Chapter 4

Alani Lane

"You are playing a dangerous game, Miss Lane," Alexander Voss supplied, his eyes gleaming.

"That's not the ans-wer." I dragged the words, then bit my bottom lip slowly.

"Alani," he called, my name coming out as a warning as his gaze dropped to my lips. I snaked out my tongue and licked my parted lips, watching as something flickered in his darkening eyes, something that made me inhale heavily.

"Mr Voss," I breathlessly responded, raising my heels. His grip around my waist tightened as I tilted my head, moving closer to his lips. I could feel his warm air on my cheek, the heat between us and the growing ache in my lower belly. I wondered how his lips would taste, whether he was a good kisser. So I placed my lips on his, a sound emanating from my throat at their softness.

Then he abruptly pulled back but kept his arm around my waist. "This," he gestured between us with the hand that still held the bottle of water, then continued, "should not happen like this."

My chest rose and fell too fast. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"I like my women sober," he said, meeting my eyes without flinching. "If I ever kiss you, Miss Lane," he paused. "It will be when you are sober. And if I ever take you, it will be after you have begged me to."

I nodded, his words igniting more heat in me. I pictured him kissing me, taking me over and over again. "Sleep, we have only 4 hours left." With that, he handed me the water bottle and walked out, saying that he'd sleep on the couch.

*******

I had barely gotten enough sleep when Alexander woke me. "You have just about..." He trailed off, looking at his silver wristwatch. "28 minutes to get ready. I had a dress brought up for you and a pair of heels."

I was tempted to ask him how he knew my size, but I bit my words as my eyes fell on my bare chest. I pulled the covers up first, my escapades from the previous night rushing back.

"What's there to cover?" he asked, his lips stretching into a brief smirk. "You didn't seem to care when you showed them to me a few hours ago." Heat crawled from my neck to my cheeks, unable to meet his gaze. How was I going to face him after embarrassing myself that much? I thought.

After he left I took a quick shower, got ready first and did a messy bun. The black dress he had gotten for me fit like a glove, with the length just above my knees. He had also ordered red-bottom Christian Louboutin five-inch heels and a matching red clutch bag. A new tablet was placed on the bedside table, and at that moment I was glad that I had prepared a few slides in my PowerPoint account the previous night in the jet, that is, after he gave me the file of what to expect. When I walked out, he was already at the door, swiping on his phone screen. He barely glanced at me as we exited the room and boarded the elevator in awkward silence.

Minutes later, we walked into the boardroom in the high-rise building. I set up the presentation quickly as Alexander exchanged pleasantries with the men who were already seated.

"Whenever you are ready," Voss said, giving me the go-ahead to begin, the room quieting down. When I cleared my throat and swept my eyes over the board table to greet the men, I froze beside my boss, my heart for a second pausing. There at the furthest end of the table was Shane, busy typing on his phone, casually leaning in his chair. It was at that moment that he lifted his eyes, and when his gaze fell on me, I swear his eyes widened a fraction, followed by a frown on his face. Had he not expected to see me there?

What the hell was he doing there? Could it have been that the business he said he was having was with us? But no, the logo on the file Alexander had given me wasn't of his company. My throat tightened as I blinked rapidly, my grip on the tablet tightening.

"Miss Lane?" Alexander snapped me out of it. "We are waiting."

I cleared my throat once more and began, forcing myself to hold my head high. "Good morning. Voss Empire's marketing is focused on one thing," I began, steadying my voice. "Dominance,' I continued, then looked at Alexander, whose sharp gaze was directed at Shane. For seconds the two glared at each other, as if they knew each other and there was an underlying rivalry between them.

I tapped the tablet, the screen lighting up with clean visuals. "Your company is exclusively about designing, manufacturing and distributing toys." I pressed on, showing charts of their sales data in Africa and Asia.

"Voss Empire ensures..." I trailed off as the door opened, to reveal none other than my stepmother Caroline. She walked in like she owned the room, but her steps faltered when her eyes fell on me. To say a million questions erupted in my mind would be an understatement. I couldn't understand why she was there with Shane, especially as part of Voss's Empire clients.

"Don't stop on my account," she said lightly, taking her seat beside Shane without an apology.

"As I was saying, we, uh, Voss Empire ensures..." My voice faltered, my mind betraying me. Her moans in the hotel room bombarded my mind, making a boiling feeling flare in my chest, hot and fast.

"Not here," I mumbled to myself. "Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you break," I added, taking in a long deep breath. If anything, what I wanted was to climb on the table and bash her head on it, then proceed to Shane and rip his dick off, but I reigned it in.

"As I was saying, our company's work is to ensure that your company grows globally," I continued with my proposal, straightening my posture.

"Interesting," Caroline interrupted. "Though I can't help but wonder, how will a woman who couldn't keep her fiancé loyal manage and boost a global brand loyalty?" She smiled, while I pressed my teeth together. Alexander looked at me, then at her, obviously trying to make out what was happening.

I balled my left hand into a fist but still managed a forced smile at her. "Company failure rarely comes from outside but from lies within or stealing what is not theirs." Her smile vanished, while Shane shifted on his chair, two could play a game.

The rest of my presentation went smoothly, with Caroline keeping her mouth shut. When I was done, an agreement was reached for the toy company to partner with us, despite Caroline voting no. It seemed I would be keeping my job, since I had proved to Alexander that I was indeed cut out for my position in the Voss Empire.

I bolted out of the boardroom like my feet were on fire, after everything was finalised, wanting to put distance between myself and the two evil human beings. Alexander caught up with me in the hallway, his lips stretched into a smirk. Behind him was Shane running over to me, so I did the only logical thing I could at that moment.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly.

"What are you sorry—"

"This," I cut him off, stood on my tiptoes and kissed him there and then, just as Shane stopped behind him, his expression unreadable.

"I am sober," I murmured against Alexander's lips. "Just like you said."