What a difference five years makes.
Alek picked up his crystal glass of water and closely watched Alessandra over the rim as she spoke to the board members from her seat at the opposite end of the conference table. Where once she had been an ineffectual woman who seemed afraid of her own shadow, her slender face buried beneath a ton of curls and so thin that the wind could shift her like a leaf, she had transformed herself both physically and in temperament. The dull caterpillar had become a jewel-toned butterfly.
Her dark tresses were bone straight and expertly styled to complement her heart-shaped face and caramel-brown complexion. Makeup highlighted her almond-shaped eyes of brandy, blush contoured her high cheekbones, and gloss made her full lips poutier and succulent. Her height was average but the curves of her toned shape were not. She wore a dark gray chiffon blouse with sheer sleeves and a plunging neckline that was just deep enough to allude to more without revealing it. She paired it with wide-leg pants that fit close against her hips before falling straight to the floor and flaring. Her outfit was professional with a sexy edge.
His eyes dipped down to her mouth as she spoke. He liked the way the tip of her tongue caressed the small dip in the center of her bottom lip. Her oxblood lipstick gave her a dramatic flair that was hard to ignore.
Alek took a deep sip of water as he forced himself to look away from her. To not be drawn into her, into everything she had become: a mix of cool confidence and simmering sex appeal. He definitely enjoyed the look of her more than what she was saying.
“Alek... Alek...your thoughts?”
He blinked away a vision of undoing every button of Alessandra’s shirt to bury his head against her breasts as he pressed her body down onto the conference table. His eyes shifted to Aldrich Brent, the president of the corporation and executive board member. “I’m not impressed,” he said dismissively, rising to his feet. He smoothed his double-knotted silk tie before buttoning the jacket of his custom Tom Ford pin-striped suit. “It’s clear that Alessandra is naive and amateurish in business. I am disappointed she felt competent in presenting this venture to the board.”
Alessandra mumbled under her breath.
He offered her a brief glance as he reached for his briefcase and pulled a stack of twelve black folders from it. “I would like to offer an alternative that is viable,” he stressed, walking around the table to place a report before each of the ten board members flanking the table and then Alessandra sitting at the end opposite him.
She took it from him with a hard stare.
He came to stand next to his seat at the end of the table. “Anyone with an iota of business acumen could ascertain—”
“Enough of the insults, Alek,” Alessandra requested calmly.
He feigned confusion. “Insults?” he asked.
“Yes, less of them and more of your proposal is all that I’m asking,” she said.
Only the fire in her eyes revealed her rising ire at him.
“Do you need a moment?” he asked, his tone mocking as he egged her on.
Her mouth tightened into a thin line and her jaw was clenched so tightly that he was sure she could bite a nail in half with ease.
Alek cleared his throat. “The interest of ADG would be better served with a move into commercial aviation,” he said.
“Commercial aviation,” Alessandra snapped, tossing the folder on the table where it spun like a top until it hit against a board member’s glass of water.
“Yes,” he answered, his gaze leveling on her. Her annoyance with him caused her eyes to shine brightly. He forced himself to look away from her as he felt his usual cool composure wane. When did she become so beautiful?
“And we’re supposed to believe this is not just a last-minute stunt to gun for my venture idea?” she asked coldly.
“Yes.”
Alessandra swore, and then winced in regret. Such language wasn’t appropriate, no matter the impetus.
The chaotic energy around them seemed to whip loudly in the air with the force of lightning.
“Really?” Alek asked, his tone scolding.
“My apologies, but as you all can see nothing has changed between Mr. Ansah and me since our last meeting in this boardroom five years ago,” she explained, her tone calm and composed.
The board members and the secretary taking the notes stirred in their seats as Alessandra and Alek cast each other cold glares.
“Very unprofessional, Alessandra,” Alek said with a smugness at her losing her equanimity. He wasn’t finished. “The boardroom is no place for histrionics.”
She jumped to her feet and stalked down the length of the table with the board members’ heads all turning to follow her. “Histrionics?” she spat, as she pointed her finger into his chest.
“This board does not have time for your trivial pursuits, Alessandra,” he countered, looking down to take in her brown eyes lit with the fire of her anger.
“Nor your inept attempts at trying to capture the queen in a chess game you’re not fully equipped to play,” she said coldly.
Alek reached up and lightly captured the finger she pressed into his chest into his hand. “When it comes to business, you’re no queen, my dear,” he said, his voice low in the small space between them as he instinctively stroked her soft palm with his thumb.
His eyes squinted in surprise when he thought he felt her shiver.
She snatched away from his grip and stepped back from him. “Then why are you so intimidated by me?”
Alek threw his head back and laughed wholeheartedly. “Me? You? Intimidated?” he said in between chuckles.
“Enough!” Aldrich said, jumping to his feet.
Alek and Alessandra looked to the older man, his thin lips still quivering in frustration and his face now reddish with annoyance.
“Do you think your fathers would be proud of your behavior?” he asked, his English accent clipped.
“Yes,” Alessandra answered unequivocally. “Yes, I do.”
Alek looked disbelieving.
“My father wanted me in this position. He believed I could handle this position. And I have proven—even at the detriment of my own personal happiness—that I can thrive in this position,” she said, stalking back to her seat. “And so, if it means standing up for myself to this archaic-minded jackass and his chauvinistic mind-set then, yes, I believe my father is in heaven not only standing up and applauding, but wishing he could interject and give some more of the same.”
Alek’s eyes darted to the up-and-down motion of her breasts as she deeply breathed through her anger at him. His desire stirred. This woman who defied him with such fire and authority was not the mousy little Alessandra of the past. This was a different woman. And he wanted her with an intensity that surprised him. He bit back a smile as he calmly unbuttoned his blazer and reclaimed his seat.
Aldrich gave them both stern looks as he took his seat. He had been with the conglomerate since the early days and both thought of him as a family friend. It was respect for him, his position with the company and his friendship with their fathers that stopped the sparks flying between them.
“Do you both have companies in mind set up for an acquisition to become a subsidiary of ADG?” another of the board members asked.
“Yes.