A DANGEROUS PROPOSITION

Sofia paced in Alejandro’s dark, modern office, staring at the secret contract in her unsteady hands. A thick suffocating fog of what she had just signed hung over her.

A test.

That's what this was. Alejandro wanted to test whether she would betray him. If she was weak.

If she were useful.

He braced on the edge of his desk, arms crossed, eyes hard as granite, the silence thickening.

“This contract,” she asked, cautiously, heaving her voice into steadiness, “what’s so special about it?”

Alejandro smiled, as though he liked that she was suspicious. “It is an alliance with one of the biggest business tycoons in Latin America. In the wrong hands, it could derail years of negotiations.”

His tone was casual, but no one is a fool, least of all Sofia. Wrong hands meant his enemies. _

And if he didn’t trust her, she wouldn’t just lose this job. She'd be disposable. 

Her pulse quickened.

"You want me to handle it?" she asked, choosing her words carefully.

“I want to see what you do with it.” His eyes glinted. “Consider it a rite of passage.”

A shiver ran down her spine. He was challenging her loyalty, but for what purpose? 

Sofia clenched her fists. She’d run here to escape Hector, to escape the problems in her past. And now she had gotten caught up in something a whole lot more dangerous.

But she would not show fear.

She squared her shoulders, tall and strong. "And if I pass?"

Alejandro pushed away from the desk and stalked toward her, taking slow, deliberate steps. As he approached her, he lowered his head, his voice a murmur near her ear.

“Then you’ll truly be mine.”

Her breath hitched. His nearness sent an unwanted thrill through her. The heat of his body, the smell of cedar and expensive cologne — too intoxicating.

Sofia fought to hold still, her brain at war with her body.

She was not one of his possessions.

She wasn’t a pawn.

But when she stood this close to Alejandro Monteverde, she couldn’t deny the terrible attraction boiling under the surface.

She stepped back. “I’ll take care of it.”

Alejandro looked her over for a long moment before he nodded. “Good.”

And then the tension just broke.

He returned to his desk, pouring himself a glass of dark whiskey, taking a slow sip. “You should go home for now. To begin officially tomorrow. Be ready.”

Dismissed.

Just like that.

Sofia breathed out, gripping the contract tight as she left. But as she approached the door, Alejandro’s voice halted her.

"And, Sofia."

She was stiff.

"Don't make me regret this."

He had been smooth but the menace had not been lost on her.

She drew in a deep breath before she broke the surface, her heart racing.

_What the hell did I get myself into? _

Sofia made it only as far as her tiny flat before she felt the anxiety catch up to her.

She locked her door, collapsed onto her couch and clutched the contract.

Think, Sofia.

This was not just a gig. Not only an escape from Hector's intimidation. Alejandro was running a game—a high-stakes one that she’d just been invited into on a whim.

And now she would have to survive it.

When her phone vibrated, she shot up from where she had been sitting and reached for it.

She picked it up. Her stomach dropped when she read this message.

Unknown Number: _You feel safe with him? You're not. I see you. _

Her blood chilled.

Hector.

Sofia re-read an envelope of messages. How did he find out? 

A knock on the door shot her heart into her throat.

For a moment, she thought about not responding. But then there was a second knock, more insistently.

She got up slowly and looked out through the peephole.

It all came with a huge relief for her. It wasn't Hector.

It was Raul, Alejandro's chauffeur.

Setting aside the throat-catching fright, she opened the door.

Raul gave her a curt nod. “Señor Monteverde sent me. He asks that you return to the penthouse.” Now.”

Sofia’s stomach tightened. “Why?”

Raul’s face did not register this news. “He didn’t say.”

Her pulse hammered. Had Alejandro discovered the message already? 

One way or another, she was going to find out.

The ride back to Alejandro’s penthouse was fraught. Raul said nothing, and Sofia didn’t dare ask questions.

When they arrived, she was escorted directly to the private office, where Alejandro was already waiting.

He stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the city lights. It was . suffocating, charged. 

Without turning around, he said, “You’ve had an interesting evening.”

Sofia's throat parched. He knew. 

"Did you. send Raul because of Hector?" she said warily.

Alejandro stood before her then, his dark eyes boring into hers. "You got a message."

It was not a query. He knew the answer already.

Sofia hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."

Alejandro's jaw flexed. "Show me."

She retrieved her phone and held it out to him. He read the message, his face inscrutable, and handed it back to her.

And in a low voice that made her tremble he said, “Do you know what’s done with those who try to hurt what’s mine?”

Sofia prepared herself.

Mine.

The term wouldn’t play any role in her. It shouldn’t have made her veins burn with want.

But it did.

“I … I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t want to draw you into my problems,” she diplomatically explained.

Alejandro chuckled in a dark, humorless way. "Sofia, you work for me now. That alone makes your problems my problems.”

She swallowed. And now, there was no evading him. 

Alejandro stepped in, his massive form taking up the room. "Do you trust me?"

Sofia's heart pounded. "I—"

Before she could finish the sentence, a loud crash could be heard outside.

Sofia gasped as Alejandro marched toward the security monitors and flicked a switch, unlocking the building’s front entrance.

One of Alejandro’s SUVs had been rammed by a car.

And next to the wreckage stood a man she recognized immediately.

Hector.

Sofia’s blood turned to ice.

Alejandro’s jaw clenched. His whole demeanor changed — from poised businessman to dangerous predator. 

His voice was low and deadly as he turned to Sofia.

“Stay here.”

And then he was gone.

Sofia was frozen, her heart pounding.

She hadk nown Alejandro was strong. But now she was going to find out just how dangerous he truly was.

What will Alejandro do to Hector? And what will this meeting do to Sofia’s destiny?