Alpha’s Double game.

THE BOARDROOM SQUEEZE.

~ALEXANDER~

The old bastards on the board of directors were sweating. I could smell the fear on them from across the mahogany conference table.

I’d kept them waiting for exactly thirty minutes, on purpose, giving them enough time to talk about how they plan to strip me of the title I spent blood and money building. I’d watched them comfortably from my computer, enjoying every bit of their conversations.

Only fools like them won’t realise there are CCTV cameras in every part of this company.

On my other screen, I watched Elena at her desk. She’s plugged earbuds in her ears and focused only on her laptop, ignoring the judgment coming from every corner of her office.

She was the perfect target but I hadn’t thought she would be able to find Project Aegis. The plan was simple, I could have gone old school, kidnapped her, pressed a loaded gun to her head and asked her to be my fake fiancée or die on the spot.

Or I could have gone new-school, sent her flowers, let her know how special she is and slowly made her fall for me. I am irresistible. I could throw millions of dollars at her but after watching her for over two years, I concluded Elena needed to be in a situation she caused. And for a curious auditor, it was the perfect trap.

I watched her leave the company and come back, if only she had any idea how long I’ve waited for her to want to uncover something about my company.

I didn’t do anything much, my secrets were there because I never expected her to get that far.

Five severs deep…such enthusiasm would ruin her. If I hadn’t stepped out, she would have gone deeper…Then I wouldn’t have any other choice than to kill her on the spot.

After ten years, I finally found a new interesting toy to play with.

I stood up and went to the boardroom. The moment they heard my footsteps, the room went dead silent and they all stood up. I watched them shift uncomfortably when I took my seat.

I rested for around three minutes, and they were still standing. No one dared to sit without my permission.

“Sit.”

Once they took their seats, they looked anxiously at each other, waiting for the courageous and bold one to take the lead. Someone finally did.

“Alexander, this is highly unorthodox,” Marcus Vance–no relation to Elena, just an old, wealthy parasite–protested, tapping his gold Parker pen against his tablet. “A sudden engagement to a temporary corporate auditor? The media is already calling it a scandalous cover-up for your recent volatility in the European markets.”

I leaned back in my leather chair, letting a slow, dangerous silence stretch across the room. I let my gaze rest on Marcus until the older man shifted uncomfortably, dropping his eyes.

“The media writes what I allow them to write, Marcus,” I said, my voice smooth, a dangerous pure. “Miss Vance discovered a discrepancy in our shipping logistics. She brought it directly to me, showing a level of loyalty and brilliance that this board severely lacks. I found it…captivating.”

In reality, the discrepancy she found was the lifeblood of the Iron Vipers. If she had leaked that encrypted ledger, the federal government would have seized my ports by dawn. But the board didn’t need to know that. They just needed to think I was tamed by a woman, rather than planning a hostile takeover of their own shares.

“But a woman of her background…” another board member muttered. “She has no pedigree. Her father is a retired academic, her mother a homemaker. She has no standing.”

My jaw clenched, a feral, dark protective instinct sparking in my gut that annoyed even me. I didn't like these old men speaking her name. I didn’t like them analysing her. She was my captive. My liability to manage.

“You seem to have run your background check on my woman. Who gave you such permission?” I shot back. “She has me,” I said coldly, the words dropping like lead weights onto the table. “And that gives her more standing than anyone in this room. The engagement is non-negotiable. The press release is live. If any of you have an issue with my personal life, you are welcome to sell your shares back to me. At a loss, of course.”

Silence descended on the boardroom. None of them had the balls to challenge the King of the Vipers in a business suit. If they knew…half of them would be dead, the remaining half serving as aimboards for archery and shooting.

As the meeting adjourned, my head of security, Viktor, stepped into the room, leaning down to speak into my ear.

“The girl’s phone has been tapped as ordered, Boss,” Viktor whispered. “She received three texts from a Maya Lin. A close friend. The Lin girl is asking why she missed their morning coffee. Miss Vance hasn’t replied yet.”

I looked out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, watching the city skyline. Elena was currently downstairs, likely enduring the toxic whispers of my employees, bleeding from the reputation I was actively shredding.

“Keep the tap active,” I commanded coldly. “If she types a single word about the Vipers, terminate the friend. Permanently. And tell the stylist tonight to make sure Elena wears green. It matches my ring.”