Filed to story: Watch Me Win Alpha (Olivia & Ethan)
“How do you actually feel about Ethan getting married to Chloe? Now that it’s just us two,” she asked, her words drifting through the dark room.
“Let’s put it this way,” I replied in a lazy tone. “I’m thankful that you didn’t tell me before I ate my ravioli because disgusting news like that would have ruined a delicious meal.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Good, I’m glad to hear that. I’m scared that those two assholes are going to cause a lot of problems when they get married…I really don’t want them to negatively affect you.”
“Thank you for thinking of me,” I said.
We were quiet for a few moments, and my eyes fluttered closed.
“You know…” Ava trailed off. “You should give Alexander a chance. He’s so charming and handsome. Honestly, that man looks delicious.”
My eyes flew open, and my cheeks warmed. “He looks delicious? Would he eat me or would I eat him?” I teased, trying to lighten the serious mood. “We wouldn’t fit together. It would be like a gazelle trying to eat a lion in the savannah. It just doesn’t happen.”
She chuckled. “It doesn’t matter who eats who. Not when the feeling comes over you guys. Then, animal instinct takes over.
“
I squinted. “You should focus on your love life instead of mine. You giving me relationship advice is like someone who’s never driven before teaching a Driver’s Education class.”
Even in the dark room, I saw Ava’s cheeks go red.
***
In the morning, my alarm went off, and I groaned. The flight had messed up my routine. I was used to going to bed at three in the morning and waking up at eight to go to work. I shouldn’t feel this tired.
Finally, I dragged myself out of bed. I put on a blush pink blouse, a black skirt, and kitten heels.
Even though I had a late start to the day when I got to the office, I realized I had some extra time to go to the coffee shop next door, Five minutes later, I had a hot black coffee in my hand that was more bitter than my life.
When I entered the office, my heart skipped a beat when I saw that Gai’ s office door was open. That had to mean that Alexander was here. I paused in the middle of the office. I hadn’t expected him to be here so early. Wasn’t he even more tired than I was? I hoped that there wasn’t any leftover tension from last night between us.
I put my coffee down on my desk and comforted myself with the knowledge that I didn’t have to be available twenty-four-seven for this job. I didn’t think I could do that.
“
As I was sitting in my chair, Gai came up to my desk. “Good mor-
She paused when she got a better look at me. “Olivia! You look exhausted. You’ve been working too hard these past few days.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I had done my best to cover up the purple bruises under my eyes and puffy face, but there was only so much makeup could do.
I opened my mouth to complain about Ben, but I quickly shut it when I thought about it further. Could I be implicated in the drugging incident if I reported it? Honestly, I probably could be if it was investigated further. If I omitted that part, then it wouldn’t be worth telling because it wouldn’t showcase how horrible that old man had been.
It was better not to bring it up.
Gai leaned against the edge of my desk and filled me in on what happened when I was gone. Apparently, she had to put out a few metaphorical fires around the office when I’d been away.
I took a sip of my coffee and listened to her as best I could. Honestly, I was trying my best to stay awake. But her next question made me perk right up.
She grew quiet and cleared her throat hesitantly. “So…did the president give you a hard time during the trip?”
My heart slammed against my chest, and a jittery feeling washed over me. And it wasn’t because of the caffeine I had just consumed.
How was I supposed to answer Gia’s question without lying straight to her face?
*Olivia*
I cleared my throat and took another sip of my coffee. “No, he didn’t,” I answered Gai’s question, hoping that my voice sounded steady to her. My eyes narrowed when I noticed that her shoulders seemed to relax slightly. Had she been nervous, I was going to complain? “Does he usually get into trouble when he goes on business trips?”
Gai airily waved her hand. “No, not Alexander. I never have to worry about him. It’s some of the…other’s I worry about.”
“Alexander was the perfect gentleman,” I told her honestly.
He hadn’t been the problem on the trip. It was Ben and the whole fiasco with him.
“Alexander really is a decent guy,” Gai said.
We looked at each other and grinned. I wasn’t sure exactly what aspect of our conversation we were connecting on-and Gai didn’t seem to know either-but it was still nice to connect.
After she left my desk, my morning was hectic, especially since I was sleep deprived. After I got off the phone with an important client, it was time for lunch.
I grabbed my purse and got up from my desk. Alexander and Gai were walking in front of me and talking about work.
My cell phone began to ring, and when I looked at my phone screen, my stomach jolted.
It was Breanna-she used to be my subordinate at the Zenith Group. We used to talk all the time, but after everything that happened with Ethan, we hadn’t kept in touch.
“Hi, Breanna!” I said when I answered the phone.
“Olivia! Hi, how are you?”
“I’m doing well. It’s great to hear from you,” I said and smiled. “How have you been?”
As she chatted about her life, I thought about how great it was to hear from her.
“Listen…would you like to grab lunch with me at Myst Dining at noon?” Breanna asked, her voice sounding a little hesitant for some reason.
That was a spot everyone at my old workplace used to go to a lot. It held a lot of memories for me with Ethan, but I wanted to see Breanna. I glanced at Alexander and Gai. Neither had asked me if I wanted to have lunch with them.
“Sure,” I said. “I would love to have lunch with you.”
“G-great,” Breanna said, her voice much higher than usual. “I’ll see you soon, then.”
I hung up and tilted my head to the side in confusion. Breanna was acting strange.
Then, Alexander turned around, his dark eyes meeting mine. My heart skipped a beat, and my mouth dried as we stared at each other. His gaze was searching, yet expressionless.
His jaw clenched, and his eyes sparked with anger for a moment, but in an instant, it was gone. Did he have a problem with me having lunch with my former subordinate? It wasn’t like he and I had lunch plans.
As Gai, Alexander, and I walked past one of the sales guys, I heard him say my name.
“Yes, Olivia works over at the Zenith Group,” the sales guy said.
Alexander’s whole body tensed, and he glared at me as the three of us stepped onto the elevator.
“You need to make sure everyone in the office knows that you don’t work there anymore,” he hissed.
I nodded, but I wanted to roll my eyes. Why was he such a control freak?
Gai looked between us and tried to lower the tension. “Don’t worry, I can make an official announcement to the office,” she assured Alexander.
But he didn’t say anything in response and remained quiet. I wondered why he was in such a bad mood today. I couldn’t help but feel it had something to do with me.
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?