Chapter Two

ALEXANDER

“Can the two of you just cut it out already?” I asked my brothers who sat in my office. They were twins, and it annoyed me to my very toes whenever they attacked me at the same time. I could deal with one, and not two. I could never win an argument when it came to that. They always showed me that two heads were better than one.

Both Hermes, and Orion shook their head. “Nope.” Hermes stated.

“Never.” Orion seconded his brother. "We wouldn't."

I just huffed and leaned back on my chair, enjoying the feel of the soft leather, through my suit-clad back. “Fine. Do as you please. I’ll be out of here in a few minutes anyway.” I checked the time to be sure.

I had an emergency meeting to attend outside the office, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Tuesdays were usually ‘no meeting’ days. But it was an emergency. And I rather be at a meeting, than in this office with my brothers.

“That’s your problem, man. Just make sure you have a woman available to show to your mother by the weekend, for the family dinner.” Orion said, picking up a handful of wrapped chocolates from my stash on the table. He winked as I eyed him.

I love chocolates.

“Don’t worry, it would soon get to your turn. And I would make sure I give you heavy doses of the torture you are giving me now.” I said, packing up my file. I still had a few minutes left before the driver was ready.

“Till then, big brother. For now, it’s your turn and we are here for it. Besides, who needs to settle down when you could just be on your own and have all the peace you want?”

Exactly! But Mama Christos wasn’t even trying to understand me at all. My mother was on my neck about the whole relationship issue. Ateast she wasn't talking about marriage!

She had totally lost her patience with me, after waiting for me to bring a woman home for years, amd now she was accusing me of being gay! “How would mother even think I am gay?” I said out loud, earning a round of laughter from the two men across me.

“Well you sure behave like it. If we were judging by stereotypes.” Hermès answered. “No one ever sees you with a woman. Not even the paparazzi and media, who have their eyes on you, twenty-four-seven.”

It wasn’t my fault that I was raised well. I didn't test women like clothes. A different one on my arm when I pleased. If not, I had the money and the means. “It’s not like the two of you are any different. If you were not my brothers, and judging by how well I know you, I would have said you haven’t kissed a woman in your life.” I fired back. Both of them grunted in agreement. Every child of the Christos family was raised well.

Hermes’ phone vibrated, and he picked it up, wincing as he looked at it. “We got to go.” He said to me, rising to his feet with his twin in tow.

I followed suit, because I was also heading out. “I’m going out too.” I picked up my small suitcase and walked behind them, closing the door once I was in the hallway.

As we headed for the elevator, I couldn’t help sparing a look at the door next to mine. She was in there. I knew it. She had left her key card on the door, like she usually did.

Careless woman. It would have been fun locking her in and seeing what she does about it.

Although, when I had knocked earlier, she had been no where to be found.

“Ahh..there he goes again. Staring at the door like he could see through it.” Orion patted my on the back as he spoke. “I’m sure you would see and talk to her once you get back from your meeting which you would be late to if you keep on delaying.

I turned to see their mocking smiles.

Great!

Two hours later, I had only one sentence ringing in my mind.

Darren was an asshole.

That I had known from the moment I met him, but only experienced it firsthand in the last two hours of my fruitless meeting with him. What had his father been thinking, running off to an island with his latest girlfriend and handing an important project as the one we were working on, to him? What?

Apparently, he had called me over and wasted two hours of my time, just so he could tell me that he wasn’t comfortable working with me anymore. And would like to work with my partner instead.

Like hell was I going to let a rotten asshole like that close to Ariana!

Well that’s what had been on my mind, until he had told me they were having dinner this evening so they could go over the contract, and every other detail.

If that hadn’t been fishy as hell, then I don’t know what is!

So she had gone behind my back to sway Darren into working with only her!

I honked as I turned my car into the road that lead to my office.

I wasn’t sure who to pity. Ariana, for choosing to work with a stuck up prick, or Darren, for going headfirst into something that wasn’t going to end well for him.

But what if she liked him?

He was good looking, after all…

Jeez..

I didn’t like the way I was reacting to that possibility.

I parked my car slowly in the lot, not bothering to get down immediately, as many thoughts entered my mind.

Ariana Ramirez.

Oh, if beauty and brains was a person, it would be Ariana. She was everything a man would want in a woman. Any day, any time.

But…

We were business partners. And rule number one, in the rule book of relating with business partners, was..

Never mix business with pleasure.

It never ended well.

Especially with the kind of woman Ariana was.

A woman who always went after what she wanted, and always got it. Nope. She never lost. Wherever she went, she always had men worshiping her, drooling after her…

I didn’t want that.

Even if I had drooled on different occasions. Hah!

Who wouldn't?

I had worked with her for five years, after both our businesses were on the brink of collapse, and the only solution to bankruptcy was a partnership. And it had worked. It had worked like freaking magic, with both companies cutting down cost and maximizing utility.

We had even produce more together, than we had individually, even of you combined all our projects from that time.

Only, we didn’t need the partnership again. Hadn’t needed it for the past two years.

For some reason, I was reluctant to let her go. And she hadn’t brought it up yet.

Besides, we worked well together.

Oh dear.

But right now, I was pissed as hell with her for the stupid move she had made with Darren. It was a deal that benefited us both. How could she have gone behind me to slip it off my hands like that?

Had this been the plan all along?