Evergreen: An Alpha Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

  Before I could even make it to the door Arsen stepped in and closed it behind him. “Did you... find all that you were looking for on the computer?”

  I gulped and nodded. “I’ll just be leaving now”

  When I tried to walk past him he grabbed my wrist and I felt myself being pushed against the wall. I gasped and looked up at Arsen who was now hovering over me. I could tell by the look on his face that I was caught and this wasn’t going to be easy.

  “You know, it’s really not polite to go through people’s emails. You don’t have the right” He spat.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking abo-” I mumbled and was quickly cut off.

  “Don’t play stupid with me, Lola. I was standing in the doorway the entire time” he scoffed.

  “Arsen, I swear-” I was cut off again.

  “I know what you saw on that computer and you don’t know how much trouble you’re in now, Lola. But you don’t seem like the type to be a loud mouth about these type of things so I’m considering letting you go” after he said that I felt so much relief. He smirked down at me and backed away slowly. “Just know that if you run your mouth about anything, you’ll end up like that woman’s husband. Unlike his situation, your family won’t have the fortune of ever finding your body”

  That was oddly a turn on. Not the fact that he would kill me, but the way he was so serious. Not once did he crack a hint of a smile, his face showed zero emotion. Almost as if he was heartless. No man has ever talked to me in that tone of voice and it gave me a bit of a rush. Feeling myself shake in fear and pleasure, I bit down on my lip and nodded in agreement. He flashed a look of confusion as his eyebrows knitted together, he was clearly confused about my reaction. I for once felt… submissive and I liked it too.

  “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home. You can grab your things from the bottom of the stairs.” He turned and left the room, and I followed after him like a lost puppy shortly after. It seemed as if the hallway grew longer with every step I took. The tension was so heavy and the air was so thick that I found myself almost out of breath. I fanned myself to try to calm down.

  Once we made it down the stairs I grabbed the bag with my things in them and slid on my heels. They surprisingly went well with the outfit I was wearing. I said my goodbye’s to the house workers and went outside to Arsen’s car. He was already inside, staring forward towards the view of the city.

  I had to realize that this isn’t some bad boy, good girl fantasy. This was real life and I was actually next to a murderer. I never understood how people could kill one another, it just doesn’t make sense. I guess it comes down to that sometimes, but from what I read Arsen was completely wrong. If that’s how things are in drug cartels, I’m glad I never became a part of one.

  I sat in the front seat and as soon as I closed the door he sped off. I didn’t even have time to put on my seatbelt, he must have still been upset about the situation, Why wouldn’t he? Some random girl found out his biggest secret, I’d be pretty upset too. There was an awkward silence between us.

  His grip on the steering wheel made it painful for me to watch. I found myself constantly switching my thoughts. One moment I’m thinking about how amazing it felt to be put in my place and another moment I realize how my life is actually in danger at this point. I’m not sure if I actually have an attraction for this side of him or if I’m just romanticizing the situation to make myself more comfortable.

  I wondered what he was thinking about. Maybe ways he would tell his gang that I found out their secret or maybe about how I betrayed him by going through his personal emails. I guess I’ll never find out because right now I’m too afraid that asking him that might just make him snap. I decided to just leave that situation alone and focus on the city lights ahead of me. They brought me some type of peace in this terrifying issue.

  Arsen was so deep into his thoughts that he didn’t realize that he has passed my building on campus.

  “You missed my building” I spoke a little too loudly. He jumped a little and quickly put the car in reverse, moving back towards my building. I admired his tightened jaw and how straight it looked. His skin was very smooth without any wrinkles. I guess anything is possible when you’re a billionaire. I grabbed my bag and opened the door. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Lockhart”

  He finally looked at me for the first time since we left his house and raised an eyebrow, questioning my statement. I smirked and stood from his car.

  “I’ll be at your office to finish my interview with you. 3 o’clock sharp.” I spoke with my back turned to him and before he could respond I walked away. When I made it to my floor, my door was wide open and Anabella was moving, what looked like, a few old things from the place. I greeted her with a simple hello and walked straight in towards my room. I clearly couldn’t talk to her about this new unexplained attraction I had for Arsen without her rude criticism. She didn’t even respond when I spoke to her.

  I laid back on my bed thinking how could I possibly feel this way. This man just threatened to take my life if I reveal his secret and I could feel nothing but lust for him after that. Am I going insane? For that brief moment of feeling submissive, I felt so alive. It's just something the way he tells me what to do and that look he gives me like I better listen to him or else. I'm not sure why, but I think I'm letting my guard down. I think I might actually be able to open up to someone new. Arsen is different from the rest and I think it's time for me to actually deal with a real man.

  I am definitely insane. I’m risking my life all for the sake of finding a lover that I could actually balance out with. Besides the hatred that he has for me now, I think he would get over it long after he sees how trustworthy I am with his secret. I turned on some music and started to sing along softly until I felt the presence of someone at my door.

  "So, you were just going to stay out all night no call or text and come home and not tell me where have you been?" Anabella asked from my doorway. I looked at her and shook my head.

  "Ana, I called you like 20 times last night and you didn't answer the phone for me which resulted in me staying the night at Arsen's house. I didn't think you would care to know where I've been since you ignored my phone calls and didn't even bother to respond when I just said hello to you." I rolled my eyes and continued to stare up at the ceiling.

  "Did you call my new number? That would be the smart thing to do, Lola" she asked. “And great. Just great. You’re sleeping with this man now?”

  "Since when did you have a new number and when were you going to tell me, Anabella?" I sat up quickly and looked directly at her. "I'm your best friend for Christ's sake, what if it was an emergency?! And how dare you? Nothing happened between Arsen and I!"

  "I'm sure Arsen would be all the protection that you needed, Lola. And I definitely sent a text to all my contacts with my new number. You would have noticed if you would have taken a break from that little novel of yours and paid attention to the real world." She scoffed. “Pathetic. I don’t even know who you are anymore”

  "Get out of my room, Anabella." I couldn't believe that my own best friend would even say such a thing like that to me.

  She has been the only one who has really supported my decision to become a writer, but these last few days has been really tense between us. I'm not sure where all of this built up hate has come from inside of her but I need to find out, and I need to know why she is directing it towards whatever Arsen and I have going on.

  "Fine" she mumbled folding her arms over her chest leaving my bedroom.

  I heard her say a few things under her breath but I didn't care too much to even extend the problem at hand. Since we were children, Anabella was always stubborn. She never cared if she was wrong or right as long as no one questioned her actions, and when her actions were questioned she would catch an attitude. This specific problem never phased me because I was the most knowledgeable one in the friendship and she would always listen to me.

  Since Arsen and I began talking, Anabe
lla has taken her stubbornness onto an entirely different level. She has been very moody and disapproving of everything that has been going on although I am a grown woman who is completely capable of making her own conscious decisions. I’m not quite sure what she doesn’t get about that.

  Even if she doesn’t approve of who I’m dating, she could at least support me being in a relationship and that’s the thing! Arsen and I aren’t even dating so I don’t see what the big deal is. Whatever we have between us could either go really bad or really good. All I know is that I wish I could have my best friend there for me through it all.

  I started to do a bit of studying to clear my mind but also gather some questions to ask Arsen. I searched his name on the internet and wrote down any interesting facts that caught my eye. I started downloading a couple of his books onto my laptop to read later. I wanted to know the ins and outs of his mind. One of his books caught my eye and I couldn’t wait to read it.

  The very first page caught my eye and I almost instantly fell in love with the story.

  "Idyllic is what I would describe him as" I spoke into the phone letting out a small laugh. I was in the community kitchen of my apartment, filling up a small bucket with ice. I heard my best friend mumble slightly confused on the other side of the phone.

  "You barely even know the guy, Sarah. Plus, he’s like 10 times your age" she sounded irritated. I could just imagine how hard she rolled her eyes but something drew me to this guy. My new neighbor, directly across the hall. We bumped into each other once in the hallway and the way he caught me was breathtaking I don't know what it was.

  Guys never really caught my eye, old or young, I was always on a level that they weren't. I liked to focus on my craft more than a silly relationship but this was something different. His rich tan skin and glistening smile. It was a little spark when I fell into his arms. The innocence of the touch drove me up the wall and I have yet to understand why.

  "You don't get it, Rachel, I felt something" I smiled slightly and ran a finger around the rim of the silver bucket of ice.

  "You're irritating you know that?" she exclaimed with a very nasty tone of voice. I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath.

  "Look, if you're going to continue with this lurid attitude I don't think we should finish this phone call. bye" and with that, I hung up the phone.

  When she made it back to her room, she opened up her journal entry she wrote after meeting Arthur.

  “He was just a guy, and I was just a girl.

  No, wait, he was more than that.

  How could I devalue a soul with rich intellect and a conscious that glows immensely to just a gender? Something so distant, something so man made.

  I want to know your thoughts, I want to feel your vibrations, I want our subconscious minds to linger around each other and engage in an experience our physicals can't.

  I want to talk to you. I want to hear about your childhood, I want to know your deepest conspiracies, I want you to take up all the space in my mind.

  Feed me knowledge. Enlighten me.”

  Sarah smiled down at the page before she started to draw hearts all over it. She felt that Arthur was the guy of her dreams.

  The story of my life. Midway through reading I found myself still thinking about the argument I had with Anabella again. So, I decided to just let the situation go and get some rest before class and my meeting with Arsen tomorrow.

  Arsen

  Why was Lola acting so… seducing after I practically told her that I’d kill her? Why was she so eager to see me again after she found out about my drug cartel? This was all so strange. Did she really feel this was or was this all apart of some type of scam from my enemy? I’m not sure what it was but I called a meeting with the guys at the clubhouse.

  I picked up a pack of beer and brought it along with me to the meeting. The guys were very anxious to hear the news that I had for them. I didn’t know how they’d react or what they’d say but I just know I fucked up bad. Had I never taken the time to calm down I would’ve never noticed that my hand was red and burning from how tight I was gripping onto the steering wheel.

  I just can’t believe that something like that even happened. How could I be so stupid to have practically left all of my most important information out in the open? I just thought I’d be able to trust Lola enough to not do anything stupid like but boy was my judgment wrong. I started to think about how my entire empire could come crashing down if the world found out about this and I became so angry that I just had to hurry inside before I lost my temper.

  In the clubhouse, the guys and I gathered around the table. They all took seats while I stood before them. I put my hands behind my back and cleared my throat. I was afraid to tell them the news, but I knew that I had to be strong in front of them. My team with never do anything to me, I just never told them news like this before so it was a new experience for me. This could also spark a new emotion that I have never seen in them.

  How easy could it really be to break news like this to them? How can I tell them our future lives are in danger?

  "Alright guys, here's the bad news." they all sighed and threw up their arms in anger. "I know, bad news is a rare thing around here but we are in serious trouble now"

  "What, kind of trouble, boss?" one of the members, Pete, asked.

  "So there's this girl that I met after doing a seminar at her school a couple of days ago and she's gorgeous. I mean, the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on." I took a deep breath and continued. "To make a long story short, we went on a date and she came home with me. I let her stay in my home while I was at work today."

  "Well why would you do that, boss?" another member, David, said.

  "Don't ask. Anyways, I caught her going through my email and she found out about this drug cartel." I shook my head and took a deep breath waiting for their response.

  All of the men gasped and looked around at each other. I could see the anger in their faces, but also the worry. A couple of men started discussing with each other what could go wrong if anyone else found out and it felt like the weight of the world came crashing down on my shoulders. I knew that I had really messed up.

  "What are we going to do about this? What are we going to do to the girl? No one can find out about this" Pete asked confused looking around at all of us.

  "I say we kill the girl. If she isn't that popular around the school or if she's a nobody, in general, there should be no problem if she died. Right?" one of the other members spoke. The group waited in silence for my response

  "Kill her?! I think we've killed enough people already" I spoke, covering the fact that I wanted to save her life because of the feelings I had towards her. "Plus, there's something really special about this girl."

  "You like her or something?" Pete asked.

  "That's beside the point here, Pete."

  "I say you kidnap the girl. There's like a week left in school, right? Kidnap the girl and no one at the school will come looking for her because it's the summertime." David spoke up. "There's no point in killing the girl when you can use her to work for you"

  I ran my index finger and thumb over my chin. "Hmm, sounds like a pretty cool idea"

  All of the guys simultaneously agreed that that will be the best option and we began to plan it out. The guys and I came up with the best way possible to get Lola to fall for this trap. Tomorrow at our interview I'll see if Lola would come over to my place for dinner after her last day of classes. Then I explained to her that she is going to stay with me and work for me until everything is settled between us. Hopefully, some other things will happen between us but I'll save that for later.

  Lola

  I finally finished my math final and it was time for me to go to my interview with Arsen. I changed my outfit from a simple t-shirt and jeans to a form-fitting skirt with a button down which few top buttons were loose to show off my cleavage. I put on a simple pair of heels and pulled my hair up into a tight bun. I went for my everyday makeup which was
natural but with a bold lip. I knew that Arsen would love what I was wearing today, so that made me feel more confident than usual. I got in my car and headed over to his office.

  Upon entering, I saw the same gorgeous girl at the front desk. For some reason, this made me really jealous and I began to think if Arsen has ever tried anything with her. I mean she was flawless. She had great hair, a great body, and a nice smile… but she wasn’t me. I walked up to the front desk and flashed a fake smile.

  "Lola Anderson for a scheduled meeting with Mr. Lockhart at 3 p.m." I stared at her as she clicked through the computer. She told me to just walk into his office and that he shall be waiting for me. Perfect.

  I walked towards his office, once again, loving the sound of my heels clicking against the ground. I made it to his door and knocked three times. I heard him mumble for me to come in so I proceeded to enter. I watched and he looked up from his desk. He was wearing his reading glasses and had on a navy blue suit. I felt this tingly feeling in my stomach.

  “Hello, Arsen” I smiled and took a seat in front of his desk. I pulled my notebook from my bag and opened it to where I left off our last meeting. “How are you today?”

  “I’m fine, Lola. How are you?” I saw his eyes go from my eyes to my chest, and back up to my face. He smirked and leaned back in his chair, holding the back of his pen between his teeth.

  “I’m amazing” I let out a small laugh, “So, Mr. Lockhart, I did a little studying on your pieces of work and I wanted to talk a bit about your book ‘The Midnight Hour’. It’s more erotic than I expected but it really caught my eye.”

  “Yes. That’s one of my favorite books that I’ve written” He folded his hands together and placed them on his lap. “What about it sparked your interest?”

  “The age difference” I smiled and he raised an eyebrow. “Also, the way you write. I love how the story alternates between both of the character’s point of view. You have a way with words that really capture the reader's eye, Mr. Lockhart”