AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I like what you said about finding someone who understands the pressures of the corporate world. My job doesn’t leave much time for dating, so I would need to find someone who can relate to that and who would understand when work emergencies get in the way of one’s personal life.
I’d love to teach you how to cook sometime! I’ve always been passionate about sharing my love of good food.
I see you’re a fan of literature. Do you like the classics? The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book of all time.
Alexa
Alexa read through the message several times before hitting the send button. Butterflies danced through her stomach. She felt… hopeful. Of course, it was stupid to feel hopeful at this point. It was only one message. For all she knew, Victoria could have messaged several dozen other women.
However, she had taken the time to look through Alexa’s profile and make individual comments on it. That was definitely a good sign.
Alexa wondered if Victoria would be as ravishing in person as she was in her pictures. Sure, pictures could be deceiving, but notthatdeceiving. Even if the photos were photoshopped to be shown to their best advantage, that would still leave Victoria above average in the beauty department.
A few minutes later, the phone pinged with another message. Alexa grabbed it, realizing only now that she’d been neglecting her work completely in favor of staring avidly at her phone, waiting for the next message.
I love The Count of Monte Cristo! I read it when I was in high school. I also love Pride and Prejudice, and I even took a shot at Crime and Punishment, though I didn’t manage to finish that one.
If I could learn to cook at least one good meal that doesn’t end in nearly burning down the kitchen, I would be forever in your debt.
I can definitely relate to work emergencies. Speaking of which, I actually need to get back to one. However, I would love to chat to you more this evening, if you’re willing.
Alexa couldn’t suppress a surge of disappointment that she couldn’t keep talking to Victoria now, but she did understand about work emergencies.
I’d love to chat later tonight! Good luck with your emergency – I hope you manage to resolve it.
Thanks. Me too. Chat later.
Later, then.
Alexa put her phone away, realizing that she was smiling. And to think that she’d been considering deleting that message…
Thinking about emergencies, she actually had her own rather urgent issues to get to. She hadn’t expected the St. Clair Foundation to give up that patent without a fight, and sure enough, they were battling viciously against her case to get the patent moved over to her company’s name.
Alexa wanted that patent. It would be a game-changer for her business, and now that Kate could no longer testify, she had a real chance of getting it.
Of course, Alexa wasn’t a monster. She hadn’t been close with Kate, but she was still sorry about what had happened to her.
However, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t use what she had to do the best for her business.
Honestly, Alexa didn’t know if Kate had still been under contract when she had contacted the St. Clair Foundation. The whole issue was murky, but her lawyers had assured her that that murkiness might be enough to sway the jury into ruling in their favor.
Alexa read through some emails, finding herself in grudging admiration of the steps the St. Clair Foundation had taken to avoid her lawsuit. She had to admit, though they were her toughest competitor, they played fair, unlike some others. They never resorted to dirty tactics, and they never ramped the prices of the products they had patented up so high that they were completely unaffordable.
Those were the policies Alexa ran her business with, too, but most businesses nowadays didn’t run that way. It was unfortunate, but that’s life for you. As much as the Foundation infuriated her, she had a grudging respect for it.
However, Alexa was determined to take their place as the top business in the industry. Her ambition had always spurred her to be better—to be the best. That’s how she’d gotten where she was today.
She read through some more emails, getting progressively more and more annoyed. The St. Clair Foundation lawyers were good, she’d give them that. They were throwing up roadblocks in every possible direction.
This wasn’t going to be as simple as she had planned. This wasn’t going to be a matter of months—it was going to be a matter of years.
Alexa groaned, letting her head tilt back against the back of her desk chair. Had she bitten off more than she could chew, taking on the St. Clair Foundation like this?
She was busy reconsidering her life choices when yet another email came in. She was surprised to see the sender: [email protected].
What was their CEO doing messaging her directly? Such matters were best dealt with by their lawyers.
She opened the email, curious about what her rival had to say. She was sure it had something to do with the new motion she had pushed through to the courts just before she startedchatting to Victoria—a motion to resolve this case quickly, based on the loss of potential profit Rossi Corporation suffered every day that patent wasn’t under their control.
