Filed to story: Watch Me Win Alpha (Olivia & Ethan)
“Can I talk to you outside on the terrace?” he asked in a formal voice.
I nodded and followed him outside. Anxiety made my heart slam against my chest. Why was this feeling similar to being called into the principals office? Outside, the cool, fresh air helped clear my head. I closed my eyes and breathed it in, trying to prolong the moment of when I would need to look at him again.
When I reluctantly opened my eyes, he was staring at me with an unreadable expression.
“Please, say what you came here to say,” Alexander said and gestured for me to sit down on one of the blue patio chairs.
Even though my legs were trembling with nervous energy, I sat down and let out a long sigh. Then, I put my heart’on my sleeve for Alexander to see even though it scared the hell out of me.
“Listen, I know that the only reason that Ava and I were successful this weekend, and even in the past, was because of your help from the sidelines. I know that you don’t want to take credit for it, but that just makes your help mean so much more to me because you don’t want me to feel like I owe you.” I paused and looked out at the bright city lights. “But I couldn’t ignore the help that you have given me anymore. I just… wanted to thank you.”
The whole time I was talking, Alexander stared at me, not betraying any emotion on his face. “And you thought that the way to thank me was with a bottle of wine?’ he asked dryly.
My palms began to sweat. “Well, that’s just the start of it,” I explained quickly. “I know that it’s not enough, but I didn’t have anything else at my immediate disposal. I know that you’re a man who doesn’t want much, so all I can do is promise to work my ass off for you while we work together.”
I held my breath as I waited for his response.
*Olivia*
Olivia, how could you thank me properly for doing your job Alexander pointed out and crossed his arms. “Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the paycheck that I give you each week? Shouldn’t you always strive to be a good employee?”
As he stared unblinking at me, a hot blush spread like a forest fire through my body. Of course, why hadn’t I thought of that? Alexander always messed with my logic. I hadn’t gotten the image of him dripping wet and wrapped in a towel out of my mind. That picture was burned into my brain and definitely messed with my ability to think clearly.
All I could do was stare at him speechless, trying to come up with another way that I could repay him for all of the help that he had given me. But my mind was sluggish. It felt like someone had filled it with mush. My shoulders slumped, and I decided that the only thing I could do was be honest with him.
“I “I know that I owe you way more than I could ever repay you,” admitted in a soft voice. “But other than a bottle of wine and my promise to be a great employee, I don’t know what else I can give you.” Alexander leaned away from me and steepled his fingers together- something he always did when he was thinking. “There are always other ways that you can repay me.” He raised his eyebrows, and my stomach lurched. Was he implying that I repay him with my body? Before I could overthink things, Alexander continued. “But, there’s no need to repay me, Olivia. I didn’t help you because I wanted to be repaid. I didn’t even want you to be aware of my help. I did it because I saw that you were struggling, and I wanted to take some of the burden off of you. It’s as simple as that.”
His words made the pressure in my chest loosen slightly. “How are you so good at knowing exactly what I’m thinking?” I murmured.
Alexander’s face softened, and he put his warm hand on my thigh. I
Charges 245 was wearing shorts, and his hot skin against my bare leg made my pulse quicken. “Please, Olivia. Stop trying to figure out ways to repay me. I’m more than satisfied with the knowledge that I helped you. Please believe me when I say that is more than enough for me.”
We were slowly leaning in toward each other, but we jumped away when the balcony door swung open, and Mike walked out with a platter full of freshly cut fruit and clotted cream. “Dessert,” he announced proudly.
Alexander and I mumbled thank you. Mike seemed to sense the tension between us and made a hasty exit, closing the door behind him.
“I just wanted you to know that I would never ask you to pay me back with… your body,” Alexander said, referring to my confusion last night.
When I met his dark eyes, he held my gaze, picked up a strawberry, dipped it in the cream, and then slowly fed me the fruit. The sweetness exploded into my mouth, and I couldn’t stop myself from moaning at the taste. I slowly ate the strawberry, and Alexander’s warm fingers touched my lips. His hot skin was such a contrast to the cold cream that my stomach jolted. I couldn’t believe that after the awkwardness during dinner, Alexander was now feeding me fruit. How had things changed between us so quickly? But wasn’t that always the case because of his mood swings?
“Will you taste test one of the grapes for me?” Alexander said, picking up a green grape and putting it near my mouth. “I don’t want to eat them if they are too sour.
I opened my mouth for him to place it on my tongue. I shifted slightly in my seat as his warm finger brushed my lips again. I never knew how intimate having someone feed me could be. When I bit into the grape, the sour flavor exploded into my mouth, making me shudder, even though it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. I tried to hide my reaction, though, wanting to pull a little trick on him.
“The grapes are sweet,” I said after I swallowed.
“You little liar!” he said and smiled. “I wanted to see if you would try to pull one over on me. I happened to know that those grapes are genetically enhanced to be very sour. Mike grows them as a temporary cure for facial paralysis.”
Before I could scold him for tricking me, the balcony door swung open again. Mike was carrying a tray with two bowls full of vanilla ice cream. After he set it down, he brushed off his hands. “Have you tried the grapes. Olivia? I grew them myself”
Even though I hadn’t liked them. I didn’t want to hurt Mike’s feelings. but I also didn’t want to lie to him. To avoid answering, I picked up a bowl of ice cream and quickly put a spoonful in my mouth. “Wow,” I said after I swallowed my first bite. “This ice cream is delicious.”
“Good, I’m glad,” Mike said. Then, he looked at Alexander. Something passed between the two men. Mike nodded and then left, making sure to close the door behind him.
I wanted to ask Alexander what that was about, but he picked up his own bowl of ice cream, and a quiet moan escaped his lips after his first bite, distracting me. As we enjoyed our dessert, a warm feeling spread in my chest, despite the cold treat. It was nice to enjoy this time with Alexander. With work and the drama with Chloe, we hadn’t had much downtime together. When we finished with our ice cream, it felt like the right time to deal with something else that had been bothering me.
“Listen, for the sake of our work life and working relationship, can we please just put the past behind’us? I’m sorry for my part in our misunderstanding, and I’m truly sorry for hurting your feelings last night,” I said.
After I was done, I waited with bated breath for his reaction. The ice cream that I just ate churned uncomfortably in my stomach.
I froze in shock when a genuine smile bloomed across Alexander’s face. “That sounds good to me. Why don’t we close this
I opened my mouth to agree but closed it when Alexander’s eyes glanced down at my lips. Was there a hidden meaning behind his words? Did he want more than I could offer him?
I shook my head to clear it, telling myself that I was just being paranoid. I nodded my head, agreeing to his deal.
“Let’s shake on it.” Alexander said and smirked.
I tilted my head, trying to figure out if he had an ulterior motive. But he held out his hand for me to shake, and I had no choice but to put my hand in his warm grasp.
“It’s a deal,” he murmured, holding on to my hand longer than necessary.
“It’s a deal,” I repeated in a breathless voice, wondering what the hell I had just agreed to.
*Olivia*
Soon after, I told Alexander that I really needed to get home to finish my laundry. I rushed out of his apartment, and as I rode the elevator back to my floor, my mind swirled with thoughts.
When I got back into my apartment, I quickly threw my dirty clothes into the washer. Then, I turned on the shower so that it could heat up. As my bathroom mirror began to heat up with fog, I thought about how I could solve two difficult problems.
I was just tossing my shirt to the ground when someone knocked on my door. Then, my phone buzzed with a text. It was Mike informing me that Alexander told him how much I liked his special grapes, and now he was going to drop a bowl full of them off at my apartment.
I groaned. Alexander knew full well that I hadn’t liked the grapes. This was just his way of messing with me. I turned off the shower and hurried to answer the door, knowing that Alexander wouldn’t leave me alone until I had taken the grapes. Right before I reached for the handle, I looked down and saw that I was dressed only in my red, lacy bra.
I blushed and ran back to the bathroom to put my shirt back on. That would have been really embarrassing. As I ran back out of the bathroom, Alexander knocked again. I rolled my eyes at his impatience but increased my speed so he wouldn’t wake up everyone on my floor. When I started to breathe heavily, I knew that I needed to do more cardio if simply going back and forth made me huff and puff this much.
When I finally opened the door, I was panting, and I had to put one of my hands on my knees.
Damn, I couldn’t believe that I was this out of shape.
Alexander stood there holding a large blue bowl. As he took in my red face and the way that I was sucking in air, his eyes widened by a fraction of an inch.
“Did I interrupt your late at home workout?” he asked, humor dripping through his voice.
My spine straightened, but I tried not to let my face get any redder. I didn’t want him knowing that I had gotten out of breath from answering the door. I would never hear the end of it. “Yes, I was just doing some cardio before I showered for the night.”
From the large smirk on his face, I could tell that he didn’t believe m lie.
I didn’t care. I wanted to be alone. I reached for the grapes. “Thanks for bringing these. I should really get back to it…”
I trailed off when Alexander leaned back, refusing to hand me the grapes.
My eyes narrowed. What was he up to?
“Thanks?’ That’s all I get for generously offering to bring you the grapes?” he asked, his eyes dancing with humor.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I wanted to point out that this was hardly a favor for me because he knew that I didn’t really enjoy the overly sour grapes. But I was trying hard to work at starting a new
“Thank you for the grapes,” I said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “Would you like to come inside, Alexander?”
His smirk just grew wider as he stepped into my apartment. “I would love to.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?