He Thought I’d Compromise Chapter 09
After we parted on bad terms in the parking garage that day, Bennett did not come looking for me again.
A few days later, the company suddenly landed a huge order.
The moment I saw the client’s name, I had a guess. Sure enough, that guess was confirmed when I saw who showed up.
There was no reason not to make money. He was only an ex-boyfriend. It was not as if I had never dealt with clients harder to handle than him.
After we accepted the order, Bennett began entering and leaving the company openly. Sometimes he would make comments about the company’s products, but most of the time, he stayed outside my office.
He started acting strangely, as if he wanted to do every single thing in public that we had never dared to do before.
Back when we were in a secret relationship, we never dared to go to work or leave work together.
Now, every day, he timed his arrival perfectly, took the elevator with me up to the office, and after finishing his work, waited outside my office at just the right moment so he could leave with me.
When I truly could not stand it anymore, I would look at him coldly. “I’m taking your money, so I guess I deserve to suffer.”
He let it go in one ear and out the other. “Is the money not enough? Then I’ll raise the contract value.”
It was only because he happened to catch me between relationships that he assumed I had spent the last three years waiting for him.
One day during a meal, he suddenly set down his fork and said, as if asking for credit, “I haven’t dated anyone in the past three years.”
I did not stop ladling soup. Expressionless, I said, “That’s really sad for you. I dated plenty of people in the past three years.”
The moment the words fell, his expression stiffened. Then he forced out a smile. “It’s fine. I can forgive that.”
On the principle of not offending a client, I ultimately held back the words, Are you out of your mind?
Bennett seemed to be apologizing for what he had done back then. I was not entirely sure.
During this time, whenever I mentioned anything, he would have it delivered to me immediately.
A few times, I stood him up. With his old temper, he would never have waited even one minute. But several times, when I arrived one or two hours late, he was still waiting in the same place.
Sometimes, when I did not go to the place we had agreed on, I would see his car parked downstairs when I got home.
People at the company all said Bennett was pursuing me.
I only smiled and said nothing. There were too many people pursuing me, and I had dozens of their numbers in my phone. Was I supposed to respond to every single one?
Until one day, I saw his car downstairs again.
I did not know when he had parked there. The car still bore traces of rain.
The account was about to move into a routine service phase, so I got straight to the point with him. “Are you trying to win me back?”
He did not avoid the question. “You already know the answer.”
I gave a faint, mocking laugh. “Then where were you these past three years? Why didn’t you come after me when I went back to Boston? Why didn’t you go to the U.K. to win me back? Why didn’t I run into you anywhere in the world over these past three years?”
In those three years, even Marin had flown to the U.K. several times just to find me and pick a fight.
“Why does it have to be now? Why only after we happened to run into each other again did you suddenly feel a little sorry and a little regretful? Why does it have to be the me standing here now? Was the old Stella Shaw not worth it?”
“Was the Stella who stayed with you for five years not worth even a little regret and one apology from you back then?”
My questions came one after another like a rapid drumbeat, catching him completely off guard.
The composure Bennett had barely managed to maintain collapsed in an instant, leaving him looking exposed and disarmed, as if I had struck the exact wound he had tried to hide.
I had not asked those questions because I wanted to hear his answers. Before turning away, I left him with one final statement.
“If you want to keep pestering me and keep showing up here, that’s up to you.”
“But access to my company costs money. I only deal with paying orders.”
Between Bennett and me, the only thing holding us together now was money.