Page 14 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
His eyes were this ridiculous shade of gray. Cold. Sharp. The kind of eyes that shouldn’t belong to someone with a pulse.
Something flickered in them. I don’t know what it was. Whatever it was, it made me feel like I was standing on the edge of something I couldn’t name.
And then, as quickly as it came, it was gone.
He stopped a few meters away from us, turning his sharp gaze back to Victor.
“The next time you employ one of your…playthings in my company—”
“Our company, brother,” Victor cut in, his voice clipped. Controlled. But barely.
On the other hand, I could feel my blood boiling.
Did he just…did he just call me a plaything?
Like I was some kind of office accessory Victor kept around to warm his sheets and fetch his coffee?
My jaw locked. My fists curled. My wolf growled low in my chest, but even she didn’t seem to fully understand what had just happened. Like she hadn’t quite caught the insult. Or maybe she had and just didn’t care.
Because he said it.
And apparently, when it came to him, she had selective hearing.
But I didn’t.
I heard every word. Every syllable had been wrapped in condescension and ice-cold judgment.
“HR had Alicia Montgomery from Yale already penned down for the position,” Mister Grumpy continued, tone smug enough to make my skin crawl. “And this—”
He gestured toward me like I was gum on the bottom of his shoe. “Where did she finish from?”
“Manhattan College,” I cut in, matching his tone beat for beat. “It may not be Yale, but it’s a pretty decent university.”
His scowl deepened. It was one of those death stares designed to silence everyone in a ten-mile radius.
Too bad I wasn’t everyone.
And I definitely wasn’t done.
Not by a long shot.
“Look, Mr.—” The word asshole was a razor at the edge of my tongue. It would’ve suited him better than whatever name he carried. “Sir,” I said instead, with just enough venom to season the civility. “I may not have walked the gilded halls of Yale, but I earned my degree. I worked my ass off. And if you think for one second that I got this job by warming Victor’s sheets, then I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone who gives a damn about your approval.”
The man with the thundercloud face took a step toward me. Just one. But it was enough to stir the air, enough to send that jolt down my spine again. My wolf whined, furious and…drawn. To him. To this arrogant, scowling storm of a man who hadn’t even said his name yet and already occupied every inch of my attention.
“I don’t like being disrespected in my own company,” he said, his voice low and cutting.
“And I don’t like being called someone’s plaything,” I snapped.
His eyes narrowed. “Then perhaps don’t behave like one.”
Oh, hell no.
Victor stepped in before I could say another word. “Luca—” So that was his name. Luca Vaughn. “She’s talented. Raw, yes. But sharp. That pitch she gave me? It’s better than anything Alicia sent in. She’s got vision. And teeth.” He gestured between us. “Clearly.”
Luca didn’t respond right away. His gaze stayed locked on mine. No, burrowed into mine. I held it, even as my heart was beating like a war drum.
Then—just like that—he turned away.
