Meeting Him Again

Meera

My jaw slackens as I meet the eyes of my husband who is currently standing with my old boss, ready to take the position of becoming my new boss.

Fuck.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"You ruined us!"

"Ace...please...please don't kill me..."

"You're a traitor, Meera!"

All those horrible instances flash in front of my eyes and I relive every single moment of pain that I suffered because of this man. Fuck.

Why is he here?

I thought he would never leave the mafia business that he was into...

Wait...has he left everything behind or has he finally been successful in finding me?

No...God no...

"You two were responsible for drawing up these contracts, I presume?" Alejandro asks, his face doesn't give away a single emotion that is currently going on inside his head.

It's as if he is completely indifferent to my presence and he is currently regarding both me and Clarissa with nothing but a disdained scowl.

"Y-yes, Mr. Harrington, we are responsible for them." Clarissa responds hesitantly.

I don't even have the words to say anything...my head is completely filled with traumatic memories from the time when I last saw Ace. And now, he is standing in front of me when I never thought I would see him again.

"Then you should have been careful when writing the names of my subsidiaries in London." Ace mutters with the utmost disappointment.

Oh god...Clarissa is going to lose her job.

I know him.

I know that expression on his face all too well.

That look of boredom used to mean that whoever was facing it was about to be killed. And considering that Ace is not as stupid as to kill Clarissa over some clerical error in front of so many people, I know that he is going to fire her.

I cannot let that happen. Clarissa supports her family with the money that she makes from this firm as a lawyer. She's the only bread winner in her household since her husband has a neurological disorder that doesn't allow him to work.

"It was me!" I chime, instantly finding my words before Ace can say his. Clarissa's head turns towards me and I blatantly ignore her, knowing well enough that she would try to convince me otherwise. "I made this mistake." I lie.

Ace quirks his brow in my direction, and in that moment, I see a familiar expression that I have seen all too many times whenever he has tried to read me but couldn't find the means to.

That is the fucking problem with him. He thinks he knows everything but in reality, I can read him better than he can read me.

"Is that so, Miss...?"

He lets that question drop like a heavy weight between us, his coy eyes searching for an answer so as to find out about my new identity that I have been using in order to hide from him.

"Graceling, Meera Graceling." I respond in a meek voice knowing well enough that everything I have done to stay hidden from this man in the last two years has just gone to waste.

From changing the colour of my hair to taking my mother's maiden name as my own last name to shifting continents and working in this city where I still don't know a single soul worth telling my worries to.

All of it...all of the struggle that I faced because of him was for nothing.

A light smirk graces his lips as he nods and takes a step towards me. My breathing quickens seeing the playfulness in his eyes just before he takes a look around the room.

And just when I least expect it, his voice echoes through the room, "everyone out. I need to have a word with Ms. Graceling here."

The entire room breaks into a flurry as people shuffle around to leave the room as quickly as possible. This is the effect that Alejandro has always had on people; he says something needs to be done and lo and behold, everyone just hurries to do it for him.

This is something that he has learnt being the king of the Sicilian mafia empire.

Mr. Gianopulos lingers for a moment but Ace just gives him a glare harsh enough to make the middle aged man shiver.

And then we're left alone in this conference room, the door shutting behind my old boss as I stare at the ground, nervous to meet the eyes of my new one.

However, before I can even comprehend, I see Ace's steps approaching me and I hold my breath right before his hands are around my waist and he is pushing me against the wall.

"Mr. Harringto—"

My words die in my throat when his lips crash against mine in a soul searing kiss as I am left stuck between his body and the hard wall behind me.

"Shhhh...I don't want to hear a word from you, Meera." He growls in a voice that is dripping with pure desire as his hand grips my waist in a vice hold.

His other hand reaches my throat and just the way he used to, he strokes the length of my neck with his thumb and my entire body becomes electrified because of his touch.

Fuck...

Why does it always feel so good being touched by him?