Page 3 of Crush

Unsure of how to respond, I dragged in a breath. My lungs were suddenly tight.

The thought of never seeing him again hurt the most of all!

I sucked back the pained noise that almost fell from my lips. I needed to be strong and not show any weakness. That’s what Zander would have expected.

How wrong the woman was, how wrong theyallwere.

No one knew the truth but us.

Zander Harker was a man of many faces but I wouldn’t say he was twisted.

Hewas the one I wanted. Our relationship was unique and special and nobody got me like he did. Zander had opened my eyes and I was now seeing things clearly.

You see, true lovedoesexist, it may come to you in an unorthodox manner but when it does, embrace it with both hands andneverlet it go.

Alexander aka Zander Harker was my first and only love.

And one day, he would come back for me.

One

Crush

verb: to violently subdue an opposition or a rebellion

noun: an intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable

Five Years Later

Max

Annoyingwas too mild of a word to describe Amber-Leigh Swift.Fucking downright difficultwould be more accurate.

We had only been working together for a few weeks, yet she had managed to get under my skin, atanygiven opportunity.

Life as I knew it was gradually becoming a shit show.

At work, I was a consummate professional and considerably thick-skinned, but the woman knewexactlywhat buttons to push—strike that—stompall over. Lady Swift had sunk her claws through said skin,waypast the bone and deeper. The woman provoked that darker side of me, the ugly I held at bay. At work anyway, my personal life was a different story and I was much more spontaneous. There was a good reason I kept my monster out of the workplace; ask anyone who knew me.

It was only Tuesday and I was already in a mood and if she spoke over mejust one more time;I would likely put my fist through the wall, cue said monster.

Over the last two weeks, Amber had started to undermine me regularly, making me look weak in front of my men.

I had offered her a temporary contract as a trainee project manager as a favour to her father and if I could go back and change that, believe me, I would.

The woman wasbeyonda headache. The nickname I had labelled her after only a handful of meetings suited her well; Amber-Leigh Swift aka The Antichrist.

I watched her through narrowed eyes as we stood before key members of my workforce. An emergency meeting had been called when the site we were working on had flooded. Floodwater was a bitch when working construction; just like the woman who stood before me.

Amber’s voice was melodic as she addressed the lads, it was a nice-sounding tone and didn’t suit her sour disposition. The woman was probably responsible for coining the phraseresting bitch face. Although it needed torest in peace, in my opinion.

More fool me, I had allowed Amber to work on this project as a favour to her old man and I use the term ‘working’ loosely. I’d regretted my decision to let her tag along from day one. She was amassivepain in my arse. If I could jump in a time machine and go back and change things I would; irrespective of ballsing up the time continuum. If truth be known, I’d like to zap the bitch with one point, twenty-one gigawatts.

Why thehellhad I agreed to such a stupid request, like a limp-dicked pushover? I must have been high at the time. I hadneverworked with amateurs before and Amber wasexactlythat. She was inexperienced andtotallyunsuitable. She couldn’t even follow a simple instruction. The woman was condescending, and stubborn and didn’t listen to a word I said. And in my business, my word was law.

Scratching my jaw, I watched her speaking so confidently to a room filled mostly with large, sweaty blokes. I’m not even remotely joking; they hung oneveryword like she was their fucking Messiah.

Being so wet behind the ears, Amber probably believed they respected her, but I knew the truth. My eyes roamed slyly over her tight little body;they just want to bang you wearing those fuck-me heels sweetheart, it has nothing to do withrespect. God knew why she thought her footwear was the height of sophistication. They looked like something a whore would wear and were totally at odds with the buttoned-up vibe her outfit put out there. She was a walking, talking contradiction.

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