Chapter 75

Chapter 75Acold day in hell
With the sunlight beaming on his face, Elijah stood outside the motel, hands in his pocket, eyes on the
sky.
His head was still swimming from all that had happened recently, his mind still reeling with the fact that
he was getting married again, and it kind of scared him just a little bit.
So deep in thought, he didn‘t hear the door open and didn‘t connect with reality until Peach hugged him
from the back, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting, her head flat on his back
“Hey,” She said softly, and he could feel the smile forming on her lips even without turning around to
look at her. “What are you doing out here?”
“Thinking,” Elijah answered truthfully, his voice barely above a whisper as well.
“How much of what Madam Jewel said did you hear yesterday before walking in?”
“A bit,”
Silence followed after his answer as her heart frowned at the thought that he might have been hurt by
all the awful words Madam Jewel had spewed.
“Elijah, you don‘t...” Peach trailed off, uncertain where to go from there, her brow furrowed as she tried
to find the right words. “...you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
There was a brief pause and then the vibration of his phone in his pocket interrupted their conversation,
causing Elijah to sigh and pull out his phone.And when he saw Bryan Check‘s name, he drew a deep breath and then answered the call,” What‘s
up?”
“Can you join me for lunch?” Bryan‘s voice sounded almost hopeful, but there was also a nervous
edge to it. “I got an update, so can you meet me to talk about it.”
“I can,” Elijah replied after a moment of hesitation.
“Great! We can meet up at ‘Hotel Del Rey‘... I spent my night here, so I am waiting for you.”
“Sure. I am on my way.”
Hearing those words, Peach‘s hands pulled away from his waist and fell to her side as she just stood
there, remembering rule one.
When Elijah turned around to meet her eyes, a faint smile graced his features when he noticed her
staring intently at him.
“I know that I can talk to you about anything,” Elijah repeated, his thumb brushing against her knuckles,
“but I can’t promise to always do so.”
Her gaze lowered and she looked down at their connected hands, and mumbled, “That‘s fine... I knew
what I was signing up for when I accepted your offer.”
It took Elijah a minute to process what she had said, but he uttered no word, cupped her cheeks, and
leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead.
“It‘s just lunch with a guy friend at Hotel Del Rey,” Elijah suddenly mumbled against her skin.
“I will be back soon, okay?”Her eyes froze at his words, not really expecting, laim to explain himself, after all, he made the rules,
and a part of her grew slightly hopeful that he might be trusting her just abil. Then she slowly nodded,
smiling, brixlıtly up at him as she said, “Okay.”
Al two o‘clock, Elijah arrived at the front desk or ‘Hotel Del Rey,‘ with Matt, and the moment the
receptionist saw him, unlike the last time, she recognized his importance and smiled when he uttered,
“Is Mr. Checks in? I have an appointment with him.”
“It must be a cold day in hell that I would meet you at such a fancy hotel. What are you doing here,
Elijah?“A deep voice with a defiant tone echoed.
Snapping his brows together, Elijah hesitated to turn, feeling a sense of annoyance sweep through him.
When Matt locked eyes with Mason, his eyes darkened and his face contorted into a snarl, wondering
who this man was that dared speak down to his boss.
Sighing, Elijah finally turned to face Mason, taking in his expensive designer suit, perfectly styled hair,
and cocky smirk.
“I don‘t think our path has crossed before, so why are you speaking so informally to me?” Elijah asked,
keeping his voice low as he strived to stay calm. “You are Dean‘s former son–in–law, right?” Mason
asked, mockingly tilting his head. “The one who sponged off his daughter until she divorced you, and
now, has made quite a problem for the Hayes, even though you are way below their class and status.
Did I get that right?” A comfortable crossed the receptionist‘s face, remembering the last incident, but
Mason had been a long–term member of the club, and because of his closeness with Bryan she didn‘t
want to meddle in his business.
Not caring for interaction with Mason, Elijah turned back to the receptionist and calmly uttered, “Can
you call his room and tell him that I am here?“.“Sure thing, Mr. Darius!” She gave them a warm smile before picking up the phone. “Who are you here
to meet up with, huh?” Mason asked, getting annoyed that Elijah was ignoring him like his presence
was nothing more than a nuisance. “You seem pretty close with… what‘s her name... right, ‘Peach!‘ at
the ceremony the other day, and the shit you said to Dean‘s daughter that night... What are you
depending on crossing a man like Dean, Huh?” When Elijah didn‘t answer, he got a bit pissed off,
grabbed Elijah by the shoulder, and let out, “Hey, I am taking to–”
The rest of his words got stuck in his throat when Matt grabbed his wrist, twisting it slightly and pushing
him away from Elijah.
“Hmmm, Mr. Check, I think you need to come down to the lobby... like right now.” The receptionist
mumbled on the phone, freezing in her place.
Slightly losing his balance, Mason stumbled back, holding onto the back of the chair behind him, trying
to regain control of his composure. “Who the fuck do you think you are to touch me?” Mason
demanded, stepping forward in rage. “Oh, so you don‘t like being touched by a stranger... Hmm, then
maybe you should keep your
paws off people you don‘t know.” Matt taunted, raising a single eyebrow.
Frustrated, Mason lunged forward, attempting to grab Malt from the collar of his shirt, but Elijah
intervened, grabbing Mason‘s other wrist and twirling him around, banging his torso flat against the
counter, pressing lim down.
“How hard is it for you to take simple instructions,” Elijah demanded, “and do as told?”
Gritting his teeth together, Mason struggled for a moment or two before saying, “You‘ll pay greatly if you
don‘t let me go, right this instant!!”Without replying, Elijah rested luis palm against Masoul‘s head, pressing it again on the wooden
surface, and lie finally mumbled, “My patience is very thin for people like you, Manson... very little!”
“Elijah?” Bryan‘s voice broke through the tense silence that had settled over the area, and both Matt
and Elijah quickly snapped their heads towards him, watching the look of confusion on his face.
Drawing a deep breath to calm himself, Elijah released Mason from his grip and stepped back, his
expression smoothing itself out into something neutral.
When Mason finally lifted his head from the counter, he glanced between the three men
standing in front of him and said, “Check, you know this... this piece of crap that isn‘t worth your time!”
A frown itched his face as he glared at Elijah and then stared back at Bryan when he added, “. What
could you possibly see in this scumbag anyway? This asshole just put his hands on me... he should be
thrown out of this hotel… And maybe, from now on, you should watch who you are hiring...”
“Mason,” Bryan called out, annoyance laced in his voice, “enough, okay? Also, my membership with
our club is revoked, and I don‘t think I would be investing in your project for the manufacturing center
anymore.”
Furrowing his brows at Bryan, Mason shook his head and let out, “But that is bullshit!! I came here so
we can talk about the next step for this project, and eighty–eight percent of the kickoff for this to
happen depends on you!”
“Well, I don‘t think I want to fund your company any longer, alright?” Bryan snapped back at him, and
Elijah watched as a small vein protruded on Mason‘s forehead. “You should leave.”
“It‘s not fair!”“It‘s my money, Mason... you should leave.”
novelbinFrowning, Mason watched Bryan look over at Elijah and utter, “Please come with me this way.
“Who the hell is he to you, Checks?!” Mason screamed at Bryan, still glaring daggers at Elijah. “Why
are you choosing the Hayes‘ useless ex–son–in–law over me?! What value does he have for you to
make a decision like this over me?!” 1
“Mr. Mason, I will advise you to stop shouting because you are disturbing others.” The receptionist
warned, glancing at him. “And it‘s best if you leave.”
“Where the heck did I go wrong?” Mason muttered, letting out a groan. “This sucks! I mean seriously.
He’s a nobody. Why are you siding with him instead of me, Bryan?“.
A cold day be
A sense of worry and desperation crossed his face as he watched Elijah and Matt leave with Bryan,
and he hurriedly pulled out his phone and stroked through his contact, stopping at,” Dean,“