by Angel Sefer
“Have you decided what you’re going to have?”
Alexandra felt uncomfortable with those deep blue eyes staring at her. “What are you going to have?” she asked, right at the moment a waiter appeared out of nowhere. “Go on! You order for me,” she said, wanting to show him that she didn’t care, and she was only there because she had to be.
Mark stared at her for a minute. Then, turning to the waiter, he ordered the stuffed duck for both of them, the restaurant’s house salad, and a bottle of their best red Burgundy wine.
Alexandra wasn’t that hungry, but she ended up cleaning up her plate. The green salad with a sweet honey-mustard dressing was delicious, the duck was mouthwatering, and the wine superb.
Mark turned out to be a pleasant companion, and Alexandra lost track of time, talking about books, music, and other things unrelated to work. She was amazed to find out that, even though they seemed so different, in reality they had similar taste in a lot of things.
They were finished with their meal, and Mark was going over the desserts in the menu when Alexandra realized they hadn’t said a word about business. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and stared at him. All of a sudden, he raised his gaze from the menu, and their eyes locked, oblivious to everything else around them.
Seeing the desire flicker in his eyes, Alexandra’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes lowered to his sumptuous lips, and she wondered what it would feel like if he kissed her. What’s wrong with me? She tried to snap out of it, but the electric energy that prickled in the air was hard to ignore. She’d never felt like this before. The two superficial relationships she had in the past, one with a guy in college and the other with one of John’s friends, had turned out to be disasters. Their hugs and kisses had left her cold and, after that, she decided that, if she couldn’t find the right one, she didn’t mind being on her own. If she were going to have a relationship, it would have to be the real thing… like the love and devotion her parents had shared.
She was pretty young back then, but she could still remember the way they used to be. A love like that had to be unique, and Alexandra knew that not everyone was that lucky. So she didn’t worry about it. She had decided a long time ago that, if it were meant to be, it would happen no matter what. If not, then she’d have to go on with her life just the way it was.
However, all of a sudden, things had changed. Those mesmerizing blue eyes of his had changed everything. She suddenly felt alive. Amazed by her thoughts, she blushed and lowered her head, scared he might read something in her eyes.
“Alexandra…” he said softly, and his voice was like a caress, as if he had touched her.
Her heartbeat accelerated, and her mouth went dry. Nervously, she picked up her glass and finished her wine.
Even though she kept her eyes lowered to her plate, she could feel his gaze locked on her. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she raised her head and stared back at him. The longing and desire she saw in his captivating eyes left her breathless. Oh, how easily she could get lost in the alluring ocean of his gaze. She drew a deep breath and licked her lips, wishing she could guess what he was thinking.
Unable to break free from his mesmerizing look, Alexandra’s heart was flapping frenziedly like the wings of a baby bird. When he leaned towards her, she felt as if time had stopped. I should pull back. But she lacked the willpower to draw away from him. Astonished, she realized her body yearned for him, and her lips were begging to be kissed by that sensual mouth of his. Spellbound, she closed her eyes as he gently cupped her face in his hands, and he claimed her. She felt dizzy and lost in his kiss, experiencing feelings she’d never had before. His left hand slipped to the back of her head, pulling her even closer while the right one slid caressingly down her arm, leaving a burning trail of his touch. His kiss became more intense, and his lips—hot and demanding— left her out of breath. Bewildered by her body’s reaction to him, she returned his kiss with a passion that matched his own flame.
When he finally pulled away from her, his eyes seemed almost liquid, like the deep blue waters of the ocean. A feeling of emptiness washed over her as her body craved the warmth of his touch. She almost leaned towards him when the coughing of the waiter pretending to clear his throat brought her back to reality. Alexandra turned and stared at the waiter, dumbfounded. The experience she just had was out of this world.
It was Mark who snapped out of it first and quickly ordered two pieces of lemon-pie. Alexandra was sure he was just trying to get rid of the waiter and that dessert was the last thing on his mind right now… as it was the last thing on her mind. The only thing she wanted right now was to get back into his arms and lose herself in his passion.
She drew a deep breath and stared out the window, trying to pull herself together. However, she could still taste the sweetness of his kiss and feel the arousing warmth of his touch.
“We need to talk.” His voice came out in a husky whisper.
“I know,” she said. “We’ve wasted enough time, and we haven’t talked about the proposal yet,” she continued, misinterpreting his words on purpose. She was sure he didn’t mean talking about business.
Mark stared at her for a couple of seconds, and Alexandra was glad he didn’t press the matter any further, but instead switched the subject to work.
“Taking into consideration that we’re direct clients, with no commission involved, there is enough room for a bigger discount,” he said, and his voice sounded almost professional.
He’s recuperating fast, Alexandra realized, and I better do the same. Otherwise, he’d take her for a fool who loses her mind over a kiss.
They went on talking about business for a while, with some hard bargaining and propositions flying back and forth.
He’s really good at it, Alexandra thought. But of course he is. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be holding a position like that at his age.
After they had finished their dessert, Mark asked for the check. Alexandra glanced at her watch and was surprised to realize it was almost four o’clock.
“Oh, my God!” she cried out, alarmed. “We need to be going. I have a million things to do.”
“So do I,” he pointed out and gave the waiter his credit card. “Please, hurry up!” he said, and it was more of an order than a request.
It didn’t take more than a couple of minutes for the waiter to bring the card back. As if he had a choice, Alexandra thought. Mark seemed the kind of person who was accustomed to giving orders, and he wouldn’t tolerate any errors or delays.
***
They drove back to the office in silence. Mark kept his eyes on the road, trying to refrain from thinking how her luscious ruby lips felt under his or how her silk blouse clung to her full breasts.
He left her at the entrance of her building and drove off. He had a million things to do: he had to arrange for their trip to New York… and then to Greece. Things had to move fast. However, the order had to come down the chain of command; he didn’t want to make Alexandra suspicious by telling her himself.
Chapter Six
ALEXANDRA SPENT ANOTHER NIGHT at the hotel—an endless night worrying about John, wondering where he was and why he hadn’t called. She tried the police department one more time, but had no luck.
At seven-thirty the next morning, Alexandra stepped out of the elevator at work. Walking down the hallway towards her office, she was surprised to see Holly sitting at her desk.
“What are you doing here this early?” she asked her assistant, and a warning bell went off inside her head, seeing the serious expression on Holly’ face.
“Alexandra, we need to talk,” Holly replied and stood up. “You go ahead inside, and I’ll bring some coffee,” she continued, walking by Alexandra and down the hallway towards the kitchen.
“Holly, what’s wrong?” Alexandra inquired, impatiently.
“Not now,” Holly replied. “Not out here.” And she glanced over at Emma, who was talking to another secretary down the hall.
Alexandra watched her
for a moment and then turned and walked inside her office. She knew something was seriously wrong, but what was it? What could it be that had brought Holly here this early and had her acting like this?
She laid her purse down on her desk, took off her jacket, and strode to the windows overlooking the city.
“Here you are!” she heard Holly saying and turned to see her putting a cup of steaming coffee on Alexandra’s desk. Then she sat down at one of the chairs in front of Alexandra’s desk, holding another cup in her hand.
Alexandra stared at her silently. Acting like this wasn’t like her. Not to mention that this was the first time in all those months they had been working together that Holly took her coffee in Alexandra’s office.
“I talked to John,” Holly said, and Alexandra was taken aback by surprise.
“You did what?” Alexandra drew a deep breath.
“I talked to John,” Holly repeated, trying to appear calm, but her shaking hands were giving away the emotional state she was in.
“John who?” Alexandra was astonished. “My John?” she continued and bit her bottom lip, realizing how bad that must have sounded. “I mean…” she tried to rephrase, but Holly wasn’t paying attention. She was staring at the coffee cup she was twisting in her hands.
Alexandra noticed the black circles underneath Holly’s eyes and realized she must have spent a sleepless night as well.
“He’s in danger and has to stay out of sight for a while,” Holly continued in a low voice, “and so does his partner, Jeff."
“What do you mean in danger?” Alexandra was clenching her hands together to keep them from shaking.
“Alexandra, please sit down.” Holly raised her eyes to stare at her boss. “Let me take it from the start,” she continued. “John and I have been seeing each other for a while, and I feel pretty bad for not telling you about this. But you know how John is. I guess he just wanted to keep it a secret until he was sure it was serious. Besides, I didn’t want to talk about it either, in case things didn’t work out. It would be awkward working with you, afterwards,” she confessed and searched Alexandra’s face, probably wanting to see her reaction to what she had just said.
Alexandra sat down in her chair, not knowing if she should be happy or sad about what she was hearing. She liked Holly, and she was the one who had been encouraging John to have a serious relationship with a nice girl like her. However, right now, she couldn’t be happy for them; she was too worried about his safety to think about anything else.
“Are you mad at me?” Holly asked and kept on watching Alexandra closely.
“God, no!” Alexandra cried out, and jumping out of her seat, she bent over Holly’s chair and took her in her arms. “I’m happy for you guys. I really am,” she said. “It’s just that I’m so worried.”
“I know. I’m worried sick myself. I’ve never seen him like this.”
“You mean you saw him?” Alexandra asked and took a step back to stare at Holly.
“He came to my apartment late last night,” Holly said and rose up to walk towards the window. Then, turning to stare at Alexandra, she continued, “However, he only stayed for a few minutes. He told me he didn’t want to get in touch with you, just in case he was being followed. He said to tell you he’s all right, but he needs to lay low for a while. He also said you should reconsider leaving town for a few days.”
“Did he explain what’s going on?”
“He just said he has reopened the old case,” Holly replied.
“You mean Angelica Parker’s murder?” Alexandra asked, surprised, and took a deep breath.
“I’m not sure. He didn’t mention anything else…”
“That was the case my father was working on when he was murdered,” Alexandra whispered, trying to control the trembling in her voice as locked-away memories rushed to the surface.
“Who was Angelica Parker?” Holly asked, puzzled. “And why is John in danger?”
“Angelica Parker was a prostitute working for an agency providing companions to the elite. However, she’d been videotaping her intimate moments with politicians, judges, and other important members of the Atlanta elite society and, afterwards, blackmailing them for large sums of money. My father had found evidence that could lead him to her killer, but he was murdered during a raid, and the case was buried.”
“And now John has reopened it,” Holly said hesitantly. “And I guess there must be a lot of people who aren’t happy about this and would prefer this evidence to remain buried.”
“Yes, I’m afraid you’re right,” Alexandra agreed with her.
“But if this is the same case, then John is right,” Holly said. “You might be in danger, as well. These people might think you know something or you have something in your possession that could lead the authorities to them.”
“Right, again,” Alexandra agreed unwillingly. “I bet that is the motive behind the robbery in my house. Whoever it was probably searched for evidence that could send the murderer or murderers to jail or damage the family life of quite a few people in high places.”
“And now what?”
“I have no idea,” Alexandra replied, truthfully. “However, I’m really worried about John. He’s taken this personally, and he won’t give up until he clears up this whole mess and catches my father’s killers.”
“He was quite fond of your father,” Holly said.
“Yes,” Alexandra agreed. “He was like a father to him, too, and John was devastated by his death. He won’t rest until he puts the person responsible for this behind bars.”
“I know,” Holly said and put her arm around Alexandra’s shoulder, leading her back to her chair. “You need to sit down,” she went on. “You look so pale.”
“Don’t worry! Everything’s going to be all right,” Alexandra replied, trying to sound reassuring. However, deep down inside, she was pretty worried. She knew the people involved in this case were extremely dangerous.
The phone rang, and they both jumped in surprise.
Alexandra stared at Holly and then answered the phone, forcing her voice to sound professional.
Her boss spoke. After she had listened for a couple of minutes, she put the phone down and stood up.
“I have to go upstairs. The boss wants to see me,” she told Holly and walked out of her office, trying to pull herself together.
***
Half an hour later, Alexandra walked into her office and closed the door behind her, ignoring Holly’s questioning stare. Things seemed to be moving fast these last few days. She felt as if she was on a roller- coaster, speeding towards the unknown. People were following her, breaking into her apartment, and destroying everything. John was in danger, and, according to him, she was too. And now this…
She walked to the window and stared outside, trying to calm down and think rationally. After all, it was her job. She’d been assigned this account, and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure her company acquired this client.
But why me? she kept on wondering. Why was I picked in the first place? Of course, she would like to believe it was only because she was the best possible candidate for this job. However, she knew better… She knew there were people in this company with far more experience and seniority who would be able to handle the Imperial Resorts Corporation account just fine, and maybe better than her. She was young and enthusiastic, finishing school first in her class. Still, this was way too big of a deal for the company to trust to a rookie. Because that was exactly how Alexandra felt compared to some of her colleagues from the New York main office.
Then again, Alexandra was a fighter. She wasn’t going to let anything prevent her from doing the best job she could to win this deal. I just wish I knew what’s going on, she thought, unable to ignore this strange feeling that she was losing control of her life and that someone else was pulling the strings.
She went to sit in her armchair, leaned back, and closed her eyes. This is life in the fast lane, and I have to get used
to it, she tried to persuade herself. I’m an executive in an international group now. Then again, how many of her colleagues had a chance to travel from one city to the other to handle matters that could be handled by their local offices? As far as she knew, nobody. The only reason her colleagues would travel out of town was to attend seminars, training courses, or meetings to set common goals and procedures.
I have to stop being so suspicious. I’m good at what I do, and that is the only reason I was picked for this job. However, deep down inside, she knew that something else was going on. She could feel it.
She jumped, hearing the soft knock on her door, and turned to see Holly entering the room.
“Is everything okay?” Holly asked worried. “You seemed kind of weird coming back from upstairs.”
“Everything’s fine,” Alexandra lied. “I just have to pack up my things.”
“You have to do what?” Holly asked, shocked, and drew a deep breath.
“Oh, no,” Alexandra reassured her. “It’s not what you think. I have to fly to New York.”
Holly let out her breath and stared at her puzzled.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It just sounded like… Well, the way you said it, I thought you were fired,” she continued apologetically.
“I know,” Alexandra said. “I understood it from the way you looked at me. No, I’m not fired… at least, not yet.”
Holly peered at her, unable to comprehend what Alexandra was saying.
“I mean that I will be fired if I don’t acquire this account.”
“Jones said that?” Holly asked surprised. “Did he actually tell you he was going to fire you? Is that what he wanted to talk to you about?” she continued, struggling to understand.
“No, silly,” Alexandra laughed. “He didn’t say that. I say that, because I know how big of a deal this is for the company.”
Holly breathed out, relieved, and came closer towards Alexandra. “So what did he want?”
“He wanted to tell me to pack up my things and leave for New York. I have to meet with the president of Imperial Resorts Corporation,” Alexandra said, trying to keep her voice steady. She was worried, but she didn’t want to let it show.
