CHAPTER TWELVE: INCOMPETENT WORKERS AND PESTY PAPARAZZI

Dominique sat at the imposing desk in his lavishly appointed office, the rich leather of his Armani suit creaking slightly as he shifted in his seat. His project manager stood before him, wilted under the weight of Dominic's wrath. The air in the room crackled with tension as Dominique berated the hapless employee.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Dominique's voice thundered through the room, his hand slashing through the air for emphasis. "This file is riddled with errors! We can't afford mistakes like this, especially not with a client as important as this one!"

The project manager stammered, his words barely audible above Dominique's booming voice. "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Castillo. It won't happen again. I'll do whatever it takes to fix it."

But Dominique was not appeased. His face twisted into a mask of anger, his eyes flashing with fury. "You'd better fix it, and fast," he spat, each word dripping with venom. "Or you'll find yourself out on the street before you can blink."

Before the project manager could respond, Dominique's office phone began to ring, shattering the tense silence. With a scowl, Dominique snatched up the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"What?!" he barked into the receiver, his voice a venomous hiss.

On the other end of the line, the timid voice of his assistant spoke up, "Mr. Castillo, it's Lisa. I apologize for interrupting, but there's an urgent matter that requires your attention."

Dominique's jaw clenched, his frustration mounting with each passing second. "Well, what is it Miss Anderson?!" he snapped, his patience wearing thin.

As his assistant relayed the message, Dominique's grip on the phone tightened, his knuckles turning white. "Fine," he growled, cutting off the call with a sharp gesture.

Turning back to his trembling project manager, Dominique's eyes bore into him with an intensity that made the man quiver with fear. "You have until the end of the day to fix this," Dominique declared, his voice cold and unwavering. "And if I find so much as a single mistake, you'll regret it. Now get out of my sight!!"

With that, Dominique dismissed the project manager with a dismissive wave of his hand, his authority unchallenged in the confines of his office. As the door closed behind the trembling employee, Dominique turned his attention back to the documents on his desk.

Dominique's hand paused in its motion to reach for the documents on his desk as his phone rang once more, interrupting the tense atmosphere of his office. With a frustrated sigh, he grabbed the phone, his irritation palpable.

"This had better be important," Dominique grumbled into the receiver, his voice tinged with annoyance. "Or else someone is losing their job today."

But instead of the expected response, a chuckle echoed through the line, causing Dominique's brow to furrow in confusion. "What crawled up your ever brooding behind and died this morning?" the voice on the other end teased.

Dominique's features softened slightly as he recognized the voice of his brother, Nikolas. "What do you want, Nikolas? I'm not in the mood," Dominique replied, his tone less harsh but still tinged with frustration.

"When are you ever in the mood?" Nikolas quipped, his teasing tone evident even through the phone. "Anyways, have you checked the news today?"

Dominique shook his head, a frown forming on his face. "No, why? What's going on?" he asked, curiosity piqued despite himself.

Nikolas's voice took on a more serious tone. "You and Kalina's faces are plastered all over the internet, the blogs, the news, the whole country is buzzing at the information there" he explained. "Check right now."

Before Nikolas could say anything else, Dominique abruptly ended the call, his mind racing with a mix of emotions. He reached for his iPad, fingers tapping impatiently as he navigated to the news websites. His heart pounded in his chest as he scanned the headlines, his eyes widening in shock as he saw the images of himself and Kalina splashed across the screen.

Dominique's eyes narrowed as he peered at the screen of his iPad, irritation coursing through him like a live wire. The audacity of the paparazzi invading his privacy and distorting the truth fueled a simmering anger within him.

Every pixel on the screen seemed to magnify his frustration as he scrolled through the news article, his features contorting with annoyance at the blatant intrusion into his personal life. The image of him and Kalina, twisted by the media's deceitful narrative, only served to exacerbate his irritation.

His jaw clenched as he watched the video footage of the paparazzi swarming Kalina outside her flower shop, bombarding her with invasive questions. The sight of her mortified expression tugged at his conscience, stirring a sense of guilt for inadvertently exposing her to such unwanted attention.

Dominique's fingers tightened around the edges of his iPad, his mind buzzing with anger and indignation. How dare they disrupt his peace of mind with their relentless pursuit of scandal? With a frustrated sigh, he reluctantly tore his gaze away from the screen, knowing that he couldn't afford to be consumed by this distraction when he had pressing matters to attend to with his Chinese investors.

Dominic's fingers tapped impatiently on his Phone screen as he dialed Liam's number. The phone rang twice before Liam picked up.

"Liam, I need you here now," Dominique said, his voice firm and commanding. "Bring two more guys with you and go get Kalina."

Liam's response was immediate and filled with determination. "On it, boss. We'll be there in five."

Dominique's jaw clenched as he hung up, his mind racing with frustration and concern for Kalina, yes he wanted her to pay for being rude and disrespectful to him but leaving her to deal with the paparazzi herself would just be plain evil. He knew he had to act quickly to protect her from the relentless paparazzi.

Dominique's temper flared as he dialed his legal team's number, his frustration boiling over at the damage caused by the invasive media coverage. The phone rang once before someone finally answered, and Dominique wasted no time in getting straight to the point.

"Listen up, all of you," Dominique barked into the phone, his voice laced with authority and anger. "I want those media personnel who posted those pictures and videos of me and Kalina sued into oblivion. I don't care how you do it, but I want them to pay for what they've done."

There was a tense silence on the other end of the line as Dominique's legal team listened intently to his instructions.

"And I mean it," Dominique continued, his voice rising with each word. "If any of you fail to get this done, you're all out of a job. I won't tolerate incompetence. I expect results, and I expect them now."

His words hung heavy in the air as he waited for a response from his legal team. He could practically feel the tension radiating through the phone line as they scrambled to assure him that they would take care of it.

"And make sure my media team is working round the clock to bring down those pictures and videos," Dominique added, his tone brooking no argument. "The damage has been done, but we need to contain it as much as possible."

A cold determination settled over Dominique as he ended the call, knowing that he would stop at nothing to protect his reputation and those he cared about. If his legal team couldn't handle it, he would take matters into his own hands – and they wouldn't like how he handled it.

Dominic's head snapped up at the sound of the door slamming open, his heart pounding in his chest as he braced himself for the confrontation. Kalina stood in the doorway, her eyes blazing with fury and hurt.

"This is all your bloody fault?" she yelled, her voice trembling with anger.