The Alpha's Filthy Secret.

- CHAPTER NINE -

Sloane.

I cleared my throat, fixing my gaze firmly on the floor numbers lighting up above the door.

Julian, on the other hand, stepped forward with an eager smile, holding out his hand. "Mr. Blackridge. We didn't expect you to join us on the elevator."

"I like you to be punctual," Raul said, his voice smooth and low. He took Julian's hand, gave it a single firm shake, and then shifted his weight, leaning his broad shoulder against the stainless steel elevator wall.

His eyes never left my face.

The door closed, and the lift began its quiet climb. The silence inside the elevator stretched thin, packed with a static charge that made the skin on my arms prickle. Julian adjusted his tie, suddenly looking very interested in his coffee cup.

"You must really hate me," Raul murmured, his tone so casual it almost sounded conversational.

I turned my head and looked directly into those dark green eyes. "You seem like the type of man with personal interest that only benefits himself," I said, keeping my voice flat. "This is my life. And my dream."

"I'm helping." he replied, not a single muscle in his jaw flinching.

"We shall see."

Julian cleared his throat loudly, shifting his feet on the carpeted floor. He looked between the two of us, his eyebrows pulled tight in confusion, but before he could ask a single question, the elevator chimed.

The indicator light flashed fourteen, and the doors slid open.

Raul stepped out first, his long stride immediately setting the pace. Waiting in the hallway was a young man in a dark, sharply tailored suit, holding a slim leather briefcase and an accordion folder under one arm. He looked no older than twenty four, with clean cut dark hair and striking unusual violet eyes.

The moment the young man saw Raul, he inclined his head in a respectful bow. "Good morning, Mr. Blackridge."

"Ah, Leon," Raul said, slowing his pace just enough for Julian and me to catch up. He gestured toward the young man. "This is my assistant."

I looked at Leon, and my breath caught in the back of my throat.

Wolf.

I knew instantly. It wasn't just because of the unusual color of his eyes, it was the subtle, grounded pressure in his aura that only another wolf could sense. Leon's head tilted slightly as his gaze met mine. His pupils dilated, his nostrils flaring as he caught the faint, masked scent beneath my perfume. For a fraction of a second, his composure cracked, his eyes widening in shock.

He recognized what I was. But more than that, he seemed to recognize the faint, lingering mark beneath my collar.

Leon recovered instantly, pulling his shoulders back and offering a polite professional smile. "Good morning. You must be Mr. Julian and Miss Eva."

"Nice to meet you, Leon," Julian said, offering a quick handshake before gesturing down the carpeted corridor. "Right this way. The board is already assembled."

We walked through the double glass doors into the main boardroom. The long glass conference table was surrounded by ten executive chairs, most of them occupied by the agency's senior partners and legal counsel.

At the car head of the sat Orson Krenshaw.

Orson was a wide, pot bellied man in his late fifties whose collar always looked a size too tight for his fat neck.

He was greedy, arrogant, and had spent the last three years trying to manipulate my contract to lock me into low yield exclusivity deals. I'd fought him on every single clause, using my own lawyer to shoot down his traps. He hated me for it, but he couldn't fire me or bench me because my face generated sixty percent of the agency's total revenue.

"Julian, finally," Orson grunted, dabbing his damp forehead with a folded handkerchief. "We were beginning to think-"

He stopped mid sentence as Raul walked into the room. Orson's eyes went wide, his mouth snapping shut. He practically scrambled out of his leather chair, smoothing his tie over his stomach. "Mr. Blackridge! Welcome, welcome. Please, take a seat."

Julian offered a quick apology for the delay, guiding Raul and Leon of the high backed chairs at the center of the table. I took my usual seat near the end, next to Julian, keeping my face entirely blank.

I couldn't show any personal hostility toward Raul. If Orson or the board sensed I was trying to sabotage a multi million dollar buyout of personal spite, they would use it as grounds to breach my contract and freeze my earnings. I had to play the professional model who was simply listening to a business proposal.

"Let's get straight to the numbers," Raul said, resting his forearms on the table. He didn't look at a single piece of paper. He didn't need to.

Leon opened his briefcase, efficiently distributing leather bound proposal books to every person at the table.

As Raul began to speak, his voice filled the room with an effortless, commanding authority. He outlined the expansion plan for Blackridge Capital's media wing. He didn't just promise funding, he offered direct, unmediated access to luxury houses in Paris, Milan, and Tokyo, cutting out the European middle men who usually drained our profit margins.

The board members were practically drooling.

I watched two female senior associates sitting across from me subtly shift in their chairs. One of them unbuttoned the top fastener of her silk blouse, leaning forward onto her elbows so her cleavage showed more. The other ran a hand through her blonde hair, titling her neck while staring at Raul with hungry eyes.

A sharp, ugly spike of irritation shot through my chest. My jaw clenched so hard my teeth hurt. I hated the reaction. I hated that my stomach twisted in a knot watching other women preen for his attention, even after everything he'd done, even after five years of hiding.

Stop it. I scolded myself, digging my fingernails into the palm of my hand beneath the table. He's nothing to you.

"The equity structure is straightforward," Raul continued, his dark green eyes sweeping over the room before settling heavily on me. "Blackridge Capital acquires fifty one percent. We injected twelve million in liquid capital today. Current management remains in place, but all international contract approvals for top talent go through my desk."

Orson Crenshaw looked like he'd just been handed the keys to a bank vault. He dabbed his sweaty neck last time, pushed his chair back, and stood up, looking around the table.

"This is an extraordinary offer," Orson declared, his loud voice booming off the glass walls. "Unanimous, I assume?"

Not one single board member raised an objection. They all seem invested in Raul's deal.

Orson turned his wide, grinning face toward me, his eyes glinting with a triumphant light. "The contract is approved," Orson said, clapping his hands together once. "Eva, I expect your full and complete cooperation with Mr. Blackridge and his team during this transition. Starting today, he's your primary partner."