Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 36 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 36

Chapter 36 The Waiting Room

Lady Flourish’s POV

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The words landed like a stone dropped into still water, and the ripples moved through me slowly.

Forty percent.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the report before I even realized I had reached for it.

And then another thought arrived.

It was quieter, more urgent, more personal than any projection on any page.

Grandmother. Lady Josephine. The care costs that never stopped climbing, the debts that my family wielded like weapons, the elder welfare program they had been threatening me with for years as though it were a guillotine suspended permanently above my head.

The financial burden I had carried alone for so long that I had almost forgotten what it felt like not to carry it.

For the first time in years, I could see a path forward that didn’t run through Harold, or my father, or pack politics, or anyone’s mercy but my own.

A path built from something I had created, something I had fought for, something that was entirely and irrevocably mine.

My fingers tightened further around the report.

I looked up at Rhys slowly. “When is the next board meeting?”

His grin turned triumphant. “I knew you’d ask that. The next board meeting is tomorrow morning.”

I looked up from the stack of reports spread across my desk and found Rhys standing across from me with a tablet tucked beneath his arm.

“Tomorrow?” I asked.

He nodded. “Stormbridge’s board has already begun preliminary discussions regarding the subsidy proposal. Their representatives sent over the schedule this morning. If everything proceeds smoothly, we’ll be presenting our final projections before the week is over.”

A slow smile spread across my face. For the first time in what felt like forever, something was actually going right.

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“Will you be attending with me?” I asked.

Rhys looked almost offended. “Lady Flourish, I would attend if the meeting was being held on the moon.”

I laughed despite myself. “Good. Then you’re coming.”

His grin widened. “Naturally.”

After he left, I leaned back into my chair and turned my attention toward the reports covering my desk.

The more I reviewed Stormbridge’s financial records, the more disturbed I became.

Not because there was anything wrong with them, but because there wasn’t.

Everything was organized, efficient, profitable.

Damian hadn’t simply built a successful territory, he had built an empire.

Entire subsidiary companies stretched across multiple territories. Trade agreements, technology contracts, infrastructure investments, transportation networks, energy partnerships and manufacturing plants seemed to branch endlessly from Stormbridge’s holdings.

Every time I thought I had finally reached the end of another report, a new company would

appear.

I lowered one file and rubbed my forehead. “What exactly have you been doing for seven years?” I muttered.

The man had been disowned with little more than a handful of followers and a stubborn streak. Now he was somehow rivaling corporations that had existed for generations.

It was honestly irritating.

My telecom buzzed, and I glanced at the screen.

Harold.

I immediately declined the call, but five seconds later it rang again.

I declined it again.

A minute later Cheryl’s extension lit up, and I answered. “Yes?”

“Lady Flourish,” Cheryl said carefully, “Alpha Harold is requesting to speak with you.”

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“No.” I said simply.

“That’s what I told him.”

“Excellent.”

She exhaled shakily. “He then informed me that he would continue calling until someone connected him.”

I sighed. “Ignore him.”

“Very well.” She said, and the line disconnected.

Three minutes later my office door opened, and Rhys walked in looking exhausted.

I immediately knew. “He called you too?”

Rhys dropped into the chair opposite my desk. “He called me four times.”

I stared. “He what?”

“He informed me that if I continued assisting you in avoiding his calls, he would personally visit the building.”

I closed my eyes. Of course he would.

My telecom rang again.

Harold.

Again.

And again.

And again.

By the eighth attempt, I was ready to throw the device through the nearest window.

Instead, I accepted the call. “Alpha Harold,” I said sweetly. “How can I possibly help you?”

There was a brief pause, then his voice came through. “Come to my company.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.”

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Chapter 36 The Waiting Room

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I leaned back in my chair. The audacity was almost impressive. “Forgive me,” I said. “I wasn’t aware you had suddenly become my employer.”

His tone hardened immediately. “Flourish.”

“No, I’m genuinely curious. Did I miss a merger? Have you acquired my company while I was sleeping?”

His patience visibly snapped. “Come to my office.”

I rolled my eyes so hard my wolf probably felt it. “Or what?”

The silence on the other end felt dangerous.

“I will go to the ends of the earth if that’s what it takes to get you in front of me.”

My smile vanished. “Don’t threaten me.”

“I’m not threatening you.”

“You are.”

“Then consider this a promise.”

His voice lowered. “I’ll go through your father.”

My fingers tightened around the telecom. “Harold.”

“I’ll go through your grandmother if I have to.”

That did it. A rush of anger shot through me so quickly I nearly crushed the device. Lady Josephine had enough on her plate without being dragged into Harold’s obsession.

For several seconds I simply sat there staring at my desk, then I exhaled sharply. “Fine.”

“Good.”

“I hope this is as important as you’re making it sound.”

“It is.”

The line disconnected, and I stared at the blank screen.

I glanced at Rhys briefly, and he looked away. “He’s lucky prison exists.”

Rhys wisely said nothing.

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Chapter 36 The Waiting Room

An hour later I stepped into Virel Group Headquarters.

The receptionist immediately recognized me and stood. “Lady Flourish.”

I smiled politely. “Good afternoon.”

The smile stayed firmly in place as I marched toward the executive floor while mentally imagining several creative ways to strangle Harold.

By the time I reached his office suite, my irritation had only grown.

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His secretary rose from behind her desk, a pleasant woman named Clara. “Lady Flourish.”

I folded my arms. “Is he inside?”

The woman hesitated. “Alpha Harold is currently in a meeting.”

I stared at her, and she stared back nervously.

“A meeting.”

“Yes.”

“The meeting that was apparently important enough to drag me away from my company.”

Her eyes widened. “Lady Flourish—”

“I left work because he made it sound like his corporation was collapsing.”

The poor woman looked horrified.

I sighed. None of this was her fault. “Please don’t worry,” I said. “Just take me to the reception

room.”

She looked relieved. “Of course.”

I glanced at the clock. “I can only stay thirty minutes. After that, I have more important things to do.”

The executive reception room was considerably larger than some people’s homes.

Several business leaders occupied various seating areas, discussing investments and partnerships over expensive drinks.

I settled into an armchair near the windows and tried not to think about how ridiculous this situation was.

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Unfortunately, everyone else seemed determined to discuss the one thing currently

dominating territorial gossip.

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Damian.

“The timing is remarkable.”

“I still can’t believe Alpha Magnus welcomed him back.”

“Stormbridge’s valuation is absurd.”

“I heard he’s worth more than three territories combined.”

“I wonder if he’ll assist his brother’s company.”

That particular question drew several interested looks. Someone laughed.

“If I were Alpha Harold, I’d certainly ask.”

The conversation continued around me.

Speculation.

Rumors.

Predictions.

Through it all, my gaze drifted toward a framed photograph hanging on one of the nearby walls.

It showed the Virel family several years ago.”

Magnus. Ragnar. Harold. And Damian.

He looked younger, less dangerous and less ruthless. But somehow, his eyes looked exactly the

same.

A memory surfaced before I could stop it.

His green eyes filled with panic, and his voice shaking as he pleaded, ‘Please don’t cry.

Heat immediately rushed into my face. Goddess.

Why was I still thinking about that?

I silently prayed I wouldn’t run into him again anytime soon.

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Chapter 36 The Waiting Room

The universe, unfortunately, seemed to enjoy mocking me.

བ་

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A pair of employees walked past the open doorway, and neither appeared to realize I was sitting nearby.

“…I’m serious.”

“What woman?”

“The one inside Alpha Harold’s office.”

I froze, listening intently.

The second employee gasped.

s she his girlfriend?”

“I don’t know.”

Their voices lowered conspiratorially.

“All I know is that Alpha Harold personally made coffee for her.”

The second woman nearly choked. “He did what?”

“I’m telling you. I saw it myself.”

I slowly straightened in my chair, and the conversation continued as they disappeared down the hallway.

Neither of them noticed me, and thankfully, neither of them saw the expression settling across my face.

Because suddenly, I wasn’t thinking about Damian anymore.

I was thinking about the fact that Harold had dragged me across the territory, made me wait outside his office like an inconvenience, and was apparently inside making coffee for another

woman.

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I Refuse To Be Your Luna