Valeria's pov
9:05 a.m.
I arrived at Von Enterprise a total mess. My hair, usually packed properly, was held by a messy claw clip with stray strands sticking out. I'd used dry shampoo, three layers of concealer to hide the dark circles, and a fresh suit. I smelled like low-grade hospital bleach. If I could just have made it to my desk without seeing him, I might have survived the day.
Alaric leaned against my office door, annoyingly well-rested in a black suit. He stepped into my personal space, forcing me back until my heels hit the wall. This was becoming too common.
"You're late."
"I had a rough night," I snapped. "My neighbor has a cat... it screams."
"A wild kitty... just like you."
I reached up to push him away, but my sleeve slipped, revealing a purple-black bruise I had gotten while trying to complete a mission.
Alaric's hand shot out, his fingers encircling my wrist like a shackle.
"This isn't from a cat. Who did this?"
"I'm clumsy... Let go, Boss. You're overstepping."
"I'll overstep wherever I please until you stop lying to me."
"Then stop asking."
Few minutes later, we entered the elevator for a meeting we had with another company and i kept hoping that someone else would join us on the ride before it closed, I had serious mind numbing migraine and didn't want to be forced to make small talk with my boss.
The elevator jerked to a halt so hard my shoulder brushed the mirrored wall.
I turned slowly. "Did you just—"
"Yes," Alaric said flatly. "Now answer the question."
His gaze dropped to my wrist, then to my face, the concealer, the tension in my jaw, the way I was holding myself too carefully. He stepped closer.
"Who touched you?"
"Why do you care?" I snapped.
"Because you walked into my building looking like you crawled out of a crime scene."
"And yet you're still talking instead of minding your billionaire business."
"I'm furious that I want you right now."
He crashed his mouth onto mine. I hesitated at first, then found myself tangling my fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands slid down my back, cupping me, lifting me slightly until I was pinned between the steel wall and his body. I let out a jagged moan against his lips.
His hands slid inside my skirt, tugging my lace aside. He applied rhythmic, punishing pressure that forced a shattered cry from my throat, my nails digging into his shoulders.
Suddenly, he froze, jaw tightening, forehead pressing against mine. With a low, guttural curse, he stepped back, smoothing my skirt with hands still slightly trembling. He stepped back just enough to give me space, but not too much. He smoothed my sleeve where the bruise showed, his fingers brushing my skin lightly. His eyes never left mine.
"The moment isn't right," he said, his voice rough with frustration. "But don't think you're safe from me."
"Not here," he continued,his voice like gravel. "And not like this."
"I hate you."
"The feeling is mutual."
I should have been relieved he stopped. Instead, I felt like throwing something at his head. He hit the floor button. The elevator lurked back to life. He adjusted his tie, his expression returning to that cold, distant CEO, while I leaned against the wall, legs shaking, pulse screaming.
The elevator doors slid open. Alaric stepped out first, stride perfect, spine a rigid line of expensive wool. I straightened my skirt, smoothed my hair, and followed him into the boardroom.
The air was thick with the scent of expensive cologne and high-stakes desperation. Twelve investors, the board of a dying shipping company sat around the glass table, eyes darting between the Dark King and the disheveled secretary trailing behind him.
"You're late, Mr. Von," a senior investor noted, voice tight.
"I had a mechanical issue," Alaric replied, emotionless, taking the head of the table. "Start the presentation."
I took my spot behind him, tablet trembling in my hand. My body screamed, pulse a frantic drum in my ears. Every shift he made dragged me back to the elevator wall. I needed to turn the table. I needed to make him vulnerable because he was acting like touching me had no effect on him.
Alaric leaned forward, his eyes locking onto the Chairman.
"You have four minutes to sign the merger. At 10:20, the offer drops forty percent. At 10:21, I'll sue for the debt your chairman's son racked up in Vegas."
"You can't be serious, Alaric! This is a family legacy!"
"Time is ticking."
Under the table, his hand dropped onto my knee. I didn't pull away. I leaned in as if to whisper a professional update. My hand covered his, fingers finding the pressure point between his thumb and forefinger—the Hegu point. I applied a precise, agonizing squeeze that would have made a grown man double over, my face calm.
"If I press any harder, you'll drop that expensive pen," I whispered near his ear.
His jaw hitched. "You're playing with fire, Valeria."
"I'm a dropout, remember? I never learned the safety rules."
Alaric turned to the Chairman, his voice strained. "Two minutes left. Sign, or I'll let my secretary decide your company's fate. And trust me she's in a very bad mood."
The board members filed out, defeated. The massive monitors flickered. A red alert flashed across the Global Logistics Hub.
[ALERT: SHIPMENT 909 - HIGH-VALUE ASSET BREACH]
[STATUS: AEGIS GRID-CONTROLLER, INDUSTRIAL GENERATORS & HAZMAT SEALANTS - ROUTE DIVERTED]
Alaric stood, his presence filling the room. "The Aegis Controller? Diverted? To where?"
I stood calmly, smoothing my skirt. My phone vibrateda short coded ping from Silas.
[The cargo's offloaded. Logs wiped. He'll think the server crashed due to the storm. See you at midnight, Angel.]
His eyes burned into mine. "Valeria, get the Tech Lead on the phone. Now."
"Of course, Mr. Von," I said, a perfect, robotic smile in place.
Those generators would keep the clinic lights on for a month. The sealants would turn a basement into a surgical suite. But the Aegis Controller? It was going to make the clinic invisible.
And the bill? Addressed to Von Enterprise.