Page 13 of Alpha Crusher: A BWWM Romance Novella

“Does Tim smell as good as I do?” I asked, combing my fingers through my hair.

She looked up and frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“You stole my car. I could have pressed charges, but a kiss will do.”

She opened a drawer and handed my car keys to me.

“These are for you.” I placed the flowers on her desk. “Don’t fire your secretary; I snuck past her while she was on the phone,” I said, moving closer to Mira. She was wearing glasses this morning, and they gave her a serious look that enticed every part of me.

“I guess I should get a security guard to watch my door since Georgiana is letting people get by her, huh?” she asked, looking up at me. I removed her glasses, and she glared at me.

“You look beautiful with the glasses, but you look stunning without them,” I said, ignoring her question.

She folded her arms across her chest, and my eyes were drawn to her breasts. I remembered the way it felt to hold her in my arms and how hard her nipples were to my touch. She seemed to be remembering it too. Her cheeks lifted, and she licked her lips.

“You have your car keys. What else do you want?” she asked in a raspy voice.

How do you tell a woman like Mira you want her, but you’re not ready for a committed relationship? I wanted to be honest with her, and I wanted to know her better. When I first met her, I thought I could push her around in business by getting her to fall for me. I had heard about her being strong-willed, but I was Ward Levine, and I’d brought down the best of them. But I’d come to realize she's an amazingly strong person who I wanted to spend more time getting to know.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

“When do we go for the site inspection?” I asked, noticing her hand was out of the bandages and no longer looking inflamed.

"We can go now if you have the time," she said.

“Oh, I have time,” I replied, taking her hand into mine. “Your hand. It looks a lot better today,” I told her as I surveyed her spread out palm.

“Yes, it is much better,” she said then hesitated for a second. “Thanks,” she said quickly before she called her secretary and told her to reschedule her appointments for the day.

When she stood up, I realized she was wearing pants. I was a bit disappointed because I thought I would get a glimpse of her perfect, sexy legs, but she still looked good in pants. And I watched her walk out the door with a huge smile on my face.

Chapter Seven

Mira

The ringtone of my phone woke me up on a Saturday morning, and before I answered the call, I knew it was Ward. He had been the most demanding client I ever had. Work had started on his project, and we had already laid the foundation of the building. It took us a few weeks to get a building permit for the land because of Rebecca Rice.

Rebecca Rice was a veteran in the construction industry, but her firm started struggling when it lost its credibility. A few years back, Rebecca had a contract with the government to build a state orphanage. I was just starting out at the time, but I also sent in my proposal for the contract along with other notable construction firms. However, Rebecca Rice won the contract. Rumor had it, she was having an affair with a politician, and he made it possible for her to get the contract. Rebecca's firm could have subcontracted the job to other firms, but they decided to do it all alone, and it flopped. The building literally collapsed before the day it was to be opened. It was the biggest news of the year, Rebecca's picture was on every television channel, and it was a miracle she didn't go to prison. Rumor had it, again, that Rebecca's politician friend made it all go away because overnight the media stopped talking about it. She lost many of her clients, and her firm was still struggling. People think I’m heartless, but I felt pity for her, so I reached out to her. It could have happened to anybody. Well, none of my buildings would collapse due to shoddy work, but I wanted to let her know I sympathized with her. She thought I was mocking her, and she sent me a lengthy email filled with threats. She said she would run my company into the ground and it wouldn't see the light of day. She bragged that she had many powerful friends who could bury my firm with the blink of an eye.

At the time, I had just broken off a toxic relationship, and I needed a friend. My business was also young and struggling. Rebecca was someone I used to look up to as a role model, and I thought we could become friends. Before the incident occurred, I saw her at a fundraiser and tried to talk to her, but she walked away without saying a word. I thought she wasn't in a good mood.

I was devastated when I received the email from her. I wrote back to her that I reached out to her because she was my role model. Ever since then, Rebecca did everything within her power to hurt me.

She spread rumors about my firm and even stole some of my architects and masons by offering them higher salaries. Any project I bid for, she would bid against me. She was livid when I won the national awards.

I had to get a restraining order against her, and that was when I realized she was broken. She had anger issues, and since I was doing well, she directed her anger at me. Rebecca tried to stop me from getting a building permit for Ward’s project, but everyone knew I was an honest person, and I wouldn’t build in a place that would be hazardous to the community.

"Mira, are you there?" Ward's voice sounded at the end of the phone. The realization of his voice on the other end of the line made my toes curl as sensations sailed through my body.

"Yes."

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning. How may I help you?”

“Do you always have to sound so formal with me?” he asked.

"Ward, did you check the time before you dialed my cell phone?"

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