My Alpha CEO

The offer

MARIE

I had no idea how long we stood there, or how long I was staring up into his eyes and enjoying being lost in it but it was certain it wasn’t until we heard footsteps before he stepped away from me sharply and returned to the table.

My chest heaved heavily as I struggled to catch my breath. I made sure my racing heart had slowed down a bit before I began to head up the stairs to my room but Mom wouldn’t let me. She insisted I keep them company at the table so I would help her clear up when they were done and I had no choice than to agree.

“So, Sebastian, I was thinking, since you said you let go of the lady that was supposed to assist you in the office, I was hoping Marie could apply to fill in that role.” Dad began and I shot him a glare almost immediately but he didn’t even notice.

“Uhm….” Sebastian dragged out his response with an awkward smile that was obvious no one noticed except for me.

Did Dad really have to embarrass me so much? I was crying profusely inwardly and wasn’t certain I would survive the night at that point, it just kept getting worse.

“You really don’t have to accept her if she doesn’t meet your standards but I am just so certain that Marie is qualified enough and all I am asking for is for you to give her a chance, a shot at an interview.”

“I don’t see why not.” He said and Dad’s eyes lit up excitedly while Mom thanked him. Dad’s gaze drifted towards me and I was certain he was going to ask me to say something, definitely words of gratitude to Sebastian but when he saw the look on my face,

“What’s wrong princess?” He asked but I was forced to look away and tell him it was nothing even though I was boiling inside.

I didn’t want them to force him to accept me because it was clear the only reason he had agreed was because Dad put him in a hot spot and I didn’t want to be a charity case to him.

As soon as dinner was over, Dad returned to the living room to watch some football and it took almost every trick in Jake’s book to get Dad to not force Sebastian to watch the games with him. While Jake helped Mom with the dishwasher, Sebastian and I cleared the table in silence.

I was the first to speak up, clearing my throat noisily as I contemplated what to say and how to say it.

“If you have something to say, then just say it.” He pointed out, he must have noticed how I was constantly clearing my throat.

“You don’t have to give me back the job if you don’t want me, I am not a charity case and I am definitely qualified enough to get a job somewhere else. Thanks to your six weeks training, I have the skills to work for any company anywhere in the world so this is your loss, not mine.” I said with an air of confidence around me.

“Exactly as it should be, don’t get me wrong, I haven’t changed my mind about you and would gladly take this loss but I already gave my word to your parents and in case you haven’t noticed, I am a man of my word.”

“I don’t even want to work for you so that works.” I clapped back, determined to save what was left of my dignity after the way he had me kicked out from his office that day.

“Stop trying so hard Marie, just attend the damn interview and stop acting like you didn’t dedicate six weeks of your life to this job.” He snapped.

I slammed the plates I had gathered in my hands back down on the table and shot him a deadly glare,

“Oh so now you know that I had dedicated six weeks of my life to a job you brutally kicked me out of on my first day?” I hissed, eyeing him, “you should have thought of that before you fired me. We wouldn’t even be in this mess if you had just acted like a professional and pretended not to remember anything.”

“And here we go again?” He rolled his eyes at me, infuriating me even more.

“Admit it, you and I were both wrong for what happened, the way you came onto me, it was certain that it wasn’t your first time but for some reason, I get to suffer for something we both did as two consenting adults.”

“Marie!” His tone was firm and sharp.

“Why are you acting like this is your first time having s*x with someone? It is already obvious that you’re one of those guys that goes around sleeping with anyone they can find but then… you’re too busy playing the role of the saint to see it.”

“Marie, I would never have done that if I had known that you were…”

“Seb!” Jake’s voice cut him off as he strolled back in and dragged Sebastian off after informing Mom and Dad that they would be heading out to spend some time together.

The entire night, I didn’t sleep a wink. I stayed awake, staring at the ceiling as my mind kept drifting back to Malcolm and the fact he was cheating on me. The memory was still very fresh in my mind and so was the searing pain that came along with it.

I had not seen him since that night and I never wanted to.

My parents had no clue what had happened, neither did Bella and I didn’t intend to tell anyone about what happened with Sebastian either.

The thought of him made my mind drift back to that night with him, why didn’t our encounter remain a pleasant memory? Why did he have to ruin everything by turning up as my boss and Jake’s friend?

I couldn’t help but wonder if he would really give me the job because no matter how much I pretended not to want it, this job was the only thing I had left. The relationship I had invested so much time and effort on had gone down the drain so I couldn’t allow those six weeks go down the drain either.

I had to get the job, I needed the job.

So the next morning, I woke up and got ready. As soon as I arrived, the older man from the other day sent me to his office on my own and the moment I pushed open the large, familiar doors, my eyes landed on him and the woman wrapped in his arms with her lips pressed against his.