“Burn those who burned me!” Chapter 16

Chapter 15: The real Ms. Crest.

***\-Rabena’s POV:***

It had been two days since Aaron, and I got engaged. It was now May 3rd; the day Aaron would have his meeting with Thomas. The night before, Aaron came to the estate. Uncle Pete thought a congratulatory dinner would be appropriate, Aaron also wanted to go over what his plan would be for helping me bring down Thomas and my family.

*“So, you’re still going to have the meeting with that asshole after everything he’s done to my sister?”*

Damon was getting angry at the idea of my new fiancé doing business with the Lockwoods. Smiling cooly, Aaron began to explain.

*“That’s precisely why I want to meet him. I have a plan to bring them all down in the worse way.”*

Suddenly, Aaron looked cautiously at Damon.

*“I hope you understand your family is included in this take down.”*

Damon gave him an equally cautious look.

*“That’s fine by me, those people stopped being my family a long time ago.”*

Aaron looked cooly at Damon before turning to me.

“My company has a charity ball that we host in different areas every year. This year, I’d like to host it in Banton. It’s also where I would like to introduce the world to my new fiancé and Priceland’s new president.”

Uncle Pete was the first to respond.

*“I think that’s a wonderful idea! I assume you plan on inviting the Lockwoods and Crests?”*

That devious smile I’d become all too familiar with crept up on Aaron’s lips.

*“Indeed, I do. On Monday, I plan on informing him that our business decision will be made once he meets my soon-to-be wife as she is also a part of the deal.”*

That night, we went over the whole plan to take down the Lockwoods and Crests. To be honest, I was extremely impressed, my fiancé clearly had a healthy concept of the art of war. Even Damon had to admit the plan was flawless.

*“Wow. If they weren’t all such pieces of shit I would have actually felt sorry for them.”*

I went to bed eager that night. Deciding to marry Aaron Michaels was definitely the right choice!

***\-Thomas POV:***

I woke up that Monday morning feeling beyond excited. It had been several weeks since my divorce from Rabena, so Danielle and I decided to finally be together.. I didn’t see any reason on hiding my feelings anymore, besides, everyone already knew how I felt about her. She was the reason why I was able to finally meet the infamous Aaron Michaels, I owed her my love. I would figure out how to tell me grandmother once I secured this deal.

After buttoning his shirt, Danielle walked into the walk-in closet with a seductive look on her face.

*“I think you should wear this tie. It’s bold and it represents authority.”*

Thomas looked thoughtfully at the tie; Danielle’s taste was definitely elegant. He felt powerful watching her finish up his tie with that lustful gleam in her eyes. Pulling her close, he rubbed his nose gently across hers.

*“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. When this deal is over I have a surprise for you.”*

Danielle’s eyes gleamed with joy. She’d suspected Thomas would be proposing soon. It was sheer luck the day he came running in face filled joy to thank her setting up a meeting with MGT Corp. Thomas picked her up and spun her around kissing her all over her face.

*“Dani! I love you! I can’t believe you did this for me!”*

At the time, Danielle had no clue what he referring to but Thomas professing his love for her made her not care. After gaining her balance back, she smiled with a puzzled expression, she didn’t want to flat out ask, still, she needed to know what he was thanking her for.

*“Tommy, you know I would do anything for you. I love you.”*

Thomas looked at Danielle with love and admiration.

*“Still, writing a business proposal on my behalf to MGT Corp! I don’t know what to say!”*

Danielle was extremely confused, she had no idea what he was talking about, she’d never even wrote a term paper let alone a business proposal, and to MGT Corp. Making sure not to give away the truth, she shyly probed him further.

*“Oh, my goodness. H-How did you know? I was trying to keep it a secret.”*

*“I got a call from his VP. He told me Ms. Crest put in a word in and sent my business proposal, said it was impressive! I can’t believe you did this!”*

Danielle’s eyes widen with surprise, she wasn’t the ***‘Crest’*** they were talking about, but she wasn’t about to let Thomas know. Smiling, she innocently looked at Thomas.

*“I know you’re married to my sister, still, I just wanted to help you. Please, don’t tell Raby, I don’t want her to be mad at me.”*

Thomas’ eyes darkened, he’d cursed his grandmother every day since she forced him to marry Rabena. Now, he was forced to keep something this big a secret to avoid causing trouble for her.

But that was all behind them now, Rabena was gone, leaving him and Danielle the opportunity to finally be together. His grandmother would cool down once he secured this deal. Learning Danielle was the one that set it up, she would have no choice but to give them her blessing. After getting into his car, Thomas opened the glove compartment and pulled out a small silver box. Inside was an engagement ring with a pink heart shaped diamond, Danielle’s favorite. Today was the beginning of his new life, whatever guilt he’d felt regarding Rabena was now a thing of the past.

Thomas arrived at The Regency Hotel at exactly 8:30am, the meeting was at 9am so he wanted to get there early. Suddenly, he began to feel nervous, he had heard stories about the shrewd businessman Aaron Michaels, he’d hope he would be able to impress him.

*‘Shit! I should have read over that proposal more thoroughly. What if he asks specific questions!’*

Thomas began to fret; he pulled out a copy of the proposal that was emailed to him by Michaels’ assistant. He decided he could at least do a quick over, as he read through the documents, he became more and more shocked. This business proposal was amazing! The outlined details regarding the company revenue, business expansion, she even predicted the grossed general sales and designs for the next five years. Not mention, with this merger, he’d be able to expand his family’s architecture corporation throughout the western continent. How had Danielle come up with all of this? Though it was true she went to college, Danielle had never been much of an intellect, that was always Rabena, though it went unnoticed. She’d went to her family’s alma mater and studied literature. It was a simple enough elect; besides, she would have eventually married someone prominent and lived her life as one of Banton’s most popular socialites. Thomas took a gulp of water to calm his nerves. Suddenly, a tall man wearing glasses walked over to the bar. Vincent, Aaron’s assistant smiled politely while extending his hand to Thomas.

*“Mr. Lockwood I presume? A pleasure to meet you, I’m Vincent Holmes, Chairman Michaels assistant. Allow me to escort you to the conference room.”*

Thomas followed Vincent into the conference hall, ‘this is it! My moment of truth!’ With his nerves kicking, Thomas strutted with pride as they entered the room. Suddenly, a tall man wearing a tailored Italian royal blue pinstriped suit, faced Thomas with a slight smile. Extending his hand, Aaron’s tone was smooth but filled with authority, Thomas instantly felt intimidated.

*“Mr. Lockwood, pleasure to meet you, I’m Chairman Michaels.”*