For the past two days, I've been focusing on my son and getting back into my routine. Found him a nice tiny private kindergarten nearby. He gripped my hand that morning, a small rucksack bouncing behind him. Then he saw his new teacher and let go of my hand. He ran to the gates like he had always been there.
"Is that your pup?" He looks great! A mother next to me commented, "I've never seen a child that beautiful," in a voice full of awe.
A gentle smile spread across my lips. My boy. My heart. "Thanks."
He was what kept me going. This is why I couldn't let my past, get in the way of my present.
That following morning, I showed up for work at Bourgeois, one of QR's best design branches. They brought me back from overseas, and my new job came with some great benefits: I had my own office, a bright and helpful assistant named Grace, and the uncommon chance to make special designs just for high-end clients.
People knew that Bourgeois was hard to get into. Each piece was unique and made only for one person. It was good for me. I didn't want to make beauty in large quantities. I wanted to cut stories into stone and metal.
Grace knocked softly and came into my office with a big smile. "Anastasia, coffee."
I nodded and said yes. "Thanks."
Barely two minutes elapsed before she reappeared. "The manager said the meeting is at 3 PM." You might want to get ready since the big boss will be there.
Big boss? I made a face. Wasn't the CEO meant to be an older man?
I still picked up my notes and went to the conference room.
By 3 PM, I was sitting at the end of the long, shiny table. There was a lot of competitiveness and hierarchy in the air. There were designers of all levels in the room. A gorgeous brunette in her twenties with piercing, calculating eyes attracted my attention right away. It said "Alice" on her nameplate. The main designer.
We looked at each other for a moment, and I knew everything I needed to know. There were no friends in this business. Only competitors with pleasant smiles and hidden claws.
I had just started to look at my notes again when the door opened. The sound of footsteps bounced off the stone. It felt like the room got colder.
And then he came in.
The smell of warm cedarwood and frostbitten pine reached me first. My heart skipped a beat. My wolf moved.
Very tall. Under control. In a dark suit that fit perfectly and couldn't hide the sheer power underneath. He moved easily, but every stride sounded powerful. He didn't just go into the room; he claimed it. Sat down in the front row without saying a word, and everyone else did too.
I didn't take a breath.
Because that person wasn't a stranger.
That was Elliot.
I felt the old tie tighten the moment our eyes met. That tie between friends that never really breaks, no matter how far one goes.
The room was full of whispers of curiosity, primarily from the female staff who were looking at him like he was their next fantasy. But for me, there was only quiet, thick and heavy, around my throat.
Was this what he had in mind all along?
To get back into my world with a pen, a suit, and 10 billion dollars?
The wolf that had left had just come back in.
He was suddenly my employer.
Or even worst, my Alpha.
I knew something was coming as soon as Larry Young cleared his throat. The whole room got quiet, like prey sensing danger. He said, "Let me introduce you all to Mr. Elliot Presgrave." "He is presently the chairman and CEO of QR International Group. He will be in charge of Bourgeois from now on. Please offer him a hearty greeting.
Quiet. Then, like a rush of wind, a gasp could be heard throughout the room.
Elliot Presgrave?
Did he buy QR Jewelry?
My heart stopped, and I couldn't breathe for a second. People around me gasped in surprise, but all I could do was look up and meet his eyes. He was already staring at me. He looked like he had been waiting.
Those eyes of his... gods, those eyes. Cutting. Deep and hard to read. The kind that made your instincts flare and your wolf stir with either alarm or wonder I couldn't tell which. Everyone else in the room flinched as he looked at them, but I didn't. I couldn't. Even though something inside me told me it was dangerous, I clutched it.
I should have known this would never end. That no matter how many times I told the Presgrave Family I didn't want to be paid back, they would keep trying. Did I not make myself clear? Or did he come here to make sure I understood?
He focused on Larry. "Let's get started." "You'll be in charge of the meeting." Just like that, his attention changed, yet I could still feel him there. It was like gravity pulling on me. There were papers rustling and quiet conversations in the room, but no one was really paying attention, at least not when Elliot Presgrave was there. Not the women, though. They looked at him like he was the personification of all their forbidden dreams.
He was everything to them: power, money, and danger wrapped up in impeccable suits and the air of an alpha who didn't need to move to take over a room.
I didn't hear anything from the meeting. My heart was beating fast and my mind was racing. He was always looking at me when I looked up. Only me. Not on the agenda. Not the board, though. Me.
And everyone saw it.
Whispers began to spread like vultures, full with jealously and doubt. Why me? Why her? Their eyes were full of suppressed rage. They assumed I had done something to get his attention. They were so wrong, it's sad.
I wanted to yell at him to stop. To search for something different. Any other place. But I didn't say anything. I looked down and counted the minutes till I could leave that room. I wasn't sure I even wanted to keep working here. But the thought of the five-year contract I had just signed kept me in my chair like silver to flesh.
I ran away as soon as the meeting was over.
I walked around my office, stroking my temples as the stress in my chest grew more. Then there was a knock. A gentle caution, but I already knew who it was.
I turned around, and sure enough, Elliot shoved the door open like he owned the place and me. I clinched my jaw.
"President Presgrave, do you need something?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. But I didn't hide the sharpness. I didn't bow my head like a good worker should.
He walked in carefully, like a predator getting ready to attack, and then he sat down in the chair across from me. When he walked in, the air changed, becoming thicker with something old and strong something that was clearly Alpha.
He continued, "We need to talk," and his voice was deep and silky, yet frigid enough to make my skin crawl.
I raised an eyebrow. "About work?"
He didn't look away. "You know I was taken when I was five. Your mom died to save me. She kept me alive. You did it. The Presgrave family owes you money. "Whatever you want, just ask and I'll make it happen."
There it was. The truth, ugly and unpleasant.
That's why he came.
I straightened up, my spine stiff. "She didn't do it for you." She did it because she was in charge. It was her job. You don't owe me anything, and I don't want anything from you.
His jaw got stiff. "I heard you have a kid."
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
He went on slowly, "If you want, I can help raise him.Take care of him. For the two of you. "
I glanced at him in shock.
For a second, just one fast, perplexing heartbeat, I gazed at his face and saw... things that were the same. The shape of his jaw. The way his eyes look. Even how his forehead wrinkled in sullen indignation. My stomach churned, and a chilly knot formed at the bottom of it.
No. It couldn't be.
I said, "Thanks, but no thanks," more firmly than previously. "My son doesn't need anyone else." Not you, though.
And it was the truth. I wasn't going to let someone come in, act like a hero, and try to take over our lives, not even him.
Not even the Alpha, who was already staring at me.