From my Bully to CEO

Chapter 11

PAST

SELENE’S POV:

School had been suspiciously calm, considering it’d been a full day since my run-in with the boys in the cafeteria.

Sure, the whispers around me were louder than ever but none of the guy had tried to approach me again. Hadn’t even looked at me with that malicious glint in their eyes in any of the classes we shared.

And most of all, Maya Saeed had also avoided me like the plague. Like the entire little show she put of defending me in front of the boys was something I’d dreamed up. Once, my eyes had met hers from across the cafeteria and she wrinkled her nose, pure disdain etched into her face like I was the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen before looking away.

I was not able to understand her real intentions for defending me that day but now that my brain wasn’t short-circuting with panic, I saw her act clearly for what is really was. A bitchy scheme to put more focus on me. To make the entire school realize I was someone worth toying with after all. Because if Maya Saeed had acknowledged me, even for a moment, I must be worth tearing apart.

It wasn’t been kindness. It wasn’t been some spark of girl solidarity.

It was just a filthy show of power.

But, thankfully, her plan hadn’t worked. Or at least I hoped it hadn’t.

Because the boys had left me alone. For now.

I planned to enjoy this peace while it lasted while I came up with a solution to get them off my back without bruising their fragile egos, lest they pin a target on my back for the rest of the school year.

The bell rang, jolting me out of my thoughts. I sighed and closed the history book propped open in front of me with a snap.I looked around, only now realizing that I was only student left lingering in the library.

I fell in love with the place the second I entered it.

The library was huge - almost the size of a small mansion - with shelves that touched the ceilings. A wide staircase in the middle of the room led to the upper floor which was decorated with even more shelves. There was a rolling ladder attached to the shelves for easy access and the entire place had an ethereal feel to it.

There had been libraries in LA, of course. But in comparison to this one, they all looked a little too modernized now. Like they were designed to cater to a certain audience, the ones who got their idea of a library from social media, from those influencers who promoted luxuriousness and overcomsumption with every breath they took.

But this library had a different kind of charm, a vintage glean to it all that you could never find in those polished book stores. Dark stained wood, the smell of old paper and inkwells embedded in every corner. It felt like a place where fairytales would come true. A portal into a world I’d only ever read about in books.

Now, I found excuses and gaps in my timetable to sneak in here. The only place where the whispers and the glares stopped, where I could just shut my brain off in peace. “Hale!” The librarian’s voice made me jolt. “You need to leave.” She was an older lady with greying hair and large spectacles that magnified her hawk like eyes. She reminded me of the librarian from Monsters University.

“Yes,” I said quickly, scooping the thick history textbook in my arms. “I’m leaving. Just putting this back.”

She stared at me with narrowed eyes for a second too long before turning away and disappearing in the curve of the stairs.

I walked back towards the shelves I grabbed the book from. It belonged on one of the upper tiers, and if I was being honest, I mostly picked it up earlier just so I could slide the ladder over and climb it—pretend I was Belle for a moment.

Now, someone had taken the ladder to the other side of the room and I bit back a groan. Rising onto my tiptoes, I stretched my arm up, trying to shove the book back without it. I heard footsteps behind me, stopping a little too close and I rolled my eyes to myself.

“Yes, Mrs Rodriguez, I’m leaving,” I huffed. “I’m not going to steal your book nor do I have any intention of getting locked inside this school.”

“I’m sure Mrs Rodriquez won’t appreciate the sarcasm, Ninety-Eight,” A very gruff, very masculine voice said instead. The blood froze in my veins and I spun around too fast, the history textbook clutched agasint my chest like armor.

Grayson was close. So close.

Close enough that I could taste his cologne on my tongue - coffee laced with something darker, muskier. Close enough that the heat radiating from him brushed against the bare skin of my arms.

“What do you want, Vexley?” I asked before I could stop myself. The edge in my tone made him raise an eyebrow, a lazy smirk grazing his annoyingly gorgeous features.

“Oh, she bites,” he drawled, taking a step forward. I instinctively shrunk away but there wasn’t much space and my back hit the shelves.

He reached forward and plucked the thick textbook from between my arms with two fingers - like I was something contagious he wanted to avoid touching.

“Let me help,” he said, voice deceptively gentle.

I didn’t know Grayson Vexley at all but still, I knew he was anything but gentle. And he definitely wasn’t here out of the goodness of his heart or because chivalry was something he was known for.

“I can do it myself,” I said, my teeth gritted but it was too late.

He was already stepping in, stealing whatever little space there was between us. My back pressed harder against the shelves as his body blocked any way out. Reaching up, he effortlessly slid the book into its place, not even having to stretch for it.

That left me standing there, my face almost - almost - pressed against his chest. His hard, solid, very defined chest.

My breathing was erratic and his scent overwhelmed me in ways I hadn’t thought possible. He straightened once again and I blinked frantically, tilting my head up to meet his gaze with enough fire to scorch him. There was no smirk on his face anymore. Just a serious stillness that made me dizzy all over again.

I glanced around and realized there was no one coming to save me from him. The silence in the library pressed against my eardrums like a warning siren.

“Step back, Vexley,” I said, my voice sharp.

He braced an arm against the shelf beside my head, leaning in just enough to close the air between us. “And what if I don’t?” He asked, tilting his head to the side, as if observing something insignificant and worthless. His tone wasn’t threatening. It was a quiet push to see how far I was willing to go.

Up until now, I kept my fire banked, swallowing the sharper edges of myself so the boys wouldn’t have a reason to fixate on me. But if Grayson Vexley was going to be an asshole and corner me in a secluded library only to intimidate me then fine - I could pull out my weapons as well.

At least with him. Because coming here alone had been a calculated move on his part. I knew that and he knew that as well. The thing with the other guys can be mindless bullying and name calling but with Grayson, this has just turned into something more.

A battle none of us were ready for. Or at least, I wasn’t. But for some reason, I didn’t feel the urge to hold back with him like I had with the rest.

I met his gaze with a burning one of mine. “Or I report you for s****l harassment.” My gaze drifted meaningfully to the camera on the opposite corner. “And use that footage as proof.”

Telling Grasyon my strategy wasn’t a smart move but then again, he wasn’t threatening me. Not really. He just wanted to see what I was made of and I just showec him exactly that. His ice blue eyes glinted with something wild, like I finally did something worthy of his time. The look made him appear so alive, so deliciously warm I felt my knees go weak for some reason.

Thank God for the shelves behind me.

“Careful, Hale,” he said and I could’ve sworn his gaze flicked to my parted lips, darkening for a fraction of a second. But the look was so fleeting, so ephemeral, I thought I only imagined it. “You’re making waves and they won’t carry you any far in this school.”

“Why?” I asked, tilting my head upwards defiantly. “Afraid I might knock you off your imaginary throne, Vexley?

He laughed. A chuckle that revebreated deep in his chest and caused my skin to erupt in goosebumps.

“Oh, you’re delusional,” he said, the words ending with a self-satisfied sigh. “You think you’ve got that kind of power, Hale? You really think just because you know s**t and read books, you can touch me?”

I blinked, the hatred in his tone so visceral it wrapped around my spine like a curse, a warning, a hand. And because my brain was wired wrong and I didn’t know when to stop, I took a step forward and dragged a single finger down his bulging bicep to his elbow.

He jolted - actually jolted - under my touch like I physically burned him. My throat became unbearably dry at the reaction I elicited from him and what it might meant. No, I told myself firmly. It couldn’t be what I was thinking it is. I was crazy and needed to stop.

I looked up and realized that was a mistake. His eyes were no longer ice. They were a thunderstorm, swirling and electric - barely contained.

“What the f**k do you think you’re doing?” He gritted out and his voice sounded hoarse.

I blinked. Before I acted, my brain knew what I was doing it. Now, suddenly, I couldn’t remember.

“Hale!” He gritted out, cold fingers curling around my wrist and I realized that my finger still rested against the crook of his elbow.

His touch brought out of range of conflicting emotions - rage and loathing and something hot and wild that felt a lot like l**t. I swallowed heavily.

God help me, I needed to take a cold shower. Preferably with holy water.

I could not - absolutely could not - be having a s****l awakening here, in a dark corner of a never ending library and that too over Grayson Vexley of all people. And it definitely wasn’t in an innocent, ‘I have a crush’ kind of way.

There was nothing innocent about the way heat that curled in my lower belly. Like sin incarnate.

“You told me I couldn’t touch you,” I said, my voice slightly shaky. If it were anyone other than the painfully observant Grayson Vexley, the moment of weakness might’ve gone unnoticed. But not with Grayson. He noticed everything. “I showed you just how easily I can.”

Something shifted in his eyes. Less storm now, more lightning. He leaned in, the faintest brush of his breath grazing my cheek.

“That was trespassing, Hale,” His tone was low, almost amused, but there was something dangerous beneath it, pulsing like a heartbeat I suddenly felt tethered to. “And in my world, people who trespass don’t walk away without consequences.”

Now, that was a threat. And I didn’t know what it meant. His fingers tightened around my wrist every so slightly, sending my pulse in a frenzy. I forced myself to hold his gaze. He released my hand slowly, his lips curling into something between a smirk and a warning. “Next time you touch me, I’ll make sure you regret me,” he murmured.

Another threat.

“If you don’t want me to touch me,” I pushed back, “Don’t step into my space and definitely do not try to intimidate me like I’m someone you can control.”

He grinned and it made him look a little unhinged. “I’m not interested in controlling you, Hale,” he said softly. I held my breath. “I want to break you.”

The air left my lungs in a painful whoosh and I held onto the shelves behind me to keep myself steady. This was no amusement in his voice now. No hesitation. Just a bone chilling certainty. This wasn’t a game for him. Or some kind of power play. This was war. And he wasn't going to hold back. I opened my mouth to retort, to ask him why he was doing this. Why me. What had I done? But he was already walking away, his back to me.

The space between us stretched, wild and yawning - a cliff, a drop, a fall that could kill. I could either jump or I could take a step back, play it safe. But my heart hadn’t raced like this in years. I hadn’t felt so alive, so human in so long.

So, I opened my mouth and I jumped.