Chapter 12
Given the choice, Skylar wouldn't see him.
"Give me three minutes. I'll leave after saying my piece," she said, putting on a bold face.
Is she playing hard to get? I've seen many women like her. Tobias glanced at his watch. "You have two minutes and fifty seconds left."
"I-I can't talk when there are so many people here," Skylar said, scanning the surroundings. "Could you at least ask them to leave for a short while?"
"How demanding." Tobias dispersed the crowd with a wave of his hand. Then lifting his wrist again, he said curtly, "Thirty seconds."
"The check you gave me was real. I've been cheated, and I can't just let this slide. Only you can prove that the check doesn't belong to him. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Skylar explained vaguely in one breath.
"Are you done?" Tobias asked flatly.
Skylar nodded. "That's roughly what I'm trying to say in thirty seconds. How about you give me a little more time?"
Tobias lit a cigarette. "So, you're trying to get me to retrieve the check for you?"
Skylar nodded again, earnestly this time. As expected of the comprehensive ability of a businessman.
"I am not obliged to help you, nor am I interested to do so. Business is all about making an equivalent exchange. So... what can you offer if I were to help you?"
Hearing his reply, Skylar's last piece of hope was shattered in an instant.
Like her mood, the sky was dark, looking as if it were about to rain.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Ford. Just pretend that I was never here," she said while biting her lips. "I don't think I have anything to offer you." Skylar simply stopped trying as she knew what it meant to make a deal with the devil. With that, she turned around and left, clearly disheartened. Looking at Skylar's retreating back, Tobias stood rooted to the spot.
"Zion Hotel, presidential suite. Come look for me tonight," he said placidly.
Skylar stopped in her tracks and smirked. Is he for real now? A hotel? Why is he so desperate all the time?
"Goodbye, Mr. Ford," she said and waved goodbye without looking back.
Tobias couldn't wrap his head around this woman -girl, to be exact.
It was the first time he had ever made such a request, yet he was rejected roundly.
The girl had made his monotonous life a little better, but other than that, she was of no value.
Returning to his office, Tobias instructed Flynn, his secretary, to do a background check on Skylar.
"Who's Skylar Jones?" Tanya, who had been waiting at the lounge of the office, asked upon overhearing Tobias' words.
"How did you get in?" Tobias asked, his tone as cold as ever.
Tanya shrugged. "I wouldn't have known that my fiance is doing a background check on another woman if I hadn't come today."
He cocked an eyebrow and looked askance at her. "We've made it clear not to interfere in each other's life, Tanya. Don't cross the line."
Tanya then walked over to him with a hint of a smile hanging on her lips. "Don't forget how much your mother likes me, Tobias," she said, gently fixing his collar. "No one else can marry you but me. So pull yourself together; the wedding is around the corner. If you can't deal with all the other women, I'll handle them for you."