Chapter 619 - You And Whose Army?

*RING!*

Zoey's heart skipped a beat after hearing her phone ring. Immediately, she picked her phone up and checked who it was.

Matthew!

His contact name that was just a continuous of a long endearment filled her phone screen. Zoey pursed her lips in a thin line as she hesitated to pick it up.

Knowing Nikolai, he would surely do something preposterous and her darling might misunderstand. After all, Matthew and Inigo haven't met in this lifetime. Gosh… She remembered how Matthew raised his guards against Nikolai in their previous life.

Soon, the ringing stopped and Zoey heaved a sigh of relief. 'I'll just tell him I was being hung up by Mel.'

Zoey muttered internally. She didn't want Matthew meeting Nikolai just yet. There were tons of things they should worry about and these two wouldn't get along anyway. 

"You look flustered. Are you sad of the thought of my departure? Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Suddenly, Nikolai opened his mouth and his shamelessness was all Zoey could hear.

"Niko, I don't have time to bicker with you or think about the problems that weren't mine. You have to leave. This building is free from illegal activities and I don't want my growing business to be tangled with your problems." In a matter-of-fact tone, Zoey uttered as she cast him a disdainful glare.

Niko arched his right brow before chuckling, "Free from illegal activities?"

"That's correct. So, leave. Should I open the door for you?" Zoey sassed, keeping her poker face as she turned and headed towards the door.

However, just as Zoey took three steps, she halted upon hearing Niko's remarks.

"If this company is so clean, I wonder how you closed a deal with Cecil."

Slowly, Zoey's eyes widened. She had forgotten Nikolai's intelligence gathering and didn't even consider he knew this piece of information.

'Sh*t!' Zoey cursed internally as she clenched her teeth before turning around to face him.

"Cecil? Who's that?" As soon as Zoey turned around, she sported a puzzled look and tilted her head to the side.

In her previous lifetime, she didn't get to meet Cecil. But after time-traveling, Zoey had gathered important pieces of information. Hence, if she didn't know him back then, Zoey could feign innocence and pretend knowing nothing about the said man.

"I swear, Nikolai. If you're just stalling me, it won't work. You should leave before I call the police."

"So this is the type of game you want to play, huh?" Niko nodded in understanding, shrugging his shoulders. Yet, there was no sign of him wanting to comply with Zoey's orders.

"Niko…" Zoey took a deep breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose in distress. Truly, she could never win against Niko's character as he found no shame in publicizing his lack of sense to read the mood.

"Okay!" Suddenly, Niko exclaimed which made Zoey's eyes lit up. However, his next words returned the dimness in her eyes.

"I'll be your client!"

Zoey rolled her eyes, casting him a lifeless stare as she blinked her eyes ever so slowly.

"What? I'm willing to invest half of my fortune. I'm not wasting your time. It's actually the opposite now." Niko shrugged his shoulders, tilting his head a little to the side as he briefly raised his brows.

"Your suggestion is rejected." Zoey's tone was as flat as a pancake. "I'm very sorry for wasting your time for this business meeting. So, if you may?" 

Zoey forced the side of her lips to stretch into the fakest polite smile she could do. One after another, everyone was just giving her utter distress! Matthew was the only person who gave her peace in this cruel, stressful world, really.

"You know, the more you push me away, the more I want to stay. Who is it?" Nikolai smiled. Yet, his eyes glinted which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Hah!" Zoey scoffed, shaking her head sideways as she massaged her temples. "You're not listening to me, are you? This company is the company I have established with my own blood and sweat. I don't want it to be ruined because of a problem I have nothing to do with!"

Zoey exclaimed in distress. Although she was afraid of Matthew and Nikolai path's crossing, Zoey was more concerned about it. Moreover, she didn't want anything to do with Nikolai anymore.

Her time being part of the Silva Family had been severed a long time ago. She had paid her debt to this family who saved her, fed her, and clothed her by tainting her hands in the past.

So to speak, Zoey was just a normal business woman trying to get a shot in the business industry. What she was doing was protecting her company's reputation. A scandal with a notorious underground family would ruin Z Image Group.

"What do you mean by 'nothing to do with'? My problem is also yours don't you think?" Yet, Nikolai was unfazed and remained indifferent about her concern.

"Certainly, it's not mine."

"How can you say that? I'm your fiance! Do you want to get widowed even before our wedding night?!"

Zoey gasped as she couldn't believe her ears hearing his unlimited shamelessness. Fiance? Wedding night? That's his primary concern?

His last remarks rendered her speechless. She could not articulate the absurdity of Nikolai's statements.

Little did she know, the door of the office was slightly opened and Matthew had heard Niko's last remarks loud and clear.

"I'm sorry to pop your bubble, but I believe this engagement must be considered cancelled." 

Zoey jolted upon hearing Matthew's extra cold voice chill the heated atmosphere inside her office. The second Matthew set his foot inside, the air grew thicker as Zoey watched Nikolai raise his gaze to the person standing behind her.

"Cancel? Says who?" Suddenly, Nikolai's initial indifferent demeanor drastically changed.

'Ah, gosh…' Zoey let out a heavy sigh as she felt she was standing in between a fiery land of fire and a piercingly cold blizzards.

"Says me," Matthew's tone was the same, but Zoey could feel this inexplicable grudge laced in his voice.

"You?" Niko chuckled as he grinned widely. "You and whose army?" 

"Me and, unfortunately not an army, but a few people who know how to clean a murder scene."