Chapter 179
Chapter 179:
The doors opened. Julian marched down the carpeted hallway and shoved open the heavy mahogany double doors of the CEO’s office. He stepped inside and threw the deadbolt behind him with a sharp click.
Crawford sat behind his vast, custom-built desk, looking perfectly at ease, casually spinning a heavy platinum Montblanc pen between his fingers.
Julian crossed the room in five strides and slammed both palms flat on the polished wood, leaning over it. “Are you out of your mind?” he hissed, his chest heaving. “Do you have any idea what you were just doing p>
Crawford didn’t blink. The pen kept spinning.
“I was driving my lead scientist to her office,” Crawford said, his voice smooth and entirely unbothered. “Is that a crime, Julian p>
“Lead scientist.” Julian let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. He yanked his phone from his pocket, pulled up the photos, and slapped the screen down on the desk. “You don’t let anyone breathe in that car! And you had her in the passenger seat — adjusting her AC vents like a concerned husband p>
Crawford stopped spinning the pen. He glanced down at the photo. A faint, unapologetic smirk touched the corner of his mouth. He didn’t deny a single thing.
He looked up, his eyes sharp and entirely predatory.
𝖠ddіc𝗍i𝘷𝗲 s𝗍oriеѕ 𝘰𝗇
“If you applied that level of observation to your own family’s business,” Crawford said dryly, “your father wouldn’t threaten to cut you off every other week p>
The casual deflection was, itself, a complete confirmation.
Julian took a step back. A cold sweat crept up the back of his neck.
“Crawford, she is Cole’s wife,” he said, forcing his voice low. “You two grew up together. You are practically brothers p>
Crawford rose from his chair and moved to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the Manhattan skyline with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Cole doesn’t deserve her,” he said. His voice was cold, hard, and absolute. “He treats a flawless diamond like garbage. He humiliates her in public for a pathological liar like Alycia p>
“That doesn’t give you the right to swoop in and take what’s his!” Julian argued, pacing the floor.
Crawford turned around. The composed facade dropped entirely. His eyes burned with a raw, frightening possessiveness.
“I am not taking what’s his, Julian,” Crawford said. “I am stealing her p>
The force of it hit Julian like a physical blow. He stopped pacing and stared at his friend.
“I am obsessed with her,” Crawford continued, stepping forward. “I watch her dismantle complex data models without a moment’s hesitation. I watched her bite her lip until it bled last night rather than ask Cole for help. I want her p>
“If Cole finds out, he will burn your company to the ground,” Julian said, his voice unsteady. “It will be a bloodbath p>
“Let him try,” Crawford replied, without a fraction of hesitation.
Julian pressed both hands over his face. He was trapped squarely between his two oldest friends.
Crawford crossed to him and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, gripping firmly — a warning as much as a gesture.