Vows and Vengeance

It was the day of the gala and the grand ballroom was already set up and glittered like the stars. And there she was standing at the top of the marble staircase..… Elena Voss dressed like a queen she is wearing an emerald silk dress that clung to her body with a slit high enough to make her the center of attention for the evening. She knew exactly how much power she held not just as the CEO of the king voss global empire but she had the hips, breasts and lips that could ruin a man. Elena wasn’t always the center attention because just ten years ago she was “Charity case Elena” to the crowd at St Augustine’s prep. Just ten years ago she carried her books in her hand because her scholarship couldn’t cover up the cost of the basic things. Ten years ago Alexander king reminded her every chance he got that she didn’t belong with the crowd at St Augustine prep. Now she was CEO of Voss King Global and owned forty nine percent of his family’s empire. In six months the board would vote on who became Chairman him or her. Tonight was just the opening shot. She felt him before she saw him. That prickle at the back of her neck, the way the air shifted when a predator walked into the room. Alex appeared at the bottom of the staircase like he’d been waiting for her to notice him. Black tuxedo cut mercilessly close to his six-foot-four frame, shoulders that could block out the sun, and those pale gray eyes that had once looked at seventeen-year-old her like she was dirt beneath his Italian loafers. “Still trying to look expensive, Elena?” he said, voice low, almost lazy. She came down the stairs slow enough for him to get a good look at the slit in her dress. When she reached him she could smell cedar and scotch and trouble. “I don’t have to prove anything,” she said. “In six months I’ll just take it.” His mouth curved. “Keep dreaming, sweetheart. My wife’s family still owns three votes.” He said wife like a weapon. Camille was probably in Aspen right now with someone who wasn’t him. Elena smiled anyway. “Tell Camille hi for me when she gets back from whoever’s bed she’s in tonight.” His eyes dropped to her mouth, stayed there too long. “You still talk too much.” “And you still think with what’s in your pants. We’re both consistent.” The room seemed to get quieter, even though it hadn’t. Just the two of them, same as always, except now she wasn’t shaking. A waiter went by. Alex grabbed two glasses of champagne without looking, handed her one. Their fingers brushed. On purpose. Heat shot straight through her, annoying and familiar. “To old times,” he said, lifting his glass. “To new bosses,” she answered, and drank. He watched her throat when she swallowed. Then he leaned in, close enough that his next words brushed her ear. “East corridor. Five minutes. Unless you’re still scared of me.” She laughed, soft. “I stopped being scared of you a long time ago.” “Good,” he said, stepping back, eyes dragging down her body one last time. Then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd. Elena finished her champagne in one swallow. Every sensible part of her brain said walk away. Go smile at the board members, lock up the votes, win clean. She set the empty glass on a passing tray and headed for the east corridor. Clean had never been her style.