The Alpha's Power Play

Salisbury City, Night. "James, how have you been doing? I was just hired at the new job and I start in two days. You also graduated right? What do you plan to do next? Going back to N.C.?." With a crackling typing sound, lines of words appeared on the blank screen, and a girl's small sun kissed cheeks appeared in front of the screen. Olivia typed these words with a smile in her eyes, all she could think of was the thought of her asking James to go to La Cava Restaurant in Salisbury, with her when he gets back. and solemnly clicked the "send" button. There was a quick reply. "Believe it or not, right now I am talking with my family about my future plans. And if all goes well I will be back in N.C. soon" Seeing this answer made Olivia very happy. She sat back in her computer and closed her eyes with a smile on her face. Mia, who lives with Olivia, couldn't help but stick her finger in her mouth pretending to gag and vomit: "Talking to your lover boy James again? Your how old and still chatting over emails? You are never going to find a boyfriend like this. You will always be single." "Oh please, I love being a bachelorette." Olivia immediately responded. "You have a crush on him don't you?." Mia said, looking at Olivia's computer screen. "No, James and I are just really good friends. Nothing else!" Mia has always been a realist. She rolled her eyes at Olivia when she heard her say this. "I think you are being a fool. You barely know this man. The only thing you know of him is his screen name. Be Careful you don't end up being played and made to look like you're stupid." Usually Olivia would say something back to Mia when she put her 2 cents in but, Olivia simply shut up and didn't bother to say any more about James. Four years ago, when Olivia was hospitalized because of lung infection, she came across a little boy named Lucas. He was suffering from leukemia. The little girl that was playing with him fell on the hard hospital floor and cried in pain. After the little girl got all fixed up, Lucas asked the nurse to borrow a pen and earnestly wrote the word "rehabilitation" on the girl's cast. "Don't worry, Lucas said your arm will get better soon. My mother told me this method. and said Don't be afraid. "I am not afraid! And my name is Penelope. Lucas patted the girl on the shoulder, and said Well Penelope, I will help you until you get better. I will be your assistant. And then both of their little faces lit up with smiles. Olivia was so moved that she started tearing up looking at the scene in front of her. Later, when she overheard the doctor talking, she realized that Lucas' family was not very poor and couldn't afford any of the hospital bills. Lucas' parents cried every day before coming into the room, but they would never show him that. They always entered the room with smiles on their faces.. Unable to continue to watch such a good family struggle trying to figure out how they are going to pay for all of this, Olivia donated every bit of money that she had been saving up, to try and take some of that burden off of the family. Then with the family's permission, she took photos of them and Lucas and put together a GoFundMe page to see if she could help raise them more money. She even posted it to her f*******: page, hoping that more people would see it and hear their story and make a donation. Unfortunately, most people left comments scolding her, thinking she was a scam artist, and refused to believe that what she was saying was true no matter how she explained it. In the end, the money raised wasn't even enough for another night's stay in the hospital. She worried about this so much, that all she could think about was the boy not being able to get treated, and all the parents could do was sit there and watch their son get sicker and sicker. Just then, a man named "James" sent Olivia a private message to her messenger. He wanted to help, He asked her how much was the bills of this family. And that money was not an issue because he could afford it all. And just let me know where you would like me to send the money too" Olivia messaged James back quickly thanking him for his generosity. Olivia, who was completely overjoyed, asked the doctor who was taking care of Lucas, if he could provide her with the exact amount that Lucas' family owed. Once she got the bill she carefully sent a picture of the amount to James, along with where he could send the money. After sending it she had a really uneasy feeling. $88,000 dollars is a whole lot of money Olivia thought. She wondered if he was really going to send that kind of money to a stranger. When she received the notification that James did send the money, Olivia burst into tears. On the one hand, she was crying happy tears for Lucas, and on the other hand, she felt that the abuse she received some time ago was now well worth it. A good bit of time went by, and by some miracle, Lucas finally found a compatible bone marrow donor for a transplant. The transplant was a complete success and Lucas was given a new life. Olivia Sent James a photo of Lucas and his parents embracing each other, happy that they were given back their son, and he only replied "The best news ever," but it was enough to impress Olivia. Since then, they would constantly send emails back and forth to each other. Looking back on the past, Olivia couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. She turned in her chair towards the window, and looked out at the dark night sky of Salisbury, feeling gratified. James has got to be the most amazing person I know. ... The next day at IBM. As soon as Olivia entered the office, she felt something was off. The atmosphere seemed like it was more lively than ever before. Everyone was in their own little groups talking amongst themselves. Olivia had no idea what was going on. Confused about what was happening she looked around, only to find that there was a new male colleagues and with all the thirsty female colleagues surrounding him. Looking intently at him, Olivia couldn't help but to blush. Bronze healthy skin, sharp and well maintained eyebrow, crystal blue eyes, and a clean and tidy, grey leisure suit. This new guy is very handsome, no wonder he has all this attention around him, including other male employees. Soon, Olivia sat down in her office, laughing at her own extreme fondness for flowers. She turned on her computer, and the first sound she hears is the mailbox noise indicating she has mail. When Olivia saw the familiar sender's name, She quickly opened it. It was a message sent by Jason: "I have returned to N.C. and found a job at a new company, and the best part is today was the first day. The environment is not bad at all, everyone seems very nice." Her eyes lit up with excitement, and Olivia couldn't wait to reply back: "Have you really finally come back?" After a small pause, Olivia summoned up enough courage and finally made the decision to ask James. "Can we do a video chat? I feel that emails take too long and are not very convenient." After sending this email, Olivia's face suddenly turned bright red. For four years, she and James have only ever been in contact by email. Four years is a very long time, and now she feels like it is the perfect time to see each other on Facetime. However, neither one of them mentioned Facetime before, and they have kept such a close bond with each other. She is worried that he will feel that she has some kind of ulterior motives for wanting to facetime? But fortunately, James had absolutely no objections to Olivia's request, and so he agreed! Olivia couldn't help but laugh with joy and sent a request to facetime him. However, Olivia's supervisor came over and clapped his hands in hopes to signal everyone's attention. "Ok, let's put aside our work right now. First off, I would like you all to meet the new employees who started today. Matthew, introduce yourself to everyone!" Normally this supervisor has no expression or emotion, but today he looked at the handsome man beside him and smiled like a flower. Some employees stood up clapping for the new colleague. Some looked at him with their noses in the air, while others looked on feeling alienated. Only the employees who are worth anything get introductions like this. And some employees are bitter about it. "Hello everyone, my name is Matthew. I hope that we can get along smoothly and I look forward to working with you all on future projects." "His voice is so hot ~" Olivia heard a girl whispering about Matthew behind her, and she was not lying. Matthew was a very good looking man. Something like you read about in books. "Matthew, don't be modest." The supervisor saw that Matthew was finished, and he patted him on the shoulder, and gave him another smile: "Matthew here is an excellent returnee to the company. He comes back with a double master's degree in finance and management from Duke University." It was like a stone thrown into a pond causing a ripple effect. People's discussions rang out one after another. Most of the female colleagues were obsessed with Matthew, while other male colleagues were jealous and some even admired him. Olivia's eyes are full of appreciation, but her heart kept thinking, James has been studying in a foreign country alone since he was a teenager. She wondered if James was also a very successful man. Signaling everyone to be quiet, the supervisor went on to say: "Everyone tonight make some time and go out all together, relax, eat, drink and welcome our new colleague Matthew, and remember none of you can be absent..." Listening to what the supervisor was suggesting, Matthew frowned inadvertently, but no one noticed. Except for Olivia. It seems that Matthew doesn't like excitement, or so she thought that in her heart. ... Although that evening seemed like just a normal night out, everyone knew that it was actually a welcome party. It seems that Matthew is quite valued in the company, so there will be a lot of people chatting with him all night Of course, there are still many of the girls from the office that will be all over him tonight. Matthew's own aura is too much for some of the male employees. Several of them went to him to chat but could only toast to him, and then left in vain. Olivia shook her head and smiled there would be no way she would be able to approach him. She would look all flustered and then not be able to say anything. She took her phone out many times to check, but "James" still didn't accept her facetime request. Olivia tried to remember if “Jason” said that he would be very busy at the new company today. She then thought how he must be so excellent at his job, that he has to be more popular with the supervisors and other employees than Matthew himself. Thinking about the fruity wine in front of her, all she could do was keep pouring herself cup after cup. Only feeling that the wine was very good, and sweet, but forgetting that she is a light drinker and should be taking things a little slower. In addition, colleagues kept coming up and toasting to Matthew. And each time they toasted she drank. After a little while Olivia was very drunk. Her stomach became very upset, and Olivia got up to look for the bathroom. She was having a hard time finding it and an even harder time seeing straight. If Mia was here, she would have definitely taken Olivia straight home as fast as possible. Mia is one of the only ones that knows that a drunk Olivia talks way too much and says things that she doesn't mean and she is extremely annoying when she drinks. "There is someone up front, go... ask... ask." Stuttering, Olivia stumbled forward trying to keep her balance. Then Olivia hears Matthew talking. "Mom, I've made up my mind." Matthew, who was supposed to be at the party, is standing in the corner making a phone call. His sharp and cold facial features are now full of high spirits and Olivia is curious as to why. "Jack's the future president of the company. Does he start at the grassroots level? What the hell does this look like!" There is an unhappy female voice coming from the other end of the phone. She sounds very dignified. But Matthew didn't give in, and his high spirited look changed into undoubted anger, and his tone was much firmer than when he first started speaking to her. . "I already got the job at this company. Let me prove that I am capable of taking over the company. I at least want to be able to do that before accepting the arrangement you gave me. Can you please just give me one year?" After a long pause, Naomi Davis (Matthew’s mother) on the other end of the phone sighed. "Well, son, I respect your decision. It's not a bad thing that my son is self-motivated.” "Thank you, Mom. And no, it isn't a bad thing." A smile appeared on his face. Matthew hung up and turned around when he saw a figure coming at him. Subconsciously, he stretched out his hand and held it waiting for this person to shake his hand. He soon realized this colleague was not coming up to greet him. His eyebrows frowned and he recognized her. It was Olivia from the company. "Thank you... thank you... toilet, please..." Olivia asked but her speech was very slurred. . When she finally realized who it was in front of her, she was a little taken back. "Mat... Matthew... you... you..." Before the words were finished, Olivia felt everything in her stomach making its way back out. She bent down and started to vomit. "Whoa! Whoa--" Matthew backed up two steps in just enough time to get out of the way of Olivia’s vomit. Looking at Olivia who now had vomited all over herself, Matthew stretched out his hand to try and help Olivia. Suddenly Matthew jumped back because she kept getting sick, and looked at the vomit that splashed on his shoes, and he looked back at Olivia, very disgusted. Olivia continues to vomit, but Matthew lifts turns and quickly walks away. He really hates the smell of someone who is throwing up with alcohol in their system. He needed to find someone that could help him with Olivia. He was about to walk around the corner, but he got this feeling and had to look back towards Olivia’s direction. He saw Olivia squatting on the ground next to her throw up, caressing her chest uncomfortably, and saw just how covered in vomit she actually was. Vaguely recalling his impression of Olivia, Matthew could only remember her sitting at her desk, very quiet and kept to herself. He kept looking at Olivia from across the room for a minute. His wall he had up, creating this tough, no bull crap taken, kinda guy started to break and revealed that he was actually kind- hearted. “Forget it, it is better for me to get Olivia out of here so no one sees her like this then it is for me to go and get someone to help me. It might cause her problems at work.