Chapter 75: Mason Hunter: Haunted

Mason paced around his office, his heart surging with anger at the letter in his hand. Eric had actually quit. The thought seemed surreal. He read the last line again:

“I do hope this leads to a better beginning for both of us.”

“Ingrate,” he muttered through gritted teeth. Rolling the paper into a ball, he tossed it in the trash bin behind the door.

His phone rang, and he picked it up.

“How did it go?” a woman’s voice asked on the other end. “Did you check out the place?”

“I couldn’t look properly,” he replied, anger pumping in his chest. “Ivy was there.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “You met Ivy? I didn’t know she’d be there.”

Mason rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “She was there. And now she had somehow convinced Eric to work for Thomas.”

“That’s impossible! How did that happen?”

“I don’t know,” Mason growled, his free hand curling into a fist. He wanted to destroy something.

“What are you going to do about it?” she asked.

“Don’t worry.” A smirk tugged at his lips. “I already threatened him. He’s not stupid enough to ignore me.”

“I hope that will work,” she said, though her voice was tinged with doubt.

Her tone annoyed him, and he frowned. The last thing he needed right now was her doubting his plan. “It’ll work. Eric is a pussy. He’ll come crawling back.”

“Okay,” she said, impatiently and unconvinced. That intensified his frown. “Any luck on the building owner?”

“I am still working on it,” Mason snapped.

“You have to be quicker than that. We can’t afford any delays.”

He bristled at her commanding tone. “I already said I’m on it. Stop acting like I work for you. We’re in this together. I’ve done seventy percent of everything. All you’re ever concerned about is your fucking tailored suits.”

At least she acknowledged his impeccable taste.

“Successfully unlocked!!” she snapped. “Do what you have to do and stop…”

The anger came in a fit, and he was ready to lash out at her. “I am not your—”

“Call me when everything is set,” she interrupted and hung up.

“Stupid…” he trailed off, stomping his feet. Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his jacket. He ran a hand through his hair and walked to the mini-fridge.

He took out a bottle of fruit punch, twisted the cap off, and took a long sip. When the cold drink hit his chest, it melted away his anger for a moment—until he thought about Ivy again.

He couldn’t believe she had changed. She was so bolder now. Hotter. He could even see that her boobs had grown bigger.

“Focus!” he chided himself as he picked up his phone.

He scrolled through his contacts. Finding the name he wanted, he dialed.

“Any news?” he asked, going straight to the point.

“Yes, sir,” Silver, his guard, replied. “The building owner is Patricia Josh.”

Relief washed over him. He was getting closer, he could feel it. “And the dirt?”

“Sending it over now.”

“Thank you, Silver,” Mason replied, ending the call. He sipped his drink as he imagined Ivy’s face when he was done with her.

Satisfaction raced through him, yet the anger lingered. The look she had given him—it haunted him. The satisfaction in her eyes angered him, but the coldness, the finality in her green eyes, scared him. She no longer loved him, he could see that.

He sipped his drink to wash away the ugly taste of rejection. Ivy was going to pay for everything—for the rejection, for stealing everyone from him.

His phone vibrated, then chimed. He unlocked it and read the message:

“Don’t ever threaten me or my family again, or I’ll tell the whole world about it.”

It was Eric, and that instantly enraged him.

“Bastard!” he snapped, throwing the fruit punch bottle against the wall.

That spineless bastard had the guts to threaten him.

Mason flipped his table, sending all its contents onto the floor. This was Ivy’s doing—he knew it. She had encouraged Eric. He had not only lost his most important employee, he’d also lost him to his rival.

His door opened, and without a knock, Jenny walked in. Her eyes darted around the mess he made.

“What happened here?” she asked.

“Nothing, just needed to destroy something,” he said flatly, gesturing at the empty space his table used to occupy.

Jenny stepped forward, her breasts bouncing in the see-through shirt she wore. She caught him staring and smiled knowingly.

Jenny hesitated, her lips twisting. "The news is doing well, but Ivy's already debunked it on her social media.”

He scoffed. “Social media? That woman has none.”

He had been with her for over a year and dated her for longer. He knew damn well she never had a social media page.

“She does now,” Jenny said with a shrug. “And she just posted a picture of herself and her husband in Fiji.”

“Fiji? I just saw her minutes ago!” He barked, anger swirling in his chest. Ivy was lying to the public now? He wished he took a picture of her earlier.

“Either she flew there immediately after you saw her, or you saw the wrong person,” Jenny said, smiling annoyingly.

He scowled at her stupidity.

“I’ve also prepared Eric’s new payslip, as you instructed,” she continued, oblivious to his anger.

“Don’t bother. He’s not coming back,” he said through clenched teeth.

Jenny’s eyes widened. “Why? He thinks the amount is too small?”

Mason glared at her. He couldn’t believe he had such a dumb blonde for a secretary. “Just leave. And get someone to clean this mess.”

Jenny hesitated, then nodded. She turned and left.

He had barely settled down before she returned again.

“What?” he growled.

“You have a delivery,” she said, stretching out a brown envelope.

His eyes lit up as he collected the envelope. “You may go.”

Jenny hesitated again, biting her lip. “Do… you like my skirt? You didn’t say anything about my look today.”

Mason tilted his head and looked her over. His eyes lingered on her chest; if he wasn’t so edgy and busy, he could have told her to kneel and take his cock in her mouth.

“I’m busy, Jen. Later,” he said softly.

Her smile widened. “Alright,” she said, leaving.

Once he was alone, he opened the brown envelope, his heart pounding with excitement.

“Patricia Josh,” he said out loud as he read.

Patricia had been married to Billy Josh twenty years ago. After ten years, she divorced him and married Freddy Clark. After Billy’s death, Patricia realized they never legally divorced. Instead of moving on as Patricia Clark, she annulled her marriage to Freddy and continued as Billy’s widow, inheriting all his properties—including the one Ivy just bought.

And Patricia had paid a fortune to keep this secret.

“Jackpot,” Mason muttered, flipping to the last page for her number. He dialed and waited.

“Hello?” Patricia answered the call.

“Hello, Mrs. Patricia Josh—or should I say Mrs. Clark?” Mason said, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Patricia gasped. “Who… is this? What do you want?”

Mason chuckled. “I’m Mason Hunter, and I have a lovely proposition for you. As long as you cooperate.”