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And does he want me, or doesn’t he?

In a daze, I bent to retrieve my purse from the chair. When I turned, Alexander was waiting for me by the door.

“Laura will be at the reception desk waiting to see you out. Have a good day.”

And with that, he spun on his heel and exited the conference room.

Well, that’s just fine and great, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. If you want to play head games with me, then you’ve met your match.

I was the master at wearing masks.

I quickly put on an expression of disinterest and exited the room, displaying an air of confidence I didn’t genuinely feel. I certainly didn’t need the lovely Laura to walk me out. I would show myself back to the lobby.

I rounded the corner that would take me into the waiting area and made my way toward the leather sofas, walking at a measured pace. So preoccupied with keeping up my façade, I almost collided with a woman coming toward me.

She was strikingly beautiful with long, shiny black hair. She wore a deep purple, high-neck cotton dress that covered her slender frame from head to toe. The only show of skin was from the slit running up the side of her leg. The dress wrapped her body so tightly that she might as well have worn nothing at all.

“Excuse me,” she said impatiently as if she were in a hurry. I quickly moved aside to let her by and continued to the elevators.

Laura called out to me, but I ignored her and kept on walking. I knew I was being petty, but I risked my control crumbling if I opened my mouth. The elevator doors were opened and waiting. I needed to get to them quickly before they closed.

I stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the lobby. I just wanted to go home to think. I needed to figure out how I let all of this happen.

Before the doors slid shut, I spotted Alexander stepping through the door of an office off the waiting room. The beautiful black-haired woman hurried toward him and embraced him in a hug. I sucked in my breath as if I’d been sucker-punched. There was no denying the affection that passed between them.

Alexander looked over the shoulder of the woman. His blue eyes locked on mine.

Why you son of a bitch…

That was all I could think as the elevator doors slowly slid shut.

Chapter Seven

Alexander

Ipaced back and forth in my office like a caged animal, trying to figure out what had come over me. Yes, I wanted Krystina Cole. I wanted her from the first moment I saw her. But that was no excuse. I wasn’t some horny kid who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.

I raked my hands through my hair, disturbed by the fact I had lost my head. It had been so unlike me. I understood the value of finesse, the importance of patience and diligence to achieve the desired result. And I never failed. Yet, Krystina Cole’s stamp was imprinted into my brain, causing me to carelessly push aside any sort of self-restraint and take what I wanted without any regard for the consequence.

I brought a hand up to rub my temple, trying to will away the images of her, but my efforts were in vain. I could still smell the soft scent of her hair. It was like strawberries and cream. The feel of her pulse racing as I held her slight hand in mine. The way her breath hitched when I touched her neck. Her lips, parting ever so slightly, just waiting. Waiting for me to devour her.

And the look of confusion on her face when I so rudely dismissed her…

I’m an asshole.

I needed a do-over—a mulligan.

Intent on rectifying the situation, I quickly strode toward the office door, hoping to catch her before she left. However, when I stepped through the doorway, a very angry Justine Andrews was blocking my path.

“Alexander! I’ve been trying to reach you for days!” Justine snapped. Her eyes flashed angrily as she quickly closed the distance between us. My back went ramrod straight, ready to jump on the defense. I braced for the worst, knowing she had a valid reason for being so irate.

Here it comes—the wrath of Justine. Apparently, I’ve pissed off more than just one woman this morning.

But before I could even think to utter an explanation as to why I hadn’t returned her calls, she threw her arms around my neck, softening my defenses.

That’s when I saw Krystina.

At first, she looked shocked, but then her expression changed to one of angry betrayal. I felt like I had just taken a solid blow to the head. I couldn’t react if I tried. It was as if time were literally standing still.