Elena entered the office a closed the door shut leaving just two of them alone. Elena was literally grinding her teeth trying to control her anger as much as she could, to which alex also noticed as a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. Without saying anything he went straight to his chair and sat on it sprawling his long legs as a king before making an eye contact to the other party.
" Why did you called me Alex ?? "Elena finally said breaking the silence. " Alex ?? Don't you think you are being too frank with the chairman Ms.vane ??" Alex said in a teasing tone that made Elena's blood boil to its limit but she somehow still controlled it and said with a forced smile " "For what reason did you call me here... sir?"
A slow, deliberate smirk pulled at the corner of Alex's mouth as he leaned back in his chair, locking his eyes onto hers." You can glare all you want, Elena," Alex said, his tone dropping to a smooth, unbothered calm."I know this transition will be hard for you," Alex said, his voice dripping with fake sympathy as he twirled a pen between his fingers.
" What do you mean... SIR " Elena said forcing the last work that made a satisfied smile to appear on the other party's face . " Let's be realistic, Elena. Your company belongs to me now. You don't really have the right to be picky. But still as a generous chairman, I am offering you to be My personal secretary." Alex finally spit up the real deal making Elena's expression became dark.
" I know you don't have any other way but I am still giving you choice . You know I am a good guy " Alex told mockingly. " A choice?? And you really thought that i would agree?? Never in your fucking dreams Mr.Valois. Even if you fire me I will never agree" Elena said .
" I knew a stubborn kid like you would not agree that easily" Alex said in a calm tone as he reached out and pressed the button on the desk intercom. "Jimmy. Bring them in."
Before Elena could demand what he was doing, the side doors opened. A crowd of twelve people stumbled into the office—the senior directors, the head of logistics, and the older vice presidents who had been with the company since its start. Their faces were pale, their hands visibly trembling.
Alex didn't even look at them. He kept his eyes locked dead on Elena's face as he picked up a thick stack of documents from his side drawer.
"This is the immediate termination and firing order for the entire middle and upper management of Ora & Olio Globals," Alex announced smoothly, tapping the papers against the desk. "If CEO Vane refuses to cooperate with the new corporate structure, I will sign these right now. Every single person in this room will be blacklisted from the Ney york's Financial Exchange by noon." He said making everyone in the room gasp including Elena.
"Alex, you can't do that!" Elena snapped, her chest heaving as she glared at him. "They haven't done anything wrong with you ! Besides you can just fire people here. We have a voting system for it specially you can't fire the top officials that easily."
" I can Ms.vane . I can. " Alex said . " Did you forget I have 73% of the voting power." Alex said as he shifted his gaze towards the other people and said in a calm voice that sounded more like a roar in that silent room.
" I am giving you all 5 minutes. If you people made Ms.Vane agree to my decision then nothing changes. I will also give you guys an unforgettable reward but if it doesn't be like that.... I don't think i need to explain further. " He told as all of the people turned towards a specific figure.
The senior logistics director, a man in his late fifties with graying hair, practically threw himself toward Elena's side, his voice cracking with pure panic. "Elena... please! My daughter just started her medical residency... if I'm blacklisted, we lose everything! Please, just do what he says. For the sake of our families, don't let him sign those papers!"
"Elena, please," another female director sobbed, her hands tightly gripping her notepad. "We have children. He will fire all of us. He has the power to destroy our lives. Please just cooperate with him!"
Elena stood completely frozen, the cries of her staff ringing in her ears. Her mind, usually so fast and calculating,was now blank. She looked at the terrified faces of the people who had worked late nights to build her dream, and for the first time, she felt a heavy, suffocating knot of defeat tighten in her throat.
" IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH ME THEN FIRE ME ALREADY BUT DON'T PLAY WITH THE LIVES OF INNOCENT PEOPLES." Elena said her voice dripping with pure rage.
" You know I won't do that " Alex said as he sat straight " I didn't spend my money for this useless rotten building Elena. I spent it for you. I told you already that when I will haunt you, you will have no place to hide."
For some moments there were dead silence in the room and the air unknowingly become thinner .
Alex watched her face, drinking in her frustration with absolute satisfaction. He leaned back in his chair, slowly raising his hand to his neck. With agonizing slowness, he reached up, loosened the knot of his dark silk tie, and pulled it down a few inches, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt just to annoy her—a silent, arrogant declaration that he was entirely comfortable while she was burning alive.
"Well, Elena?" Alex asked, his voice a mocking purr. "Are we signing the terminations, or are you accepting your new position?"
Elena's jaw clenched so hard her teeth ached. She looked away from her staff, her eyes burning with a promise of absolute vengeance as she looked back at him.
"Leave the room," Elena commanded her staff, her voice dropping to an icy whisper. "All of you. Leave."
The directors immediately looked as Alex as he also nodded his head making them flood out of the room, whispering frantic thank-yous to Elena, leaving the heavy silence to settle between the two rivals once more.
" Okay so CEO vane.. oh sorry Secretary Vane come here and fix this tie. " Alex said smirkingly as Elena went towards him with slow steps and while maintaining the glare with him as she asked " Stand up Sir " he said as he made an aww expression and said " Do you really think you're small figure could really reach my tie if I stand up ? ". He said mocking.
It was true that Elena was tall and a hieght of 5'7 isn't that Short but comparing to his giant frame she was nothing. But still to maintain her reputation she said " Then how am I supposed to do it ....Sir " she said totally forgetting to say the last word but seeing his raised eye brows she immediately understood the assignment.
" How obeying. " Alex said with a naughty smile " But i won't mind if you bend over and then do it " he said .
Elena's jaw tightened. She looked down at his collar. The dark silk tie she had watched him carelessly loosen earlier was sitting crookedly against his unbuttoned top button, completely ruining the flawless precision of his three-piece charcoal suit. It was a deliberate mess. A trap.
"Call your stylist then," Elena said, her voice dropping to a dangerously sharp whisper as she loosed all her patience. "Or use a mirror. I am your personal assistant, not your valet."
A slow, deeply smirk spread across Alex's lips. He didn't lose his temper. He didn't even shift his posture. He just rested his forearms on the desk, his large hands overlapping, looking up at her like a king waiting for a subject to acknowledge the crown.
"A mirror requires me to stand up, and I don't feel like standing," he said, his gaze dropping to her lips for a fraction of a second before snapping back to her eyes. "Don't you want to protect those twelve directors down in logistics? Don't you want to keep their families safe? Want a selfish leader you are who doesn't even care about her staffs. Fine of you don't want to do it , then I don't think it's too late to..." before he could complete his sentence she snapped at him.
" I will .. I will just don't do anything to them. " Elena said sighing. " Good girl. Then step over here and fix it." He said.
Elena felt a hot surge of pure adrenaline explode in her chest. She wanted to rip the tie off his neck and use it to choke the arrogance out of him. But the image of her crying staff flashed in her mind, forcing her to swallow the bitter taste of her own pride.
She took a slow, step forward, crossing the invisible boundary into his personal space.The scent of his amber cologne hit her instantly ,wrapping around her like a physical weight.
She reached her hands out, but as she stood over him, she realized the angle was wrong. He was sitting low in his deep chair, and she was standing too high.
"Bend down, Elena."
The command was so soft, yet it carried the weight of an absolute order.
Elena's breath hitched in her throat. Every single instinct bred into her screamed at her to refuse, to strike, to never lower her head to any man. But Alex was watching her, drinking in her hesitation. He was daring her to break.
Slowly she bent down over his desk, lower and lower, until her face was less than three inches from his. The proximity was terrifying. The heat radiating off his skin was a physical shock against her bare neck, and she could feel the warm, steady rhythm of his breath brushing against her collarbone.
"You think you've won," Elena whispered, her voice a raw and crisp as she forced her fingers to work, carefully looping the silk, pulling the knot back up toward his throat. Alex's breath hitched at her touch. For a split second, his lazy smirk vanished, replaced by a sudden, intense tension in his jaw. His hands, resting on the desk, flexed, his knuckles turning white if he were physically restraining himself from grabbing her waist and pulling her completely into his lap.
"I don't think I've won yet, Elena," Alex murmured, his voice dropping low it . ". You're in my space. You're breathing my air. And you're doing exactly what I told you to do. But that's not it ."
Elena finished the knot, her heart hammering a frantic, violent rhythm against her ribs. She didn't pull away immediately. She stayed bent over him, her face still dangerously close, her eyes narrowing , looking deep in his soul.
"Enjoy the view while it lasts, Mr. Valois," she whispered right against his lips, her voice dripping with an icy promise of total ruin. "Because the closer you force me to get, the easier it will be to destroy you ."
She snapped her posture straight, stepping back out of his space so fast the cool air of the office rushed between them like a shield.
Alex leaned back in his chair, slowly running a hand over his freshly straightened tie. The smirk returned to his face, but his eyes remained dark, wild, and completely hooked on her.
" Fierce aren't we baby?" Alex murmured under his breath.
He had forced her to bend, but as he watched her stand tall in her crimson suit, he realized he hadn't broken her spirit—he had just made the game a thousand times more dangerous.