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“Don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Alexander scoffed, his eyes flashing with irritation. “I’m the boss. How could this hurt your job in any way?”
“The boss and his assistant…” I snapped, cocking a hip. “It never goes right.”
He stood up abruptly, sending his chair skidding backward. Moving around the desk toward me, my heart hammered in my chest like a trapped animal. Every instinct screamed to flee, but I forced myself to stay put, jaw clenched and head held high.
“Olivia,” he said softly, reaching out to stroke my hair. His touch was electric, making my skin tingle with an almost painful intensity. But I refused to let him manipulate me again. With a sharp slap, I knocked his hand away from me.
“Alexander, don’t touch me,” I snapped, my voice firm and steady despite the emotions roiling inside me. “I’m ending this.”
“Is that so?” he murmured, a dangerous glint in his eyes. It was clear that he wasn’t used to being defied, and the thought of standing up to him both terrified and exhilarated me. But I had had enough of feeling like a pawn in his twisted game.
“Damn right, it is,” I retorted, meeting his gaze. “I won’t let you control me any longer.”
He looked at me for a moment, no doubt weighing his options. The air between us crackled with tension, thick and heavy like fog before a storm.
Alexander’s dark, smoldering eyes narrowed as his expression turned furious. I guessed he wasn’t used to hearing no.
I took a step back, but his hand shot out in an instant, gripping my wrist with a vice-like force, pinning me in place. “You don’t get to make that decision,” he growled.
The heat of his breath on my face mingled with the sweat beading at my temples. The scent of his cologne, a heady mix of musk and cedarwood, invaded my nostrils, making it difficult to breathe. As much as I knew this was wrong, that I shouldn’t want this, my body betrayed me, responding to his proximity with an ache that throbbed deep inside.
“Let go of me,” I demanded through clenched teeth, even though I didn’t fight against his hold. My heart pounded furiously in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears like the sound of a war drum. I refused to let him control me any longer; I would fight for my independence, even if it meant going against every instinct screaming for me to submit to him.
“You told me you wanted this.” I didn’t understand why he was so angry. Couldn’t he have anyone he wanted? Was this really about getting the one prize that he couldn’t have? “Now you’re just going to cut it off over a pathetic excuse?” He shook his head, barking out a harsh laugh. “I don’t think so. You aren’t ending this.”
With a sudden burst of strength fueled by anger, I wrenched my wrist free from his grasp, feeling both satisfaction and pain as the red marks left behind began to throb. “Just watch me end it, Alexander,” I spat out, my voice trembling with barely contained rage.
My legs shook beneath me, but I gathered all the courage I could muster and took a step back. Then another. With each step, I felt more liberated, more in control of my own life.
As I turned to storm out of his office, I could practically feel the weight of his gaze on my back—heavy, oppressive, full of need and desire. But I didn’t look back. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me falter. Instead, I held my head high and strode out of the room, leaving Alexander—and what I truly wanted—behind.
Chapter Eight
Olivia
The sharp scent of coffee filled the air as I sat at my desk, scanning through emails and organizing the day’s agenda. Alexander’s office door clicked open, distracting me from the screen. I glanced up as he strode towards me, his broad shoulders framed by the sunlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
It had been a few days since I called off whatever was going on between us, and he hadn’t addressed it since nor had he tried to make a move on me. Everything had been strictly professional between us, to the point that we seemed like strangers.
I hated it.
“Olivia, I have a business trip coming up next week,” he said, a note of anticipation in his voice. “I need you to accompany me.” My heart skipped a beat as I imagined spending days—and nights—with him away from the confines of the office.
But still, I was hesitant. I knew he was my boss, but I had told him that I couldn’t keep doing this. Why was he forcing me to go away with him?
Alexander must have seen the hesitance on my face because he sighed. “I was going to take Ryan from marketing, but his mother is in the hospital. I’m not going to force him to go, but I need a second person, someone I can trust to attend meetings when I can’t be in two places at once. Unfortunately, no one else here would be able to drop their work to attend, but since I am your work, you should be available.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Will that be a problem?”
Yes, I didn’t say to him. This sounded too personal.
I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t. His reasons were perfectly logical and if I took my emotions out of it, I couldn’t deny it made the most sense. Especially since I worked so closely with Alexander.
“And you’ll get your own room,” he added, raising the other eyebrow.
I could see now that he was trying to show me this was purely business. He didn’t want to force me into anything or take advantage of the situation. So, I shoved my feelings down and put my professional face on.
I nodded, pulling out my planner and flipping to the appropriate date. “Where are we headed?”
“New York,” he replied, the corner of his mouth lifting in a knowing smile. He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, tousling it just enough to make me wonder how it would feel between my fingers. “I have lined up several important meetings, so I need you to get everything organized for us.”
