Husband With Benefits-Chapter 899: Not like her name

What the hell was his problem? Innocensa asked herself for the hundredth time within the last hour.. The man was smoking hot—like, heart-stopping, jaw-dropping hot. Intelligent too, with those piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. Honestly, he was the perfect package. But why on earth did he have such a massive stick up his a**? Sure, it was a very nice a**, but really, the man needed to loosen up.

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding as she watched him disappear into the office, his rigid posture and purposeful stride practically screaming "no nonsense allowed." At least now, she could breathe a little easier and get to know her new colleagues without the human fire-breathing dragon shadowing her every move. His overbearing presence had been bad enough, but it was his look that was making her feel like she was on trial that truly grated on her nerves.

What on earth did her father see in that guy? She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Sebastian Frost, her father, was laid-back to a fault—energetic, charismatic, and the life of every room he walked into. This guy? He was the polar opposite. Buttoned-up and serious to the point of absurdity. Did he even know how to smile? She sighed, shaking her head at her own question. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, he could probably smile, but really, what was his deal?

Finally, as they finished meeting all the members of the team, Dave took her back to the office where the dragon awaited.

She gave him a smile as she entered and received a blank look in return. She was almost tempted to groan and ask Dave how he managed to communicate with that person.

She’d barely taken a seat when Grant bot out, "Why exactly were you sent to us, Ms. Frost?We were assured there would be no interference with our day to day work. So, why exactly the need to integrate into the Frost portflio? Because Canary Tech has no intention of losing its identity and merging into the Frost Industries."

Innocensa blinked, momentarily caught off guard. Interference? She’d barely been here an hour, and he was already making it sound like she was a spy sent to dismantle their operation and acquire them. Yuck. Defensive much?

"Well," she began, keeping her tone light, "I wasn’t aware that my presence would be considered interference." She smiled, trying to ease the tension, though it felt like trying to melt a glacier with a candle. "I’m here to observe and provide any support you might need. That’s all. And that was indeed mentioned in the negotiations. Mr Frost has a few ideas of his own for expansion which he would like for you to ponder over. The two of you agreed to those terms as per the contract."

Grant leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest and Innocensa was a bot distracted. The man had super shoulders and those arms... with the rolled up sleeves.. ’Oops. Get yourself under control, not so innocent, Innocensa.’, she reminded herself in her head as the man said flatly. "We don’t need support."

"Right," she replied, forcing herself to maintain eye contact and not stare at all those sexy veins showing on his hands and arms. "And I don’t need coffee to function, but it sure makes life easier."

She was almost certain the man came dangerously close to laughing, but with that stiff, unreadable face of his, it was hard to tell.

Thankfully, the much more affable partner chimed in, breaking the tension, "Ines, we honestly thought the Frosts might send someone to oversee our operations. We just didn’t expect to be sent one of the Frosts." His emphasis on "the" was subtle, but it carried enough weight to make Innocensa chuckle.

"Well," she said, "we prefer a more personal touch when it comes to laying the groundwork. Later, there might be a manager stepping in to oversee things. But, we like to handle the foundations ourselves." She paused for effect, letting her words sink in before adding with a playful smirk, "Besides, there are plenty of us Frosts to go around. We’re practically a small army."

Dave laughed at that. It was true actually. It was difficult to go anywhere in the business world without encountering a Frost. And the new generation seeemed to be getting in different things too. They definitely were an army. "So, why don’t you tell us about what your role is going to be here."

Ines paused. This was to be expected. They were wary of her and yet, they were trying to play it off. "Think of me as...an intermediary. Someone who can bridge the gap between the higher-ups and the day-to-day operations. The Frosts have promised you two things when we bought the stake. Investment for scaling the operation with R&D and access to new markets."

"You have already received the investment and I will only be acting as a supervisor in that area. My job mainly at this time is to help open up the new markets for your product as well as get feedback for improvisation. Your market scale is good. But it needs to be much wider if you want to establish that. This is the plan I have in mind."

With that, Innocensa focused on her work and presenting her ideas and plan for the future ahead.

Finally, as she was done, she breathed a sigh of relief and finished," I am open to any ideas that you might have about any of these proposals. I’ve sent them to your official email id’s.

Dave looked at Ines and shook her hand, this time his words much more genuine than they had been in the last hour," You’ve got some terrific ideas, Ines and I can see that our team would be much more impressive with you here. We’ll get back to these as soon as possible. Thank you."

Ines smiled and shook his hand before turning to look at Grant, who simply nodded and left the room. However, as she watched the man’s receding back( okay, she was checking out his ass... dam* she was obsessed), she knew she’d passed whatever test he had in mind.