Chapter 10

Alexis.

I lay in bed giggling and kicking my feet. Mr. Carter was going to lose it when he discovered the little surprise I left under his pillow. I could already see it—him barging into my place like an overpriced, designer-wearing Doberman, foaming at the mouth and ready to throw a tantrum.

God, I wish I could see his face when he lifted that pillow.

With that delightful thought, I switched off the lights and drifted into the most peaceful sleep imaginable.

It had been the perfect off day: a little cleaning, a little napping, lot of self love.Truly, living the dream.

I was even looking forward to going back to work.

~~~~

I woke up to laughter.

Wait… was the TV on?

I cracked an eye open. Sunlight, leaves and an open sky.

Wait… leaves?!

I shot up.

I was on a playground. Surrounded by children—who were all laughing, pointing and judging me.

Beside me was my pillow—and a note:

"Since you like games…Enjoy one in a playground."

I screamed.

"Pierce Carter, YOU PSYCHOPATH—!"

This kids giggled even louder.

~~~

I stabbed the elevator button, foot bouncing in rage. I wasn’t just mad. I was incandescent with fury.

This lunatic had literally kidnapped me from my bed and dumped me in a playground.

And those kids? Their laughter was seared into my memory.

The second those elevator doors slid open, I stormed into the penthouse, eyes locked on the target.

Found him in his study—glasses on, looking like he spent his free time hacking global satellites for fun. Damn he's hot even as a nerd.

He was pretending to be focused on his laptop, but I knew that creep heard me coming.

"You," I growled, marching in. "It was you, wasn’t it?"

He looked up slowly, removing his glasses with the kind of pretentious poise only the rich could pull off.

"Miss Castor, you seem… energized today."

I nearly hurled a coaster at his head.

"Don't you dare ‘Miss Castor’ me, you beast!"

He tilted his head. "Beast?Me?"

"You ou abandoned me in a playground!" I shrieked. "I was mocked by seven-year-olds in unicorn pajamas! Do you know what that does to a grown girl like me? How dare you!"

He leaned back like he was watching a sitcom. Completely unbothered.

"How dare I?" he echoed, voice dripping with mock outrage. "Oh, that’s rich—coming from the gremlin who left her underwear under my pillow. Do you have any idea the psychological trauma you caused? I had to call every one of my seven therapists."

A laugh almost escaped me, but I smothered it with a scoff.

"Oh, please," I said, cocking a brow. "Isn’t that exactly what you wanted? A little whiff of my panties? Sounds like something a closet perv like you would enjoy."

His jaw ticked. And then he stood. I might have poked the wrong bear.

He was six-foot-two of pure threat. Me? A proud five-one on a good day.

I shrank about an inch just watching him approach. With every step, my bravado took a nosedive.

By the time he stood in front of me, I was no longer a dragon. I was a squeaky little field mouse.

I swallowed.

He had a Villian aura. You feel it even if it's invisible. It wasn’t fair. No wonder people ran from him.

Then, just to prove he was the devil, he reached out and twirled a lock of my hair around his finger.

A lazy, devious smile planted at his lips.

"If I were really a perv," he said low and slow, "you think all I’d do is drop you off in a kiddie park, pest?"

Okay. Maybe…

My mouth opened, but the words? Couldn't come out.

Still, I forced a smirk, even as my insides trembled. “Please. You’re definitely a perv. Bet you’re dying to get on your knees and beg for another pair.”

His laugh was.the kind that made my toes curl and my nipples betray me under my dress.

Then his other hand—brushed against my waist, barely grazing, but enough to set my nerves on fire.

“Alexis ,” he whispered, leaning in close, lips near my ear. “If I ever get on my knees for you… it won’t be to beg. It'll be to feast.”

I gasped. The heat that shot through me? Should be illegal.

“Remember our little bathtub agreement?” he murmured. “Be a good girl, and I’ll reward you. Don’t want loan sharks damaging this pretty little body, do you?”

He didn’t play fair.

I inhaled and exhaled. Four million. I’m doing this for the two plus two damn million.

“No,” I said, voice steady, miraculously—while my insides screamed into the void.

He grinned, like he’d just branded my soul. Then turned and walked back to his chair like he hadn’t just wrecked my entire existence with one sentence and a smirk.

His absence left a chill in the room. I hated that I even noticed.

"Now, get the hell out of my office," he said, tone as casual as if he were ordering coffee. "And don’t forget to scrub the bathroom floor like your rent depends on it."

I narrowed my eyes. "You talk like I host raves in your bathtub."

He gave me a smirk so wicked it could turn a nun into a sinner. I was still thinking of ways to smack it off his face when the door opened.

His friend entered.

Strutting like he was God’s gift to women. His gaze slid down my body in slow, unapologetic approval—like I was a designer item he was considering adding to his collection.

So this was the infamous bestie.

At least now I knew Pierce wasn't secretly into men.

Not that I cared. Or that it mattered. Totally irrelevant information. But very important.

With one last death glare aimed at Pierce, I stomped off to finish cleaning.

Mu stomach grumbled. I was so hungry. I shuffled to the kitchen and opened the fridge, it was empty.

And not the "oh no, no leftovers" kind of empty. I’m talking deserted wasteland.

Was this fridge just a prop appliance? The only things inside were two lonely beer cans, sitting pretty.

Pantry? A joke. Spices? Nonexistent. Hope? Dead.

I checked my wallet. Two sad dollars and a receipt from my last noodles purchase.

Takeout was a fantasy. And Pierce? He’d let me starve before parting with a single penny. I had no choice.

I marched back to his office and knocked.

Pierce didn’t bother to look up. But his best friend? Oh, he looked. Like he was undressing me with his eyes and picking out lingerie sizes in his head.

"I need more cleaning supplies," I said sweetly. "Ran out of fabric softener for your highness’s wardrobe."

Pierce exhaled like I was personally dragging down his stock value. Then he pulled out his wallet.

And my poor, starving soul paused. That thing was thicc. Crisp bills lined up like royalty. I swear I heard angels singing.

Oh sweet heavens—he pulled out a gold card!

My heart skipped like three beats. Do you know how loaded you have to be to just casually toss around one of those?

I reached for it. Our fingers brushed.

Electricity ran down my spine and brain glitched.

He raised an eyebrow, that sexy smirk creeping back into place. Yeah, he felt it too.

I snatched the card like a thief in the night and bolted out of the room.