Page 19 of Rivals Next Door

“Yeah?”

Blue eyes filled with desire stared back at me.

“I don’t care what you do. I still want to be with you. Your secrets are safe with me.” I palmed his face and held his gaze with imploring eyes. “Just don’t get caught and get into trouble, okay?”

A tiny smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “I won’t, Princess.”

Smiling, I swooped down to kiss him again. When Dad found out about Alex, he’d probably blow his top, but I didn’t care. I might already be in love…

8

ALEX

Present…

Instead of focusing on work, I sat in my office, staring out the window and thinking about Olivia. She was like a plague of the mind. I couldn’t get rid of her no matter how hard I tried. Her phone call earlier made it worse. Who did she think she was trying to arrange meetings? I’d be the one staying in charge here. I’d keep my head around her too, unlike when I was a stupid kid in love.

Back then, Olivia owned me. I would have done anything for that woman. Of course, I was convinced she was just as in love with me as I was with her. She made me think she accepted who I was. I’d always been honest with her. I never hid who I was, and she told me she didn’t care. The liar… Olivia was one hell of an actress. That bitter taste of resentment rose in my throat.

Before I could swallow it, I heard a commotion outside my door. Just as I was about to get up to investigate, my door burst open and my harried-looking assistant appeared.

“Everything alright, Opal?” I asked.

She straightened her glasses and sighed. “Mr. Knight, I’m sorry to bother you, but Olivia Brentwood is here. She refuses to leave even after I threatened to call security.”

My eyebrows shot up. Olivia was just as stubborn as I was, so I had sympathy for my assistant. “It’s fine. Let her in.”

She nodded. However, before she could even step aside, Olivia brushed past her. My assistant scowled at her, and Olivia gave her a sheepish look. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I have something urgent to discuss with your boss.”

Opal sighed and closed the door.

Once we were alone, Olivia turned to me with a tight smile. “Mr. Knight.”

I raised my eyebrows at the formality.

“What part of I’m busy didn’t you understand, Olivia?” Although I glared at her, I had to admire how classy she looked in her tailored pantsuit that hugged her hips and emphasized her long legs.

“Please,” she scoffed and waved a hand to encompass my empty office. “You just wanted to avoid talking to me.”

“Bingo,” I replied through clenched teeth. “Because we have nothing to talk about.”

“On the contrary…” She ignored my cold reception and advanced into my office to take the seat in front of my desk. She sat with her shoulders back and watched me with raised eyebrows as if she expected me to fall in line and appease her desire to chat.

Typical Ice Princess.

Gritting my teeth, I sat behind my desk and faced her. I just stared at her, giving away nothing as I liked to do when facing an opponent. My icy stare had the desired effect. Olivia visibly swallowed and her haughty expression crumbled into lines of uncertainty. Satisfaction flowed through my veins. It felt good to take Princess Olivia down a notch.

“What do you want, Olivia?” I asked, checking my watch. “You have five minutes.”

“That’s hardly?—”

“Five minutes, and I’m calling security to escort you out.”

Her jaw slackened, but she schooled her expression quickly. I snorted inwardly. She really thought I’d have a kumbaya attitude with her? Either she thought herself too important or she had a bad memory. It was likely the former… the arrogance of a Brentwood.

“I figured you’d have calmed down after our first meeting, and we could be more… civil,” she began.

I leaned back in my chair to study her with mild amusement. “As I recall, you were the one on your high horse during our last meeting. You implied that I’m somehow not good enough to acquire BioTech.”

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