone evidently interrupted her because she stopped talking, listened for a second, and then said, "Yes, of course. I’ll go to him right away."

She put the call on hold and stood up while speaking to her colleague. "Mr. Galverra is on the phone and wants me to interrupt the conference meeting because Mr. Thompson isn’t picking up his personal phone. He said it’s urgent. Let’s go together."

The two secretaries entered the meeting room where businessmen were seated around a long conference table, listening to a young presenter. The moment they entered, all heads turned to them. One of the men frowned in displeasure at the interruption.

"Are you blind? Can’t you see a meeting is going on?" he snapped. Then he turned to Liam. "Is this how you train your workers, to always interrupt?"

Liam, already fed up with the meeting, especially with this particular businessman who had been trying to prove he knew better than everyone, ignored him and turned politely to his secretary. "What’s the matter?"

She took a deep breath and replied, "Mr. Galverra is on the call, sir. He said it’s urgent."

Hearing that Neil was on the call, Liam immediately stood up from his chair. "Carry on without me," he instructed the room. He turned to his assistant, "Listen and fill me in on whatever they decide later."

The same man was about to speak again, but Liam ignored him and walked out of the conference room, wondering what Neil’s call was all about. Did he have one of those meaningless little arguments with his wife and couldn’t find a way to apologize and needed Liam’s help in figuring out the best gift for her again?

That could be the only thing urgent to Neil enough to make him want Liam immediately. But then, for the first time, he was thankful for the distraction because the meeting was a boring one that was draining his energy anyway, he thought as he stepped back into his office to answer the call.

"I told you, Nelly, Mr. Thompson is the kindest, nicest man on earth. Didn’t you see how he didn’t lose his cool when we interrupted him?"

"I’m definitely going to like this new job of mine," the new secretary beamed.

---

Barely able to say goodbye to Neil, Liam slammed his phone against the wall. "Son of a bitch!" he cursed savagely. "SON OF A BITCH!"

Picking up the decorative crystal ball that was a gift to him from his girlfriend, Liam angrily squeezed it in his hand hard enough to crush it, had it been made of mere stone.

He was so furious that his mind refused to grasp everything he’d just been told, and he had to keep repeating it to himself in his mind.

Rayne Wallace had a son who’d been kidnapped, and Will Parker had DNA proof that Liam was the little boy’s father... Liam was the father of Rayne Wallace’s son, and she’d never had the decency to let him know he had a child...

She’d intended to raise his son exactly as Liam himself had been raised—without any knowledge of his biological father until he was seven, after he’d suffered and watched his mother die without being able to help her...

Kidnappers had grabbed Liam’s son this morning in Rayne’s apartment and were holding him for ransom!

As that last piece of knowledge fully sank in, his seething anger escalated to rage, and he hurled the crystal ball across the room with all the force of his fury behind it, at exactly the same moment Nelly, his secretary, swung the door open and walked into his office with the new secretary, Anne.

Anne ducked and stifled a scream, but Nelly froze in astonishment as the ten-pound crystal ball streaked past her, struck the wall, crashed onto the slate floor, and exploded in a loud blast of shattering glass.

Anne hastily retreated several steps into the safety of her office, but after a moment of horrified paralysis, Nelly got her expression under control and walked forward toward his desk.

Outwardly composed, she began picking her way gingerly across the shattered crystal on the floor, but she was inwardly shaken by his first-time display of rage and violent wrath and helplessly anxious by the sound of glass crunching beneath her feet.

She was dying to ask what had caused him to make this mess, but his forbidding expression made her fear that any pointed reference to the situation might easily cause another eruption of temper from him.

Trying to be calm, thoughtful, and helpful, Nelly inquired cautiously, "Is something wrong, Mr. Thompson?"

"Do I fucking look like something is right?" he retorted as he surged to his feet, yanked his briefcase off the credenza behind him, and began shoving papers from the top of his desk into it.

Embarrassed by her idiotic choice of words, Nelly refrained from commenting and instead bent down to pick up a dismembered crystal part lying at the edge of the thick wool carpet that his desk sat on.

Intending to rattle off a list of instructions, Liam glanced in her direction, saw what she was doing, and paused just long enough to say with curt courtesy, "Don’t touch that; you’ll cut yourself. Call maintenance later and have them clean up the glass. I’m leaving for Zen," he continued, switching swiftly to the matters at hand.

"Call my driver and tell him to pick me up downstairs, and then call my pilots and tell them to have the plane fueled up and ready to fly as soon as I get to the hangar. Next, call my attorney’s office in Zen and tell them to have the lawyers call me within thirty minutes, no matter where they are or what they’re doing."

He paused for a breath, and Nilly interjected quickly, "Your plane’s having maintenance work done. It can’t fly until tomorrow at the earliest."

"Then get me two tickets on the next flight to Zen."

"If I can’t get first class, is coach all right?"

"Get whatever you can; just get me on the next flight," Liam said shortly. "If that isn’t possible, try to charter a plane. When you’ve handled all that, call my housekeeper and tell her to pack my clothes and then make sure they’re put on a plane to Zen later today."

"Do you want to stay at—" Liam yanked open the bottom drawer of his desk to pull out more files and interrupted her in mid-question, but he managed to temper his tone. "First, take care of the phone calls I just asked you to make, and then call me in the car with any other questions you need answered."

As she nodded and hurried away, he put the remaining files into his briefcase; then he opened the center desk drawer and pulled out the slim folding case containing his PDA, his passport, and the other items he automatically took with him on trips.

He tossed that case on top of the files, slammed the briefcase closed, and reached to open another drawer where he pulled out a brand-new phone with all of his previous information on it already.

When the phone turned on, he immediately made a call to his bank in Paris to prepare the sum of 1 billion dollars for him within an hour.