CHAPTER 10

Lyra(Mia’s)pov

By the time I rushed back into the room, I couldn't find him. After about two careful scans of the room I finally found home disappearing down a hallway.

I raced after him trying not to bump into anyone on the way. .

I could still recall the last time I had stumbled on Xander. He didn't have any business affiliations. All I knew him to be was the alpha, not a businessman. Or maybe that was one of the things that he had kept from me while we were together as well as his relationship with my sister.

I slipped through the crowd and into the hallway. The guard at the mouth of the door had to stop me and confirm my identity.

“I'm am the Luna!” I said with pride.

“Sorry for stopping you, your highness. But you have to understand that only royalty is allowed to go through here.”

I spotted a room at the end of the door.

“What's down there?”

“It's Alpha Damion's chambers. Only those summoned by the Alpha are allowed to pass.”

I had to think of a lie, fast. “Well, I have been summoned by the Alpha.”

“Hold on a minute. I have to call him to confirm you have an appointment.”

“Call him? I wouldn't do that if I were you. You see, this is a very important meeting and it has already begun. It would be better if you didn't interrupt the Alpha.”

He looked between me and his Walkie talkie but my convincing tone won him over. He smiled, letting me slip through.

I got to the end of the ball on my tiptoes making sure to be as quiet as possible. Luckily for me the room's door was slightly parted. I leaned as close as I could and listened.

The first voice I heard was that of Xander.

“Thank you so much for hosting me. It's an honour…”

“Save the pleasantries. I had to scrap out something important on my schedule for this so it better be worth it.”

Damion still has that thick tone clinging to his voice. I could imagine what the atmosphere inside that room felt like.

“I like that. So I'll cut to the chase. It's about your business clashing with mine.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Damion blurted out in an arrogant tone.

“We are both huge owners of fashion companies and obviously competitors. However, I believe that it's best that wee stick to our territories.”

So Xander was into the fashion business. He sounded like he owned a grand company and so did Damion.

That reminds me of the time when I was younger and had dreams of going into fashion. But I had been discouraged by Xander. He had said it was too competitive and took all my ideas from me.

He always enjoyed taking from me, that monster. I can't believe he stole my ideas and went to create a company with it.

“You're giving me a speech, Alpha Xander. What is the matter?”

“Your company is opening a branch in my pack. I would have used force to kick them out but I decided to handle the matter with peace. So tell your men to pack up and find somewhere else to hitch their tent.”

I could hear slurping. It must have come from Damion. As soon as the cup kissed the table, he cleared his throat.

“I can't do that, Xander.”

“What? Why?”

“It's not my fault that people from your pack like my brand more than yours. It's just a matter of demand and supply. As a businessman you should understand that.”

He spoke so calmly that it was easy to dismiss the case as a matter of no significance.

“Are you trying to take down my company?”

“Why do you say that?” Something about the way he asked betraying and taking down the company was his intention.

“You know that my company is suffering great backslash from the media and everyone.”

“How is that my fault? You were the one who couldn't keep his bulge in his pants. It was your sexual scandal that ruined your company's name.”

“Don't sound so righteous. The only reason why you have a smile on your face is because you haven't been caught yet.”

A sexual scandal? Well that is not out of the ordinary for a man like Xander.

“You know that I'm barely trying to keep up sales. Don't storm in and try to out stage me.”

“You are down in sales, I thought you just called me your competition,” he blurted out, his tone laced with sarcasm.

“Make fun of me all you want as long as you do what you know is right.” He sighed. “You know it's an unspoken rule in business. You stick to your territory and I do the same to mine. Now that there has been no escalation of the issue, I'm asking you to stop.”

“The answer remains the same.”

“Why are you doing this? Is it some sort of power play? Just play the rules so we both can be happy.”

“I don't know if you noticed but I'm not a man who plays by the rules. Now if that is all, you can take your leave. What you should be more concerned about is making your products good enough. Word in the street is that they are whack?”

“You are shaming my company?”

“I'm giving you the truth that no one else in your company is going to be daring enough to give to you. Your designs are out of date. You need fresh ideas. In the beginning you made amazing dresses and then you fell off.”

After he had stolen my ideas. It brought a smile to my face learning that he wasn't able to keep up with my vision. If only he had not tried to screw me over, I would have helped his business back to its glory.

“A lot has happened since then,” he said, sighing. I'm sure at that moment he was being plagued with regret. “Just do as I asked.”

I heard his chair scrape the floor. He was getting up to leave. I heard footsteps. They were headed for the door.

I looked around. There was no way to run. If I tiptoes. I wouldn't make it in time without being caught.

I just accepted my fate and leaned on the wall as Xander stepped out of the door.