The CEO and the Country Wildflower chapter 72

[adminnovelsaudio]

Listen Audiobook Version:



The CEO and the Country Wildflower
Chapter 72: The Unspoken Confession


The office buzzed with the aftermath of Leo Brown’s downfall, but for Lucas and Emelly, the victory felt hollow when a new legal threat from Brown Group loomed over York Group. The board demanded an immediate response, forcing the two to set aside their playful bickering and work together—something neither was entirely prepared for. Emelly sat across from Lucas in his office, her fingers drumming impatiently on the polished mahogany desk. "So, let me get this straight," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You want me to draft the legal counterargument because you think I’ll ‘annoy them into submission’?" Lucas leaned back in his chair, the ghost of a smirk playing on his lips. "Your words, not mine. But yes. If anyone can weaponize stubbornness, it’s you." She threw a crumpled sticky note at him, which he dodged effortlessly. "You’re insufferable." "And yet, here you are." His voice dropped, the teasing edge softening. "Because you’re the only one I trust with this." The air between them thickened, the unspoken weight of his words hanging heavy. Emelly swallowed hard, her cheeks warming. Before she could retort, her phone buzzed—a forwarded email from Linda, leaked to the entire department, mocking Emelly’s "country bumpkin" roots and her sudden closeness to Lucas. Lucas’s expression darkened as he read it over her shoulder. "Ignore her," he muttered, but Emelly was already on her feet. "Oh, I won’t ignore her," she said sweetly, fingers flying over her keyboard. "I’ll just remind her that she’s the one who mixed up the merger files last month. Publicly." Lucas watched, equal parts exasperated and impressed, as she sent a scathing reply—cc’ing the entire executive team. Meanwhile, across town, Bruno and Serritary navigated their own delicate dance. Their arranged marriage had begun as a cold transaction, but lately, stolen glances and accidental touches had sparked something neither expected. Bruno found himself lingering at breakfast, making excuses to stay in the same room as her. Serritary, ever the mischievous heiress, teased him mercilessly—hiding his favorite tie, replacing his coffee with decaf—but the way her laughter filled the house made his chest tighten in a way he couldn’t explain. That evening, as they sat in tense silence over dinner, Bruno finally broke. "Why do you keep sabotaging my coffee?" Serritary smirked. "Because your face when you realize it’s decaf is priceless." He sighed, but the corner of his mouth twitched. "You’re impossible." "And yet," she echoed Lucas’s earlier words, her eyes glinting, "here you are." Back at York Group, Tony was in full panic mode over Jane’s birthday. He’d enlisted Emelly’s help, but his plan—a surprise rooftop dinner—was unraveling by the second. "What if she hates heights?" he fretted, pacing Emelly’s cubicle. "She doesn’t." "What if she’s allergic to the flowers?" "She’s not." "What if—" Emelly grabbed his shoulders. "Tony. Breathe. She’s going to love it." He exhaled shakily. "Right. Okay. I just… really like her." Emelly softened. "I know." As night fell, Lucas and Emelly found themselves alone in the office, the legal documents finally submitted. The tension between them was palpable, a charged silence neither dared to break—until Lucas reached for her hand. His migraine, which had been pounding relentlessly all day, vanished the moment their fingers touched. Emelly didn’t pull away. "You’re still insufferable," she whispered. Lucas’s thumb brushed over her knuckles. "And yet," he murmured, "here you are." Summary of Chapter 72: Lucas and Emelly are forced to collaborate against Brown Group’s legal threat, their banter masking deeper feelings. Emelly retaliates against Linda’s humiliation with her signature wit. Bruno and Serritary’s arranged marriage shows signs of genuine affection through playful teasing. Tony spirals over Jane’s birthday plans, while Lucas and Emelly share a charged moment, their unspoken emotions simmering beneath the surface. The chapter ends with them holding hands, the world around them fading into silence.