Alpha Kowen
"I want fifty copies of this. Then, make sure that every department head has one." He directed.
"I need you to stay late and finish this." He asked.
"I want you to fetch my coat from the cleaners." He ordered.
"The coffee was not hot enough. It was too strong or not strong enough." He complained.
"Fetch this and that."
"Do this and that."
The list went on.
But no matter what he told her to do, even if it seemed unreasonable or impossible, she did it.
No complaints. No objections. No questions.
Just silent compliance.
Today was no different.
"Get me another coffee. This one is bland and cold." He pushed the cup to her.
Again, she accepted the task without saying anything. But she was not fooling him. Behind that obedient nod and forced smile, he could read exactly what she thought of him.
Arrogant bastard.
Insufferable asshole.
Daunting dictator.
But he couldn't care less what she thought of him. He would do anything to drive her to the edge.
He would do anything to break her until he learned all her secrets.
Her plans. Her motives.
"Proofread this manuscript. I want it done by tomorrow." Pulling the thick brown envelope from his drawer and pushing it into the edge of his desk before shifting his eyes back to the monitor in front of him, not even bothering to look at her.
Then, at last, there it was.
The reaction that he had been waiting for.
Her breaking point.
"Are you insane? Don't you know what time it is?" She blurted, looking between her watch and the document in her hand. "And you want this by tomorrow?"
Her voice lost its timid element. Gone was her submissive stance.
In its place was this woman whom he had not met before.
"You abusive tyrant. You think all the people who work for you are your slaves. You think everyone would just bow to you because you're the fucking CEO."
Bang! Bam! Blog!
All of a sudden, she slammed the envelope back on his table. Not caring if she had knocked off some of his things and sent them flying to the floor.
"Think again. You fucking asshole."
If a look could kill, he would probably be lying in his own pool of blood on the floor.
The way she looked at him. The ferocity of her anger. It was exactly what he was looking for.
For her to lose control.
"Are you done throwing a tantrum, Ms. Pryce?" He asked, completely cool, calm, and collected. In fact, he didn't mind her little outburst.
Finally, she had shown her true colors. Maybe she was precisely who he thought she would be.
A spoiled brat. Entitled heiress. Overindulged princess.
"I'm not throwing a tantrum. I'm just stating a fact." She countered, standing tall before him.
"Well, if you're done stating your fact, then you're free to leave. The door is behind you. This abusive tyrant is not stopping you."
"But before you leave, I hope you'll get your facts straight. You can ask any of my employees if I ever treated them as a slave."
"And one more thing, Ms. Pryce..." He paused, dropped everything he was doing, and turned to her.
His eyes focused on her, studying her.
"I read in your file that you wanted to be an Editor. I just thought... perhaps, I can give you a chance. See if you have what it takes to be one."
Shrugging his shoulders and making a disappointing smile, he turned away and returned to his work. Then, he said. "But I guess you're not interested."
He could feel her gaze boring a hole in his head as she stood before his desk, probably debating whether to leave with her pride intact or swallow it whole.
Finally, she spoke again. This time, her tone was calmer.
Although he still sensed her hostility, at that moment, she tried to hide it.
"If that is a challenge, Mr. Caldwell, then don't expect me to back down." With one last glare, she grabbed the manuscript. "If there is nothing else, I'm going back to work." She turned for the door and never looked back.
A triumphant smile graced his lips as he watched his assistant's back disappear behind the door.
"What did I tell you? Elyana's special." Kael's satisfied voice bounced teasingly in his ears. "She certainly had a backbone to go with the feisty spirit," Kael proudly added.
"Yeah, she's indeed different." He had to admit, he had never met anyone like her. "Normally, no one had the guts to stand against me." But she did.
As much as he wanted to disagree with his wolf, he was right about her.
Either she was incredibly brave or awfully stupid.
Whatever it was, he found her more intriguing. Fascinating.
"Now, Kowen, can we claim her as our mate?" Kael hounded him, howling inside him in a campaign. "Can't you see how perfect she is?"
"Easy there, Romeo." He faced the window and observed the fading light outside. "We still don't know much about her."
Despite the odd connection between them, he could not just let his guard down and declare that woman as his mate.
Not when there was a possibility that she was working for his enemies.
Three hours after office hours, Annie knocked on his door to remind him of the time.
It was late, but he still had paperwork to finish.
Dismissing Annie, he returned to his task, not minding the lateness of the evening.
A few hours later, he finally turned off the lights.
Soon, he passed the hallway on his way to the elevator. But before he could reach it, he noticed the light that was still on in the corner of the room.
Usually, he was the last one working on this floor when he left. But tonight, it was not the case.
"Who's there?" He asked as he approached the table in the farthest corner.
Then, her scent flooded his nostrils before he even saw her.
It was her.
"What the fuck is she still doing here?" He mumbled as he reached her table.
The sight of her surprised him.
Her head slumped on the table, the pages cradled her cheeks, a marker on her left hand, and a pen on her right.
Lips partly opened. Eyes closed shut.
Deep asleep. Gently snoring.
Damn! He had not seen such a beautiful sight.
"Dum, dum!" Kael shouted in his head. "Have you forgotten?" Sounding really irritated. "This is your fault." If his wolf could face palm him, he probably would.
He eventually noticed the document she had been working on. Underneath her cheek was a phrase underlined by a yellow marker. Then, a note of the correction.
"My fault?" Of course, it was not. "I only asked her to do her job. What's wrong with that?" Well, he was not about to admit it. His pride would not let him.
But he could clearly see that she had been working hard to finish the task that he had given her. From what he could see, she had almost finished it.
"Look..." Kael pointed out something on the table.
A half-eaten sandwich.
A pang of guilt struck him at the thought that he might have overdone it. After all, she was just human. Unlike him and some of his employees, she was weak.
Suddenly, she moved. It was a small involuntary shivering, as if she were cold. Instinctively, he took off his coat and put it over her shoulders, hoping she wouldn't get a cold.
"Ok... Maybe, I've gone too far." It pained him to admit it, but he could not help but feel responsible.
"Yeah, you should be ashamed."
"Fine, but cut the crap, Kael." He looked down at the woman who was clearly exhausted. "So, what should we do?"
It was not as if he had been in this kind of situation before. He had no idea what he should do next.
"Offer to drive her home, dum-dum." Again, Kael had to be a jack ass about it.
At that moment, she unexpectedly stirred. Her hands stretched, her head lifted, and her eyes gradually opened.
"Umm!" She groaned as her eyes tried to focus on him.
"Damn! You're much more handsome than in my dreams." She whispered dreamily, as her lips curved into a wide smile.
Fuck!
"Were you just dreaming of me?" He asked, as his eyes studied her face.
"Who are you, Elyana Pryce?"
Before those same beautiful dark eyes widened in shock.