Lahat ng Kabanata ng The CEO’s Temptation : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

***********************Aliana's POV**********************By noon, I had the meeting room under control. Everything was perfectly arranged; I triple-checked everything. The desk was sleek; the numbers were solid. I added a new strategy plan I would use to impress Mack.I printed out the hard copies needed, uploaded the slides to the shared drive,e, and sent a confirmation email to the exec assistant with a proud little note."Ready to present," I said to myself.As I grabbed a coffee from the lounge, I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflective glass _ Aliana is in Control. Smart. Strategic. Beautiful. Unstoppable.The conference room was already half full when I stepped in ten minutes before the meeting. Executives, assistants and a few department heads. Mack was sitting at the head of the table, focused on his system. Mack's mother, elegant and unreadable in a pale grey suit,t sat across Mack.Liam was on the other side of the table, chatting with someone, his eyes flicked on me

**********************Claire's POV**************************I signed as I pressed the elevator button, exhaustion tugging at the corner of my eyes. The past few weeks had been ruthless_ but necessary.I had Aliana dangling by the thread, Liam spinning in circles, and the board meetings carefully tilting in Mack's favour.I should've felt triumphant but a strange chill followed me all day. The subtle glance from my driver. The odd metallic sound when I started the car this morning. I'd brushed it off. Until now.I reached the underground parking lot, my heels clicking against the cold concrete floor. My black sports coupe _ Mack recently got for me sat where I left it, sleek and untouched _ so it seemed.I had to drive myself home today since Kelvin was out of town with Mack.I slid into the driver's seat, dropped my bag on the passenger seat and turned on the ignition."Screech. Clunk."The car jolted unnaturally to the right. The steering wheel resisted my grip as a warning light fl

*********************Claire's POV*************************The door slammed behind us, a definitive sound, the last echo of the boardroom's chaos.I stood in the centre of the room, my arms crossed against my chest, my jaw tight, my eyes burning with fury.Mack's footsteps were slow and deliberate, he rolled up his sleeves like someone ready to get to do something dirty."You didn't have to hit him that hard." I said."You're defending someone that almost had you killed?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows."I_ I, Mack don't...." I stuttered."He's lucky because I'm not pressing charges." He cut me off." Well, I was going to do that," I said. My voice was calm."When? Before he kills you?" He asked."And, he had the guts to smile at you ." He said. His tone was a mixture of jealousy and fury. "Mack, let's focus on the fact that he almost sold us today in the board meeting." I said as I changed the topic."You think I'm going to let him walk away clean? Take everything I've built? A

Chapter 28: The Line Crossed. ********************Mack's POV************************** "Morning Mack." A voice called.I glanced up and froze."Aliana_ " I called.She leaned against the reception desk, dressed in a crimson blouse unbuttoned just enough to raise eyebrows and a black pencil skirt with a slit far too high for an office dress code.Her heels clicked as she approached me, slowly, deliberately, every movement calculated."Now....that outfit is against the company's dress code." I said as my jaw tightened. What does she think this place is?"Thought you do like......I wore it for you." She said as she twirled her hair around her finger playfully.My eye brows arched."What do you mean?" I asked. My tone was urgent and confused."I came to say_ thank you _ for the other day at the garage," she said."Ohh, about that, I did what I ought to do," I said as I shifted uncomfortably."And your dress is a little_ too much for work," I said. My tone was firm with authority."C'mon

******************************Aliana's POV******************"Tell me again, why we're doing this?" I asked no one in particular.I stared out the tinted van window, my lips pressed into a line as trees blurred past. Pine, pine, pine, more pine.Endless green like the whole world was in green."Team bonding, nature clears the mind. Helps with vision and nature. Helps with vision and strategy." Claire said from the front view as she slightly turned from her seat."I get the strategy. But couldn't we have bonded at a rooftop bar?" I asked."Bars don't reveal people. Forests do." Claire said as she smiled.I stared at her for a while. Something about the way she said it_ it wasn't Casual. It wasn't about work.It was a warning.___By the time we arrived, my mood has gone from irritated to openly hostile.The retreat centre was buried deep into the woods, all log cabins and moss-covered stone paths. A light most hung in the air, thick enough to ruin my hair and mood because my boots had