Alpha Marked By A Ruthless Enigma (BL) Chapter 23 - 22: The deal is signed

The next day, Julius woke up like a baby in Harrison’s bed.

For a mont, he just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

The room was quiet, too quiet, and the sheets slled like Harrison’s scent. Clean, cold, controlled.

Harrison had slept in another room.

Julius had taken over his bed without asking, and sohow that fact didn’t bother him as much as it should have.

Harrison woke up earlier than him.

He went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast himself, rolling up his sleeves as he moved between the counter and the stove.

The maid walked in and paused the mont she saw him.

Her eyes went wide with surprise.

"Sir, do you need anything?" she asked carefully.

Harrison didn’t look up from what he was doing.

"I want to cook breakfast today."

The maid was shocked.

In all the years she had worked here, this was the first ti sothing like this had happened.

She had never seen him step into the kitchen like this before.

"Sir, can I assist you?" she offered.

Harrison’s answer was imdiate.

"Leave."

She didn’t hesitate.

She bowed once and left the room imdiately, closing the door behind her.

When Julius finally woke up, he walked out of the bedroom.

His hair was still damp from the shower.

He had found clean clothes waiting for him, his exact size, like Harrison had prepared everything ahead of ti.

The first thing he saw was Harrison standing by the table, arranging plates of breakfast like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Julius froze in place.

"What are you doing?"

Harrison didn’t look up from the table.

"Are you going to walk here yourself," he said calmly, "or do you want to carry you?"

Julius rolled his eyes hard.

"You really have a way to annoy soone first thing in the morning."

He walked over and sat down opposite Harrison without saying anything else.

The food looked good, better than he expected.

That surprised him.

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

The sound of forks against plates filled the space between them.

Julius kept his focus on his food, refusing to look up.

Then Harrison spoke.

"What are your plans for today?"

Julius didn’t bother to look up.

"Why should I tell you my plans? We’re not that close."

Harrison leaned back in his chair, watching him.

"Do you want to call your secretary then?"

Julius finally looked at him directly.

"You’re so annoying."

A few seconds passed in complete silence.

The tension between them hung heavy in the air.

Then Julius spoke again.

"I have an important eting today."

Harrison tilted his head, studying him.

"How important?"

Julius t his gaze without backing down.

"Very important."

Harrison smile, the kind that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"Oh. At least you have the conscience to say that."

Julius frowned at him.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Nothing," Harrison replied smoothly.

"It just reminds I have sothing important to do too."

They finished breakfast without much conversation.

Julius stood up first, grabbing his jacket.

He left for the office without looking back.

Inside the car, Julius leaned against the seat and closed his eyes.

His mind should have been on the eting ahead.

The partnership.

The contract they had been chasing for three years.

But all he could think about was last night.

The mont their lips t.

The heat that burned through him.

The way Harrison carried him like he weighed nothing.

The cold water.

The pill he had swallowed without question.

Julius clenched his jaw.

Everything about that man was irritating.

"Sir, we’re here."

The driver’s voice cut through his thoughts and snapped him back to reality.

Julius opened his eyes and stepped out of the car.

His assistant, Sarah, was already waiting at the entrance.

She opened the door for him the mont he approached.

As they walked inside together, she spoke.

"Everything is ready, sir."

Julius nodded once, his face serious.

They moved through the lobby toward the elevator.

Sarah continued, "We haven’t opened the mail yet. The last two responses we received from them were negative."

Julius’s expression hardened.

"This will be the last one we open from them.

If they reject it again, we move on to sothing else."

"Yes, sir," Sarah replied.

The eting room was already filled when they arrived.

All the shareholders were sitting around the long table.

So were talking quietly, others reviewing docunts.

The mont Julius walked in, the room went silent.

Everyone’s attention turned to him.

He moved to his seat at the head of the table and sat down without a word.

The mont he settled, he spoke.

"Open the docunt."

Sarah stepped forward imdiately.

She moved to the front where the projection screen waited and opened the digital file.

Then she froze completely.

Her eyes went wide as she stared at the screen.

"Sir... they signed it."

The room went dead silent.

One of the shareholders leaned forward in his chair.

Confusion crossed his face.

"Signed what?" he asked.

Sarah looked up from the screen, her voice shaking just a bit.

"They signed the docunt.

They agreed to partner with Vane Global Holdings."

Julius wasn’t surprised.

His face stayed calm, controlled.

He had expected sothing, but not this.

"Bring it to ," he said.

Sarah walked over and handed him the printed docunt.

Julius took it and read through every page himself.

Everything was complete.

Every detail was there.

Every signature.

Every official stamp.

Nothing was missing.

He went quiet for a mont, his eyes scanning the pages.

The room fell into heavy silence as everyone waited for him to say sothing.

Then Sarah spoke again, her voice cutting through the tension.

"Sir... that’s not all."

Julius looked up from the docunt.

"What else?"

"They attached another mail," Sarah said carefully.

One of the shareholders spoke imdiately, his tone sharp.

"Read it out.

We need to know what it says."

Sarah shook her head firmly.

"This mail is addressed to the CEO only.

No one else is allowed to open it."

That shocked everyone in the room.

Confusion spread across their faces.

"How can we see one docunt and not the other?" soone asked.

Julius extended his hand toward Sarah.

"Give it to ."

Sarah handed him the sealed envelope.

Julius took it without hesitation and tore it open.

The mont Julius read the first line of the mail, his expression changed completely.