WEAKNESS

ELENA CARLSON

Who is Atlas Grant?

This man standing here offering me 10 million dollars to take down Luke Grant was a complete stranger to me.

“What do I have to lose?” I had said earlier on but now that I stare into his eyes, there was this darkness in it that I could not place my hands on. If he had ten million dollars to give away, why didn't the Grants go after him and not me.

Braden was rich, he had two successful businesses, one in the clothing line and one as an investor in a firm. But he wasn't “Give away 10 fucking Millon dollar” kind of rich.

“Elena, I would need you to give me an answer, so that I can have my Lawyers draw up a contract,” his voice was calm again, almost too calm and his expression unreadable. I hate when people’s face don't give off their intentions.

Mostly you can tell the intent from their expression but with Atlas, there was nothing. Point blank. “A contract with the devil, I see,” I muttered, the words playing on my lips a little bit long.

“Don't see it that way Elena,” he smirked, it was infuriating how good he looked when he grinned devilishly. how his lips carved out my name in a way that made my legs tremble at those words.

“How am I to see it Atlas? Because from where I am standing you knew who I was, you fucked me knowing who I was, and now you are proposing a deal and I have no idea who you are,” I snarled, the more the words came out of my lips the more I tilted towards refusal.

“You know things about me, you know about my sick family, you know I am the illegitimate son of an asshole dad and you know what it looks like when I am butt naked, from where I am standing, I might as well just hand you over my social security number,”

My cheeks flustered pink in embarrassment and I prayed to whatever deity roamed the universe to split it into two and swallow me, but I didn't want to show him the effect his words have on me, I crossed my hands under my breast pushing them up, my chest up slightly and giving myself a posture that would make me appear more confident than I felt. Atlas leaned against his desk, his hands and butts on it as his eyes stared at me, he was in his zone, this was his world and he ruled it effortlessly.

“How comforting,” I finally spoke after moment of silence and wallowing in the shame that came with my situation.

“What do you need to know, tell me, I would answer?”

He just gave me a get to know him free card and I was going to use him.

A smile curved on my face, I had a lot of questions floating through my mind. I could ask him questions about his background and motive but I wanted the questions that was lingering on my mind the ones I wanted to know.

“Why did you have sex with me knowing fully well who I was?”

He didn't answer immediately, he studied me, his gaze still on me, his eyebrows raise a bit to hint at discomfort, it was a faint shift in his expression but I caught it.

“Hmmm,” he sighed, then continued, “I was at the engagement party when you showed up unexpectedly,”

That single statement opened a flood of a dozen questions but I bit my lips slightly, preventing myself from interrupting him now that he was talking.

“I wanted to approach you but you fainted, then I asked my bodyguard to keep an eye on you, to make sure you were fine, you left for your friends place and then I was informed you were at the bar so I came there,”

My jaw dropped in complete awe, I struggled to find the word to describe him, to express how I had interpreted all he had just said, “What in the fucking name of Joe Goldberg is wrong with you,”

Joe Goldberg is the name of an actor in one of my favorite books about a stalker.

“I just wanted to make sure that you were safe,” he responded unrepentant, his voice showing no hint of remorse.

“By stalking me, you creep,” I snapped, I have had enough of this, there was no way I was going to go ahead with any form of deal with a man who stalked me and has Grant as his last name, that was already a red flag enough.

“If you are not ready for the truth Elena, why ask?” He muttered.

“The….the …. I didn't expect you to say that you were stalking me that night,”

He stood up and all of a sudden I shrunk, all the courage I had gathered snarling at him with my words crumbled at the sight of this six foot tall man towering over me.

He walked towards me and I swallowed hard, my mind involuntarily replaying every single detail of that night, from when he had held me, the way he kissed me, the way he handled me like I was made for him. When he said “You are mine,”

“This is no fairytale Elena,” his words cut through my thoughts. I could feel his breath ever so slightly on my skin, he was standing close to me, the space between us almost non-existent. “I knew you were going to be there, I wanted to talk to you about this offer but you walked up to me, you came up to me, Elena,”

“I was drunk,” I snapped, no way I was going to take up the blame for all this.

“I tried to resist you, but I couldn't, do you have any fucking idea how gorgeous you are, I don't do romance or relationships Elena, I see them as weaknesses, and that night you proved me right, against my better judgement, I couldn't resist you and that is why we are here now,’’

I stared at him, I had not expected those words to come from his lips.

“What do you mean by you don't do relationship?” I asked, a stupid question my mind had come up with before my brain could think.

He stepped forward. closed the distance between us,and then tilted his head down to meet mine.

“Because Elena, relationships are for the weak, I have seen love screw people over and over again, my mother, you. I won't be a victim of that feeling,”

His words stirred up more emotion in me than I wanted to admit, my eyes began to well up in tears but I shifted my gaze. He was right, I had been a victim of the heart but not now.

“I will get back to you in three days time,” I spoke, my tone final. “And Atlas, if I chose not to go ahead with it, kindly stay the fuck away from me” I didn't wait for his response before I stormed out leaving his eyes trailing after me till I slammed the door.