back, Alek,” she said coolly, slowly walking the length of the polished hardwood floors to reach her large desk. She turned to face him, leaning back against the edge of her desk and crossing her ankles.
There he stood in the open doorway in a designer suit and handmade shoes, looking every bit the man of power. Polished. Stylish. Tall, truly dark and unapologetically handsome. Black hair cut low, dark eyes, bronzed brown complexion. His groomed beard emphasized his high cheekbones and square jawline. He stood right at six feet tall with a strong, athletic build that his tailored suit couldn’t hide.
Alessandra’s eyes missed nothing, not even the small scar on his cheek that added a dangerous edge to his style. She had always considered him a fine-looking man, but the years made him more rugged...more handsome.
Sexy. Too damn sexy.
Alessandra had heard of and seen Alek’s personal life in the press, but the photos of him and his rotation of beautiful dates had not prepared her for all of him in person. Her facade was cool as she hid her pounding heart and racing pulse. Alek Ansah was pure, raw sex appeal.
Well, I’ll be damned.
“Alessandra,” he said, his voice deep and rich with that British accent.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom.
Alessandra’s heart betrayed her. She ignored the almost deafening pounding as she eyed him strolling into her office. He came over to stand at her window, his coal-black eyes locked on some spot in the distance. He had the kind of stride that hinted at his sexual prowess.
She looked back over her shoulder. Her eyes caressed his profile. Sexy arrogant bully.
Alek suddenly turned his head to eye her, as well.
Alessandra kept her face nonchalant. “Can I help you with something, Alek?” she asked, rising to come around her desk and pull back her chair to claim her seat behind it. Her hand was as unsteady as her pulse as she picked up her favorite Aurora fountain pen.
“There are whispers in the air that you are proposing working on a deal to shift the firm into shipping,” he said, moving over to stand in front of her desk.
Alessandra glanced up at him, purposely dismissing him with her eyes as she pretended to focus on the files and forms before her. “Whispers, Alek?” she said mockingly. “I would think a man like you was above listening to...whispers.”
“A man like me, Alessandra?”
She allowed herself a moment to close her eyes at how his tongue seemed to caress her name. Dropping her pen, she leaned back in her chair and looked up at him. “Your first day back and we’re picking—no, no, no—you’re picking up right where you left off,” she said with a disapproving twist of her lips.
“My feelings haven’t changed since my last day here,” he assured her, his eyes locked on her.
“Your feelings about me, I assume?” Alessandra rose to her feet, hating the feeling of him looking down on her.
“Exactly.”
She felt affronted. “And your issue with me is?” she asked, deciding to be just as bold as him.
“Your refusal to step down from a position not suited for you,” he instantly shot back with ease as if the words had been sitting perched on the tip of his tongue.
“It’s too bad you feel that way, Alek,” she said, her voice firm. “Because you’re mistaken.”
His eyes took her in. Her hair. Her face. The fit of the embroidered satin shirt she wore with a formfitting pencil skirt. A warm appreciation filled the dark depths.
In the years since she blossomed into a swan, she had learned to pick up on the unspoken cues of a man. She felt desired at his perusal, but his demeanor toward her was weakening her desire of him.
Alek reached across the desk dividing them to stroke her hair. “I like your new look. Playing dress-up?” he asked, slightly mocking.
She held his stare as she coolly raised her hand to brush away his touch. “Change is good, Alek. Particularly change of times. Why don’t you and your outdated chauvinistic thinking join the rest of us in the current year.”
“This should be fun,” Alek said, nodding his head and smiling.
“Games are not a part of my day, Alek,” she snapped. “I will not be undermined in this business by you and your return. I have earned my MBA from your alma mater. I have worked my way up inside this business. I have implemented deals that have generated ADG a steady influx of money. I have proved my worth. And, most importantly, Alek, I own the same number of shares as you. We are equals. And I’m not going anywhere.”
He wiped his mouth as he eyed her with a hint of amusement in his eyes. “We’ll see,” he said simply before turning to walk out of her office.
Even as his arrogance burned her gut, her eyes took in his smooth stride until he disappeared from her line of vision. Forcing herself to relax, she dropped down into her seat and swiveled to look out the window at the Manhattan views as she attempted to release her anger and her desire.
What a difference five years makes.
Alek picked up his crystal glass of water and closely watched Alessandra over the rim as she spoke to the board members from her seat at the opposite end of the conference table. Where once she had been an ineffectual woman who seemed afraid of her own shadow, her slender face buried beneath a ton of curls and so thin that the wind could shift her like a leaf, she had transformed herself both physically and in temperament. The dull caterpillar had become a jewel-toned butterfly.
Her dark tresses were bone straight and expertly styled to complement her heart-shaped face and caramel-brown complexion. Makeup highlighted her almond-shaped eyes of brandy, blush contoured her high cheekbones, and gloss made her full lips poutier and succulent. Her height was average but the curves of her toned shape were not. She wore a dark gray chiffon blouse with sheer sleeves and a plunging neckline that was just deep enough to allude to more without revealing it. She paired it with wide-leg pants that fit close against her hips before falling straight to the floor and flaring. Her outfit was professional with a sexy edge.
His eyes dipped down to her mouth as she spoke. He liked the way the tip of her tongue caressed the small dip in the center of her bottom lip. Her oxblood lipstick gave her a dramatic flair that was hard to ignore.
Alek took a deep sip of water as he forced himself to look away from her. To not be drawn into her, into everything she had become: a mix of cool confidence and simmering sex appeal. He definitely enjoyed the look of her more than what she was saying.
“Alek... Alek...your thoughts?”
He blinked away a vision of undoing every button of Alessandra’s shirt to bury his head against her breasts as he pressed her body down onto the conference table. His eyes shifted to Aldrich Brent, the president of the corporation and executive board member. “I’m not impressed,” he said dismissively, rising to his feet. He smoothed his double-knotted silk tie before buttoning the jacket of his custom Tom Ford pin-striped suit. “It’s clear
