I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 298

“Damn it!”

Arianna pounded her fist on the bed, her frustration boiling over.

“That guy is unbelievable. How could he treat you like this? He’s just holding a grudge and taking it out on you. He can’t even tell what’s right and wrong anymore.”

She was seething with anger. If Alexander Ramirez had walked in at that moment, she honestly might have lunged at him.

Natalie, quick to try and calm her down, handed her an orange. “Here, have some fruit. Take a breath, okay? It’s already sorted out. Samuel Thompson stepped in, so the auction is still happening as planned.”

Arianna remembered that their company had landed the deal with Billy Firth, and her anger eased a little. She peeled the orange, split it, and handed the bigger half to Natalie.

“Thank goodness for people like Samuel in Cabinda. If everyone was scared of Alexander, I don’t even want to think about how this would have ended.”

Natalie nodded in agreement. It was true, without Samuel’s help, finding a venue would have been an absolute headache.

Arianna ate a segment of orange, then gave Natalie a sideways glance. “Hey, Natalie… do you ever get the feeling Samuel might be into you?”

Natalie burst out laughing, shaking her head. “No way. Samuel and I are just friends.” Then she paused, a little worried, and looked at Arianna. “Wait, you don’t think there’s something going on between me and Samuel, right? There isn’t, I swear. Arianna, you like him. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

She sounded almost desperate to explain herself. The truth was, Samuel had only ever been a friend to her. A really good friend, someone she could count on in a crisis. Someone she respected and learned from in business. She honestly just felt grateful to him.

Seeing how worked up Natalie was, Arianna set her orange aside. “Relax. I know you’d never hurt me. I was just saying, Samuel is nice to you, and I honestly think he’s a great guy. Just because I used to like him doesn’t mean you can’t, or that no one else can. I mean it, Natalie, you could give him a shot.”

She smiled a little, her voice softening. “As for me, I’ve let it go. You can’t force these things. Just because I liked him, it doesn’t mean he’s supposed to like me back. That’s not how it works.”

Arianna really had moved on. Now she saw Samuel as her boss, and maybe, if he wanted, as a friend too.

Aaron hesitated for a split second, but he wasn’t about to question his boss. “Yes, Mr. Ramirez.”

The next morning, Natalie finished up her discharge paperwork at the hospital. She waited in her room for Anne, who was supposed to drive her home.

It wasn’t long before Anne came in, her face looking serious.

Natalie didn’t notice. “I’ll be at the auction site tomorrow morning. Let the driver know to pick me up at ten.”

When Anne didn’t answer right away, Natalie looked up and caught her expression.

Anne’s voice was heavy. “Nora, all of our sellers have just pulled out of the deal.”