The Billionaire’s Creed

ADLEY

Mykel missed me. What was that even mean? But his words kept repeating in my head and made my heart skip.

I admitted that I somehow looked forward to seeing him at his penthouse after work, though I knew I would only be disappointed.

I had mixed feelings of being happy and sad at work. I found someone to look forward to seeing. At the same time, Blaze and I were not okay. He never called in sick until today, and I knew something did not add up.

Before I left the office, I called Elise. She answered on the first ring as if she was expecting a call.

“Hey, Adley. Is it okay to call you Adley, or do you prefer Mrs. Creed?”

“Mrs. Creed is overrated. Adley is fine.”

“Adley then. I’ve been meaning to say this-I hope you don’t mind me dating Blaze.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Blaze looks happy he met you, Elise. Just don’t break my best friend’s heart.”

“I could say the same thing for you.”

This time I laughed. “I hope not. By the way, I know you’re at work, and Blaze just called in sick. I couldn’t contact his phone. Is he okay? I’m worried.”

“He left before I went to work. Let me call Blaze. I’ll let you know as soon as I reach out to him.”

“Please, do that. Thanks, Elise.”

“I will. And he also felt terrible about the misunderstanding you both have. I hope you and him will make up soon.”

“That’s nice of you. I look forward to.”

I left the office, heading to the apartment. I had a strong feeling I would find him there if he left early at his girlfriend’s. Elise didn’t mention Blaze not feeling well, which made me feel sick in my stomach.

Blaze’s car parked in front of the building caught my eye. I went up directly to our apartment and called his name as soon as I unlocked the door. I stopped to a halt as I found him sitting on the chair, and he wasn’t alone. Blaze was with two men in suits.

“Blaze, what’s going on?” I stepped closer at a deliberate pace.

Blaze looked regretful. “You shouldn’t have come.”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Why not? And who are they?” I asked head-on.

The two men stood up and fixed their suits, and the first one, tall and bulky, was about to speak up.

“Hold on to your thought. If you are working for my grandfather, just tell me what you want, or I will sue you both for harassing my best friend because from what I see from here, you are giving him no choice,” I said, giving them the bullet point of this conversation.

The shorter one cleared his throat. “He welcomed us in, ma’am.”

“Oh yeah?” I let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Like you gave him a choice.”

“We didn’t hurt your friend, Miss Kross.”

“It’s Mrs. Creed if you aren’t fully aware. Now let Blaze go and discuss what you want from me.”

“Adley, that’s not a good idea.” He widened his eyes at me. I’d rather talk to these men than keep him as a hostage. “I already called in sick today. Why did you come here?”

I snorted. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Now that you know I’m not sick. You can leave now.”

“Ma’am-”

I raised my hand to stop the tall guy while focusing on Blaze. “We didn’t end up okay yesterday. I felt terrible. You are in this mess because of my family. And I love you, Blaze. I know you very well to know something isn’t right when you didn’t show up at work.”

“You can go, Mr. Burns,” the tall guy dismissed Blaze.

“I’m not leaving without my best friend.” Blaze shot back as he rose from his seat and came to me.

“It’s okay. If their orders are to hurt me, he could have done that a long time ago. I hugged Blaze. “I’m so sorry for what happened yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

“Next time someone is bothering you, I want you to be honest and just come straight with me.”

“You have a lot on your plate, Ad.” He released a heavy breath.

“If your life is on the line, I don’t give a crap. You call Elise. She’s also worried. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Blaze went to the kitchen. I knew he wouldn’t leave this building without knowing I was safe.

“Speak up.” I sat on the couch and crossed my legs.

“Your grandfather wants you to see him.”

“And that’s urgent? You can’t come to my office or set an appointment like a normal person?”

“Ma’am, you might not be aware of this, but your husband is willing to file a restraining order against anyone connected to Kross Corp or the Kross family if we contact you in any form of communication without our lawyers’ presence.”

That statement almost caught me off guard. I wasn’t aware that Mykel was willing to do it to that extent.

“That serves you right,” Blaze butted in from the kitchen. I knew he was listening to me the whole time.

“Is my husband serious about his threat? I mean, that’s way overboard.”

“Your grandfather always takes threats seriously, considering your request is still in the process.”

“So what now?”

“He wants to see you,” the shorter guy replied.

“And that request doesn’t create a motivation to the filing of RO?”

“If you visit him willingly, no ma’am.”

“Very well.”

“What do you mean by very well?” Blaze couldn’t help any longer. “Mykel will go mad if he finds out, and trust me, he will. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Don’t tell Elise about this arrangement, Blaze.” I came to him. “She can’t know about this, please?”

“Do you know you’re putting me in a difficult situation again?”

I held his arms. “I know, and I’m sorry. If Elise gets angry with you, I promise I will explain. But I can’t just stand here and be glamorous while both parties are about to rage war. There’s only one common ground for all of this- me. I’m the only one who can end this tension. And I’m doing this for the right reason.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No.”