Chapter 7 A Bomb About to Explode

Scott leaned on his desk and exhaled all the air he'd been holding in, suddenly realizing his heart was racing like a thoroughbred.

"I hate her," he growled through clenched teeth—but a moment later, a smug smile crept across his face. His revenge was already in motion.

From that day on, Alexia's promotion became her personal hell. The executives hated her, and her own team of analysts despised her for taking over their former supervisor's job.

Day by day, Alexia sank deeper into a pit of frustration. She'd come to this company with a clear goal, but it was quickly becoming a nightmare. Her coworkers constantly belittled her, excluded her, and treated her with open hostility.

Reporting anything to Human Resources was pointless. It felt like the boss himself was encouraging the behavior. They spoke to her with disrespect and tried to push her around at every turn.

But despite the pressure, Alexia refused to back down. She doubled down on her investigation, determined to find the thief no matter what it took. She was convinced that when the truth came out, Scott would regret having treated her so unfairly.

"Wow… that's a lot of water," Scott muttered a week later, stepping into the elevator and seeing the puddle forming at Alexia's feet.

Someone had activated the sprinklers in her office and completely soaked the place.

"Bastards," she spat, glaring furiously at all the ruined documents and equipment.

Scott just smiled, clearly amused by her misfortune.

"You think this is funny?" she snapped at him.

"Just a harmless prank," he shrugged.

"Do you know how many important documents were destroyed by that 'harmless prank'?" she demanded, locking eyes with him. "You knew this would happen—and you don't care! They're attacking me while I'm trying to do my job! Your executives are making my life miserable, and the analysts won't cooperate because someone spread a rumor that I got this promotion by sleeping with you!"

Scott burst out laughing. That someone had been him, of course—but he wasn't about to admit it.

"Oh, sweetheart… you wish," he hissed smugly.

"Excuse me?!" Alexia roared.

"I said, you wish you got to drive this Ferrari," Scott replied, blatantly glancing down at his zipper without an ounce of shame.

"Ferrari?" she shot back. "With how hard you're overcompensating, what you've really got down there is a Mini Cooper—with two flat tires."

Scott's fist slammed into the emergency stop button, and before Alexia could even scream, his hands gripped her by the waist and hoisted her up against the elevator wall. In a second, he closed the distance between them, pressing his body hard against hers.

She tried to clamp her legs shut, but suspended in the air, with him right between them—it was impossible.

"Say that again," he growled in her ear, gripping her hips tightly as the heat pulsing through his veins turned into a violent erection, pushing right against her panties.

"L-let me go," she stammered, biting down hard on her lower lip.

"Are you sure?" Scott smirked. "Because down here, it feels like you're just as fucking turned on as I am."

Alexia shut her eyes and let out a strangled moan. Whatever was pressed between her legs through their clothes was massive. And it made her skin buzz like she was touching live wires. Scott's mouth crushed against hers in a wild, devouring kiss, and when their tongues met, one of his hands slid under her skirt and yanked it up—fingers digging into her bare ass.

His tongue moved with devastating precision, and Alexia felt like she was being consumed by fire. Her hands tried to shove him away, but ended up roaming his chest instead, feeling the defined muscles beneath his shirt as her own body betrayed her, giving in.

A second later, Scott stepped back and let her go, watching her chest rise and fall as she gasped for air.

"Well, looks like the Mini Cooper still managed to get you going," he said smugly as the elevator began moving again.

"You're an animal!" Alexia growled, blinking back the sting of tears.

"You have no idea," Scott replied with a grin, snapping his fingers at her. "Now back to work. Let's go. You've still got a thief to catch."

Alexia stormed out of the elevator, holding back the urge to murder him. The rest of the day dragged on as she tried to focus on her tasks, cold and drenched, but it was impossible to forget that humiliating moment.

By the time evening rolled around, she had way too much work left to go home. She trudged into the break room on her floor, only for everyone there to immediately get up and leave—as if she were contagious.

"Is it just me, or does Miss Hartley look a little rough today?" Scott joked to one of his executives nearby. "That woman's an ice queen, but today she really looks frozen solid."

"Don't worry, sir," the other man laughed. "I'm sure she's about to warm up real fast."

For some reason, that comment didn't sit right with Scott. He glanced toward Alexia, who was fiddling with the coffee machine—and a strange tension seized his chest.

"What do you mean?" he growled at the man beside him.

But there wasn't time for a reply.

The next second came a small explosion—the sound of the coffee machine's lid slamming into the ceiling—and then a heavy thud as a body hit the floor.