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CHAPTER 8
Alexander
She’s actually here.
When I spoke to her yesterday, a part of me believed she wouldn’t show up. Katerina’s never done anything she didn’t want to. Strong-arming her is impossible and yet she showed up. I’m pretty sure it’s because of guilt.
She stands far from me, still staring. My eyes roam over her, cataloguing every detail of her face, spotting any differences or changing. I had every inch of her memorized once before. I thought I knew everything about her. I was dead wrong.
Her curly blonde hair flows past her shoulders, rounded full lips that I know for a fact are pink but she’s painted them a deep red color today, making her appear even more dangerous. She has a petite nose, straight and I know for a fact that her nose is pierced, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the piercing’s closed up by now out of unuse. I was the one that dared her to get the piercing after a drunken night out in college.
Katerina’s 5’7 with average sized breasts and a cute little ass. She has a scar on the inside of her palm, that’s as long as a needle. When I first saw it she informed me it was from an incident of her falling from her bike. When the truth came out, she revealed she’d gotten the scar from getting injured playing with knives as a kid.
That’s how our entire relationship was. For most of it, she lied to me with her every breath. By the end of it I was too in love with her to even imagine letting her go, despite it all. But she left anyway. In all the time I’ve been alive, I don’t think I’ve ever met any woman as beautiful as her.
I’ve also never hated anyone as much as I hate her.
Slowly, I rise to my feet and she finally walks towards me. She’s wearing a cream two piece outfit, a shirt and a flared skirt. Her hips swings as she approaches, brown eyes never wavering, not a hint of emotion behind them.
She stops at the table in front of me and there’s a tense moment as we both stare at each other. Finally I clear my throat.
“Hello, Mrs. Mincetti. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say, stretching my hand for a shake.
Her eyes narrow, she doesn’t make the same move on her part. I retract my hand and smirk.
“Yeah, it was hard to get the words out too,” I mutter, lowering myself into the chair. “Sit down, Katerina. We need to talk.”
There are no need for pleasantries. Not between us. She cocks an eyebrow, probably debating between obediently sitting or standing just to prove a point. The point being that she takes no orders from anyone.
Damn strong willed, stubborn ass woman. I used to love that about her. Now all it fills me with is irritation. Finally, she takes a seat across from me. The area is empty, with only the worker manning the bar in sight. I can always call for a waiter to bring us anything but we’re not here for refreshments, we’re here to speak.
“Why did you call me, Xander?” she asks, getting straight down to business.
I raise her finger for her to pause, shaking my head.
“Xander’s reserved for my close family and friends. You can call me Alexander or Mr. Steele.”
Her jaw clenches. “Alright, Alexander,” she states. “How may I help you?”
“I’d just like to start by saying that if there was any chance in the whole world that I could do what I wanted without going through you, I would do it. Neither of us wants to be here. Me much less than you. But I’m in a critical situation. Also, I’m not here to ask for your help, I’m here to make a deal.”
She shifts in her seat, slight intrigue in her eyes.
“What deal?”
“First things first, it seems like you’re getting a little power hungry, princess. You’ve been going after some people, particularly a few senators in D.C. Senators who are close to my family. I need you to back off.”
Katerina smiles. It’s a smile devoid of any warmth. It doesn’t even reach her eyes. I suddenly remember the sound of her laugh, the way her eyes would crinkle. I spent a long time thinking about that, missing the sight of it. Longer than I’ll ever admit.
“That’s not happening,” she says simply. “Next.”
Instead of arguing or trying to sway her, I move swiftly until the next topic. There’ll be time for that when all the terms have been laid out.
“My company’s launching a new branch here in New York. At the same time it’s also launching a product meant to change the face of technological security. I can’t go into the details but it’s good stuff, expected to make us millions.”
“And this concerns me how?” she questions, appearing bored.
“You’re familiar with Colton industries?” I questions.
