CHAPTER 4
1213 Words
Interaction
Alexander's POV
I feel like I'm falling off a cliff when my stomach drops. Uncle Marcus is standing in the lounge doorway, his grey eyes searching the space like a predator. His angry expression when he looks at our table used to make me hide under my bed as a child.
Elle follows my gaze, and I can see how her expression changes when she sees him. Her wine glass quivers in her hand as the colour fades from her cheeks. Since she is aware of Marcus's identity, she is also aware of mine, so everything I have experienced over the past hour has been based on deception.
Whispering, "We need to leave," I get up so quickly that my chair nearly topples over. "Now."
Elle remains motionless. Her wide brown eyes, filled with shock and betrayal, simply gaze at Marcus. She says, "You're Alexander Kane," in a voice so low I can hardly hear it. "You're him."
Her pronunciation of my name pierces me like a knife. She called me Alex, but not with the same warmth; rather, it was with the kind of hate that people reserve for their worst adversaries. She pulls away as if I might burn her when I reach for her hand. I start to say, "Elle, please," but Marcus is already approaching us. "I can go into great detail, but not right now. Not right now.
Shaking her head, she gets to her feet and clutches her purse with trembling hands. "No explanation is necessary. Didn't you play me just right? While your family destroys her company, find the dejected little girl in the corner and earn her trust.
Desperately, I say, "That's not what this is." "I had no idea who you were. Because of what they wanted me to do to Martinez Tech, I left that meeting. due to what they wanted me to do to you."
Elle pauses and fixes me with those stunning brown eyes that now seem to despise me. "Martinez Technology. You are aware of my business. She has discovered that she has always been the intelligent woman Marcus wanted me to destroy.
"Alexander." Like a whip, Marcus's voice pierces the lounge. Other guests are staring at him now that he's close enough. "Avoid that woman. We must speak.
As if to shield Elle from the mess my family has created, I turn to face my uncle and place myself between him and Elle. "Marcus, leave her alone. She is unrelated to this.
Marcus chuckles, but not in a joyful way. "She is at the centre of this. The owner of the pitiful little business that believes it can rival Kane Industries is Miss Elena Martinez. He glances past me to Elle, who is motionless. "But I must say, Alexander, it's more inventive than I thought you were to use seduction to approach the competition."
I say, "It's not like that," but even as I say it, I am aware of how this appears. No one would think this was a coincidence.
Elle sounds as though someone has punched her in the stomach. "You knew," she mumbles. "When you sat down at my table, you knew exactly who I was."
"No," I say, turning back to her in an attempt to explain. "I had no idea who you were, I swear on my father's grave. I wanted to know why the lovely, depressed woman I saw sitting by herself appeared to be as broken as I was.
However, with tears streaming down her cheeks, Elle is already moving away from the table. "Shattered. That's a fitting term for what you've done to me. She glances from Marcus to me and back again. "How much time have you two spent organising this? Did you practise the entire wounded hero act?
I reach for her once more and say, "Elle, please," but she backs off as if I were poison. "I'll explain in five minutes. Allow me to explain what actually transpired in that boardroom today.
Marcus moves in closer, his body enclosing us like a wall. "You've done enough harm for one night, Alexander. I advise you to return home and begin searching for a new career, Miss Martinez. Your small business won't make it through what's ahead."
My blood boils at the threat in his voice. With my hands balled into fists, I take a step towards Marcus. "You have no right to threaten her. In that boardroom, I promised you that I would not contribute to the demise of her business.
"Yet here you are, sharing private drinks with our rivals." Marcus's eyes remain as cold as winter even when he smiles. "How lucky she was here tonight."
I'm devastated by Elle's sour laugh. "There was nothing lucky about tonight. It was an error. A foolish, unsophisticated error that I will always regret." Something dies in her eyes as she gives me another look. "Alexander Kane, don't come near me. Don't be around me. Keep out of my life.
I can see her shoulders trembling, but she turns and walks towards the exit with her head held high. Marcus grabs my arm with steel-clamp-like fingers as I begin to follow her.
"Let her go," he murmurs. "You've tarnished the Kane family name enough for one day."
I feel as though something important has been torn out of my chest as I watch Elle vanish through the lounge entrance. She gave me a sense of vitality that I hadn't experienced in years in just one hour. She now despises me and believes that I am the type of man who would entice women to ruin their companies.
I tell Marcus, "You planned this," as the realisation hits me hard. "You anticipated her presence this evening."
As if nothing had happened, Marcus straightens his tie and surveys the lounge. "I was unaware that Miss Martinez stayed at upscale hotels. However, I have to admit that your performance was very convincing.
The edges of my vision turn red. "You came here after me. You have been observing me.
"I've been keeping you safe from mistakes that could ruin your career." Like he owns the place, Marcus motions for a drink from the waiter. "Which, in any case, you seem determined to make."
I realise I'm staring at a stranger as I look at my uncle, the man who raised me. "You took advantage of me. You took advantage of her. You created a weapon out of something genuine and lovely.
The waiter hands Marcus his whisky, which he then raises in a fictitious toast. "Nuncle, welcome to business. You're finally starting to understand how the game is actually played.
I glance back at Marcus as he raises his glass, then towards the lounge entrance where Elle vanished. My entire being becomes as hard and frigid as ice.
"You're right," I murmur. "I'm learning how to play the game."
Marcus is by himself with his victory drink as I leave the lounge without saying anything more. However, I hear something that chills me as I walk by the front desk.
Speaking in low, urgent tones, the desk clerk is on the phone. "Yes, sir. Miss Martinez just walked
out of the hotel. She is currently on her way to the parking garage.
- Writer
