Chapter 156: Carefully Orchestrated Trap
As Levi was driven out of the suburbs. He leaned back in the seat and stared unseeingly at the passing scenario, the image of Lyse lingering in his mind. He could not help but keep replaying their brief conversation at the women’s shelter on a loop, her soft voice, her searching gaze., her soft skin under his lips
He had told her that his charitable work had nothing to do with winning her back, that he was simply doing what he could to help. While it was true that he enjoyed the smiles on the faces of the little children, the truth was that, a small part of him hoped that his actions would show her the kind of man he truly was, the kind of man he still aspired to be for her. Maybe even impress her just the teeniest bit.
He knew he had made mistakes, terrible mistakes that had caused her immense anger at him and made her distrustful of him and his motives. But he also knew that he was capable of great love, of genuine compassion. He hoped that she could see that, that she could see past his past transgressions and recognize the good in him.
He was determined to do anything to keep Lyse by his side, nothing would give him greater joy. His gaze narrowed as he remembered that there was something that would change the tide for their relationship, make her see that he was not the piece of shit that she thought that he was.
Unfortunately for him, his hands were tied. He had to wait until the right time for everything to fall in place. Then, when Lyse knew the truth would she look favorably at him or would she still refuse to meet him halfway.
He reluctantly pushed the thoughts aside, focusing instead on the board meeting that he had purposely dodged. He still felt uneasy about the sudden, unannounced gathering and that was why he refused to go at the states time. He knew that something was amiss, and he had no doubt that his scheming half brother had something to do with it.
The driver took him straight to the building that housed the Van Doren group, bypassing his house altogether. He checked his watch; he was about two hours late for the scheduled meeting.
As he walked into the building, there was a tense energy. The staff quickly scurrying out of his way as he walked along the doorway. You would expect that Levi would walk into an empty conference room, perhaps with a few disgruntled board members grumbling about his extreme tardiness.
But that was not happened, it seemed that everyone was eager to experience the drama that was about to ensue. Ethan had kept tabs on the meeting on his behalf, so Levi knew that they were still all waiting on his arrival.
As he stepped into the conference room, he was met with a sight that made his blood run cold. The room was full, exactly as Ethan had said, the board members seated around the large mahogany table. But the most striking detail was the presence of both Brett and Brandon, sitting side-by-side at the head of the table, their faces etched with... smiles.
Levi noted that this was not how a board meeting should look, especially one that had been scheduled scant hours ago. The atmosphere was too relaxed, too... expectant. It felt staged, he almost smiled.