Eyes with many questions

"Lila, do not do anything that would make me show you the tough stuff I am made of." Ethan said threateningly after finding his voice. 

"Don't make me laugh, Ethan. I have the upper hand here and deep down you know it." Lila maintained firmly with a smug smirk on her face. 

Then she walked out of the office before Ethan could provide a comeback. 

"What the fuck?" Ethan growled and punched his desk, furiously. 

Meanwhile, as Lila emerged from Ethan's office, Nora jumped up from her desk, her eyes holding many questions. 

"Ma'am, can I have a moment? Wait! Please—" She called out, desperate to continue their earlier conversation about her parents.

Lila paused, turning with calculated grace. 

"Can you please tell me what you know about my parents?" Nora requested gently but eagerly. 

Sensing her desperation, something clicked in Lila's mind. 

"Well, it is going to be tit for tat. She is definitely going to be a useful tool for me." She thought and slight smirk played at the corners of her lips at the realization.

Then she reached into her designer handbag and pulled out an elegant business card. 

"Curious about what I know, right? I am pleased to inform you that I know everything about your parents when they worked here." Lila asked as she handed over the card to Nora. 

"They worked for Black industries? How come I didn't know about it?" Nora thought to herself. 

"Call me. Though I should warn you..." Lila said, then paused as leaned closer to Nora. 

"Every piece of information comes with a price." She stated and the way she said it sent chills down Nora's spine.

"W... What kind of price?" Nora asked, hesitantly. 

Lila's smile widened at the younger woman's reaction. 

"That depends on how much you want to know about Lawrence and Stella Hayes." With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Nora wondering about what the price would be. 

"Of course, I need not to be told that it won't be monetary..." Nora was certain of that. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening;

"That bitch!" Ethan had returned home from work and was in his home office, his mind occupied with thoughts of what had transpired between him and Lila earlier. 

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thought and his grip on the glass of whiskey he was holding, tightened. 

"Come in, Lucas." Ethan replied from within. He had been expecting the man who doubled as his right-hand man and loyal confidant. 

Lucas Shaw entered and he immediately observed how Ethan's usual composed demeanor was absent. 

"You look like hell." Lucas remarked, settling into one of the leather chairs.

"Thanks for the observation." Ethan replied dryly.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Lila Montgomery showing up at the office today, would it?" Lucas inquired even though he wasn't at the office and Ethan didn't bother to ask how he knew. 

Lucas always knew everything. 

Ethan tightened his jaw. 

"She is up to something, Lucas. And her timing..." He paused and gulped down the rest of his drink. 

"She has somehow managed to become a board member at LL Enterprises." He added. 

"Huh. Just when you are about to close that billion-dollar deal." Lucas pointed out with a nod. 

"Exactly. And knowing Lila, she will do everything in her power to make sure it doesn't happen." Ethan said. 

Lucas leaned forward, a slight smile playing at his lips. 

"What if I told you I might have something that could guarantee LL signs that deal, regardless of what Lila does?" He stated confidently. 

"Let's have it." Ethan said with eagerness. 

"Remember when you asked me to dig into Richard Morrison's past? The CEO of LL?" Lucas began. 

"Of course. And you said there was nothing interesting." Ethan replied. 

"Well, I decided to dig deeper after today's events." Lucas said, pulling out his phone. 

"And I found something rather... fascinating about his time in Dubai five years ago." He added. 

"Dubai? What about it?" Ethan inquired. 

"Let's just say there were some very creative accounting practices involved in a certain real estate development." Lucas said as he showed Ethan his phone. 

"The kind that could land someone in serious trouble if they came to light." He added with a dry chuckle. 

Ethan's eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he scrolled through the documents. 

"Holy shit, Lucas. This is..." He was saying with barely contained excitement. 

"Exactly what we need? Yes, I thought so too." Lucas finished for him. 

"But how did you—" Ethan wanted to ask about how Lucas got his hands on those but Lucas shook his head firmly with a soft smirk. 

"Best you don't ask." Lucas said then continued.

"The point is, Richard Morrison would do anything to keep this quiet." 

A slow smile spread across Ethan's face. 

"So Lila can play whatever games she wants..."

"But at the end of the day, Morrison will sign that deal." Lucas finished for him again. 

"Unless he wants certain authorities taking a very close look at his overseas ventures." He added then he stood up and got another glass of whiskey and filled the glass as well as Ethan's. 

"You are a genius, Lucas. This is why I keep you around." Ethan commented as he collected the glass. 

"Here I thought it was for my charming personality." Lucas joked and Ethan chuckled. 

As they raised their glasses, Lucas's phone buzzed and his expression immediately changed as he read the message.

"What is it?" Ethan asked, his expression turning serious as he sensed the drastic change in Lucas. 

Lucas looked up, then his face was grim. 

"It seems Richard Morrison just booked a last-minute flight..."

"To where?" Ethan cut in sharply before Lucas could finish his sentence. 

"Dubai." Lucas announced, the words sounding heavy from his mouth.

"A... And he is meeting with Lila Montgomery tomorrow morning." He added hesitantly. 

At that information, the glass in Ethan's hand crashed to the floor as a realization struck him.