That had been the end of their relationship and the last time Annette had seen any of the Michaelsons. Not physically per se. She had been keeping track of them on the news like the rest of the world.
However, she refused to give her opinion on the looks and appearance of Xavier, the current alpha of the Michaelson pack, whenever her colleagues swoon over him. But as good looking as Xavier might be, appearances does not make up for his cruel attitude.
And this is the same man she has to persuade into helping her. Fuck. This appears to be impossible.
"3:30 you said, that is unlikely because he has a 3:30 meeting with a client," puckered her blood red lips in confusion.
Seriously, did Xavier demand the women working for him to dress like barbies in desperate need of sex or did they decide to look like this on their own in the hopes of snaring the billionaire werewolf.
"It is a brief meeting," replied Annette. Well, very brief. Annette thought.
Enough time for him to get security to come running down to his office and have her escorted out of the building. Annette folded her hands and kept her expression neutral because if this woman was a werewolf, she would have been able to sense that Annette was telling a lie with the way her heart kept thumping in her chest. But Annette doubt the woman was a werewolf because she lacks the smooth and deadly movement of one. So for now Annette was safe.
The hell. What is stopping this woman from simply directing her to Xavier's office and be on her way. Things would be a lot better if she can just see him.
"I need to veri.." the receptionist did not complete with she was saying and get distracted by the noise at the door. Annette hurried and hind behind a decorative side partition in the reception area as she spotted a good number of wicked looking security guards flooding the reception area. Ahead of the security squad was a small team of men.
Unlike the receptionist, these men were werewolves, their light brown yellowish eyes as well as their movement gave them away.
Amidst these men was an intimidating brunette with broad shoulder speaking to the group of men.
Annette was frozen in place as the man's face finally came in to view and his gaze met her.
Xavier. It was Xavier. The very same Xavier Michaelson she was sorted after.
And damn, he was all grown up.
No evidence of the Young boy she once knew could be found. Instead, a man capable of exerting power and influence wearing a dark three piece Italian suit. The structure and shape of his face had harden, his jawline sharpened, his mouth spotting a pink lips. He had transformed into a devilishly handsome man.
The result was intimidating.
He gave her a quick accessing look before turning away dismissing her at once as he carried on with his conversation working across the room.
"Xavier, Xavier, it is me. Annette"
Shit, how was she going to convince him to have a conversation with her. Let alone help her.
He turned around to look at her, his piercing gaze assessing her.
For a second, she lost the ability to speak. Staring into those familiar eyes, she felt nervous. But the thought of James, her cousin's name engraved on a gravestone after the people, the blood suckers, the vampires he owed a lot of money are done with him and are kind enough to leave a body to be buried. That thought drove all forms of nervousness away.
"Annette McKinney? Josephine, my
aunt was married to-"
"I do know you." His voice sharp as a blade cut off her sentence before she could complete it. Arrogant bastard. She thought. But it did nothing to calm the storm she was facing, not in the slightest."What I am more interested in is why you are here." He said."Mr Michaelson, she claims that she have a 3:30 meeting with you," the receptionist said. Her voice seems to have changed, she was doing all she could to sound sexy and attractive, perhaps trying to get Xavier's attention at all cause, but in reality the sound of her voice was annoying. Annette had to stop herself from making a comment.Xavier gave a silent nod, not looking away from Annette."Please, I need your help.. For James."She finally said it. She could feel the gaze of the receptionist on her as she waited for his reply. The receptionist gave Annette a once over, sizing her up, and Annette gave her a dead stare in return. Annette was a woman who had curves in all the right places. She was provoke to run her hands al
He might as well be leading her to the lion's den.Xavier thought as he stepped to the side, making room for Annette to leave the elevator ahead of him.He was in shock when he spotted Annette McKinney in the lobby today, she was the last person he was expecting to see.She stepped out of the lift, giving him a small nod of the head and walked past him. Xavier took the opportunity to study her; he swept his gaze over her body while she wasn't paying attention. And damn, she was no longer the little girl he once knew; she had grown into a beautiful woman and a hot one at that. Her once slender figure has developed into an irresistible hourglass figure, taking the look of a seductress that can bring any man to his knees. She had her hair in a ponytail; the length of her hair reached her ass. She had on a simple dress that gave a perfect outline of her curves but not too much. She looks like a seductress without even trying. She was absolutely gorgeous. As he studied her, a feeling sw
"Then things did not go as planned?" He was already predicting what happened next. She nodded in affirmation, her face turning white. He had to fight the urge to walk towards her and comfort her. He walked to the bar on the left side of his office to fix himself a drink. He turned to her when he heard her voice."Yes, that is what happened per say," she said, running her left hand over her neck. The movement is so innocent yet sensual."What did James do?" he asked, moving to the front of the desk and leaning against it while taking a sip from his glass.Her lips quiver as if she were in pain. "James was not doing the business he had said he was. He took money from some of his friends and gambled it in hopes of earning more, but he lost all the money. Now his so-called friends want their money back as well as the people he lost to if not-""Friends? Does he know this his so called friends personal? Where did he meet them?" Sometimes the people you view as friends do not see you the
Baffled. To say Annette was shocked would be an understatement.This was far from what she had anticipated or even dreamed of. She had thought possibly that he would give her some money and they would work out a payment strategy over a stipulated period of time, and she would have to get different jobs and work for hours in order to meet up with the payment.Hell, he would have proposed that she work for him and keep doing so until her debt has been paid, and it would have been worth it for her brother, for James. But not this, not what he was proposing. Annette had never imagined in a million years that Xavier Michaelson would demand that of her. Demand for her body. Demand to have sex with her as a means to pay her debt.But the question was, will she be able to do it? Have sex with a man to save her brother.But Xavier was not just any man. They go way back, to when they were younger, teenagers, and they had been friends. She thought of the possibility of Xavier having feelings
But she could not let that happen; let James die when she can do something to prevent that from happening. And she would have to sleep with Xavier to achieve it. The notion of sex with Xavier- the thought alone made her heart race. He was an attractive man; sex with him would not be so bad. Moreover, men of his status get tired of women quickly. Surely he will get tired of her soon; this was not going to last for long."I accept." Her voice was low, barely a whisper, but she knew he had heard her; he was a werewolf after all.She could see that arrogant smirk on his face, as if he already knew that she was going to say yes. Fuck. How was she going to do it? How was she going to meet up with his expectations? Satisfy him. She had never been with a werewolf before and had no idea what he liked.She decided to come clean because she did not want him to think that she played him."Xavier, I just want to put it out there by saying that I am n-not," her voice cracked before she could comp
They left the office and walked towards the elevator and boarded it. Annette assumed he was taking her back to the lobby, but imagine her surprise when Xavier presses 'P' instead of 'L' of the lift buttons after the door of the elevator closes.She shot him a confused look but kept her month shut. She did not want to annoy him, before he changed his mind and decided not to help James anymore. It took them to the top floor of the building, and the lift door slid open.He stepped out of the elevator ahead of Annette and waited for her to join him. She steps into what appears to be a receiving room.Her eyes widened as she took in the lavish decor of the room."This is my penthouse," Xavier informed her, while stepping forward into the room.This pales in comparison to what she saw in the lobby downstairs. From the luxurious fluffy carpets covering the floor to the gray and white decorations that match the dark wood furniture."Do you live here?" She asked him, moving further into the
The hell. Who does this bitch think she is? Annette was in shock; she loves her curve very much, and she was not ashamed of how she looks.Xavier gave Sofia a dead stare; his face was expressionless. Blank. But Annette could visibly see the muscles in his jaw tightening."Down this corridor, four doors by your right; make yourself comfortable, " he said, turning to Annette. "I would like to have a word with you, Sofia." He said walking past Annette with Sofia not too far behind.Annette stood in the sitting room for a moment trying to process what just happened. She knew that she should mind her business and not get herself involved in whatever is going on and follow Xavier's instructions, but curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself silently trailing behind them. Could Xavier be fucking his receptionist? Gods, if that is the case, she would have to get her eyes watched. The thought alone made her feel nauseous. She knew that some bosses mess around with their recept
Annette walked back to the setting room, heading to the receiving room. The door to the lift was closed, and the light above showed it was moving downward. She could not find any keypad on the elevator; there was no fingerprint scanner. That means the elevator can only be accessed by card. There was no way out of this apartment. Shit.She ran her fingers down her face in frustration. Damn. She decided to explore the apartment since Xavier had not said anything was off limits, so she did not see anything wrong with snooping around a little. She returned to the living room: instead of taking the door leading to the hall, she took another door and walked into what appeared to be a large and luxurious kitchen.It was equipped with white cupboards and granite countertops. Luxurious appliances and stainless steel pots and pans were hung up on the wall. The island in the middle of the room was stunning; bar tools lined each side. Stepping out of the kitchen and into the sitting room. The