Chapter 166
The air inside the luxury sedan turned thick with tension.
Nathan's jaw clenched visibly, his stormy gaze locked onto Evelyn. His lips pressed into a thin, disapproving line.
With no audience to perform for, Evelyn didn't bother maintaining their usual facade of civility. To her, Nathan Blackwood had forfeited any right to forgiveness long ago. She treated complete strangers - Sebastian Hart, Lucas Sterling, Donovan, even Julian Moreau - with more warmth than she'd ever show him.
Evelyn lounged carelessly in her seat, waiting for Nathan to take the hint and leave.
Her car wasn't some public space where just anyone could linger. Especially not Nathan Blackwood! A full sixty seconds ticked by with him stubbornly remaining in place.
Her brows knitted together in irritation. Was he being deliberately obtuse? Just as she prepared to verbally evict him, Nathan finally spoke, his voice like ice cracking.
"Evelyn, are you certain you won't attend the event with me?" Absolutely certain, she thought.
Before she could voice this, Bennett cleared his throat meaningfully beside her.
Nathan gave a humorless chuckle. "Though you've purchased those five percent shares of Celestial Media from me, the paperwork remains unsigned."
"We can consider the deal void if you're unwilling." Evelyn's eyes widened. What fresh hell was this?
Bennett winced, then explained hurriedly, "Ms. Sinclair, I was just about to mention this detail."
"Mr. Blackwood did agree to the share transfer, but the final signatures are still pending." Evelyn inhaled sharply through her nose, shooting her assistant a withering look.
Why hadn't he mentioned this crucial detail sooner? Bennett ducked his head, wisely avoiding her glare. Nathan's lips quirked in a smirk that would make lesser women swoon.
He drummed his fingers twice against the window frame, waiting.
One heartbeat. Two. Then he turned sharply on his heel.
"Wait!" The word escaped Evelyn before she could stop it. Nathan paused mid-step. She closed her eyes briefly, fists tightening before addressing Bennett through gritted teeth.
"Why haven't you opened the door for Mr. Blackwood yet?" Bennett scrambled to obey, opening the rear passenger door with excessive politeness.
"Mr. Blackwood, if you please." Nathan's back remained turned, but the ghost of a satisfied smile flickered across his face before vanishing. Without ceremony, he slid into the leather seat.
The moment he entered, her signature Chanel No. 5 enveloped him - that distinctive blend of floral and aldehydic notes that was so quintessentially Evelyn. Strangely, the scent he usually found cloying on other women seemed to suit her perfectly.
Evelyn examined the documents in her lap. Sure enough, Nathan's signature was conspicuously absent from the transfer papers.
Her lips thinned as she regarded him coolly. "Mr. Blackwood, why are you divesting from Celestial Media? And why now?" Surely the Blackwood fortune wasn't so depleted that he needed to liquidate assets.
Nathan studied her guarded expression, the perpetual distrust in her eyes. Would she ever believe he could act without ulterior motives? Wordlessly, he took the documents from her, scrawled his signature with a flourish, and handed them back.
"Satisfied?" Evelyn stared at the bold ink strokes, momentarily transported back to their divorce papers - signed with that same decisive finality. She blinked away the memory, her expression turning arctic.
"Ensure Mr. Blackwood receives payment immediately," she instructed Bennett, who nodded vigorously. No debts between them, no lingering connections.
Evelyn's smile didn't reach her eyes as she changed subjects. "You know what I'm planning to do about Cassandra Delacroix, don't you? I'd have thought you'd show her more leniency, given her... devotion to you. But then, you've never been kind to women who love you."