Page 38 of King of Pride

As the minutes passed, his annoyance gradually turned into impatience. The longer Rose ignored him, the more irritated he became. He couldn't understand how she could simply walk away from him and refuse to call.

Had she really changed this much overnight?

Nearly an hour passed before the door to his office opened.

His best friend, Terrence Page, walked in.

Like Ivan, Terrence worked at his father’s company as a senior director and was expected to take over the business one day. Dressed in a dark suit, he took one look at Ivan sitting behind his desk and immediately noticed where his attention kept drifting.

Ivan tapped the screen again, checking for something that clearly wasn't there.

Terrence watched him for a moment before a loud bark of laughter escaped him.

“Are you waiting for a call from Rose?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Or are you waiting for a call from your ex-girlfriend?”

Ivan’s face immediately tightened.

He lifted his head and shot Terrence an irritated look as his friend walked farther into the office and settled into the chair across from him.

“I don’t have any relationship with Jessica,” Ivan said flatly. “Stop exaggerating everything.”

Terrence immediately scoffed.

“Do you actually believe that yourself?” Terrence asked, staring at him. “Have you already forgotten what happened that night?”

He shook his head.

“You called your ex-girlfriend and went out of your way to get Jessica to that party. You were so eager to have her there that you even sent a car to pick her up.”

A disbelieving smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“And then you called several of our friends and insisted they invite her themselves. Everyone saw how badly you wanted her there.”

He paused, watching Ivan’s expression.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if word got back to Jessica that you were practically begging everyone to invite her.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“So you really expect me to believe you were doing all of that for no reason?” He gave a short, humorless laugh. “The way you were acting that night, I honestly thought you were going to propose to her again.”

Ivan slammed his phone onto the desk with a loud clatter, irritation flashing across his face.

“I already told you. You’re overthinking it.” His voice turned sharp. “I wanted all of our friends there after so many years. Jessica had just returned, and I wanted to make sure she didn’t miss the party. That’s all. There was nothing more to it.”

He leaned back in his chair, his jaw tight.

“Stop reading into everything.”

Terrence drew a slow breath, clearly trying to rein in his frustration. Then he pushed himself to his feet and walked around the desk.

He stopped beside Ivan, planting both hands on the edge as he leaned forward.

“Ivan, let’s be clear about something.”

His voice was firm.

“No man—I mean no fucking man—calls almost all of his friends and asks them to invite his ex-girlfriend to a party when he has already personally invited her and sent her a million-dollar piece of jewelry.”