The Deal

Faith whispered, “Alexander Kingston,” the vampire to whom she had lost her virginity.

Faith’s soul was knocked out of her body, and she couldn’t figure out how this could happen to her. When she finally had control of her life, she was right here, right now.

Alexander Kingston was not a blast from the past, nor was he simply her first. Alexander’s touch had permeated every fiber of her being. His caressing was like a never-ending loop in her mind, so much so that when he walked towards her at the entrance of their workplace’s 36th floor, with his perfectly polished pointed branded shoes hitting the white tiled floor, she found her breathing going down, remembering his hot breath on her neck that would wire her veins.

“Faith, I need you to put your head in the game. Remember, we owe him…. " Bill, her husband, muttered in a low voice in her ear, and she snapped out of her stupor, looking at him with her dark blue eyes with the warning that made Bill clear his throat with jitters as he backtracked his words.

“I… I owe him, but you said you’d back me up.” Bill was terrified. Faith was aware of it. She had no choice but to assist him. As Bill came to a halt, he put on his game face to introduce her to the man. She knew him as if she never wanted to know anyone else. She didn’t suppose to remember him. Alexander Kingston.

“Mr. Kingston, it is my pleasure to introduce you to my wife, Faith Reed,” Faith smiled politely as she met Alexander’s emerald jade eyes. Faith was grateful that her breathlessness came and went at the same time in her lungs. Even in heels, she only came up to his shoulder.

“Mr. Kingston,” she manages to welcome him.

“Mrs Reed,” his jade bright eyes glinted with a century-old gaze, concealing a million truths mortals were not intended to know. Alexander took her hand in his, and the tip of his icy pale long finger touched lightly inside her palms, causing her breath to catch as the sensation rose in her arms, spreading to every cell in her body, seeing beyond his eyes or feeling his touch. She recalls how many times those hands brushed over her skin as lightly as he now holds her hand.

Is there something you’re hiding behind your eyes? Is it me? I wasn’t meant to recall you, but do you remember me?

“The pleasure is all mine,” he whispered in his low Greek accent against the back of her palm, and she shook herself out of it, drawing her hand back. She pulled in a deep breath to feel her lungs and exhaled, hoping that the fire in her body would dissipate with her breath.

“This way, Mr Kingston,” she politely evaded, her lips curving into a smile.

You weren’t supposed to remember, Faith. She chassis herself, but she can’t help but remember those superbly curved lips, very masculine, sliding open mouth kissing from her chin to her neck, going far into prohibited areas. She is still trying to remember who she is.

Faith, you weren’t supposed to remember. Act as if this is your first meeting with him. He should not notice anything out of the ordinary. She told herself this.

Faith’s thoughts were easily controlled, but what about her beating heart, which she was certain his supernatural hearing could hear, and when she walked beside him, raising her eyes to him, the knowing glint in his eyes didn’t dim.

They walked into the conference room. He and his colleagues took their seats. There were at least six individuals around him; four men and two women. They’re all dressed the same way: black and stuffy. Ominous. As though their mere existence was enough to bring them doom, which was accurate in many respects.

Reed Marketing Enterprise, which Faith helped grow even before she met Bill, is now on the verge of bankruptcy due to a $50 million debt owed to none other than Alexander Kingston. Faith recovers herself and exhales once more. This is her life. She’ll clean up her husband’s mess and go home to fall asleep after a stiff martini, and hopefully, this will all be over the next day.

Then she noticed Alexander’s slim, strong form crammed into that black three-piece suit. While all of his associates stood, the jacket was slung carelessly around his broad shoulder, stylishly heading towards the head seat. He sat with one foot crossed on his knee, motioning for everyone to take a seat. The antique copper ring on his finger glistened in the light. His dangerously grandiose aura heightened the tension in the room.

Alexander eyed Bill Reed with casual attention as he took the stage after clearing his throat numerous times.

“Thank you for giving us this opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding between our companies, Mr. Kingston,”

“Misunderstanding” “companies”. Faith attempted to keep her raging rage under control. There was no misunderstanding and no companies. In fact, until last night, she had no idea her company was so in debt, or that it needed to be. Bill needed money and borrowed it under the company’s name. She had to deal with it because she was the one in the chair.

“Our misunderstanding is your debt; pay it off.” Mr. Kingston’s steely stare nailed the target, and Bill’s heart almost stopped beating.

Faith decided to speak out when she realized the conversation was going nowhere. Examine him like you would a stranger or a client, and stick to the plan you devised. This will not knock you off your feet. Your life’s labour is in jeopardy.

“Mr. Kingston, I am in charge of Reed Marketing Enterprises, and I am ready to accept responsibility for any amount we owe you,” she stated firmly, and it helped that she was sitting in the opposite corner of the large conference table, as far away from him as possible. She takes the center stage, daring a hard, penetrating glance back at Kingston.

Kingston’s frigid jade green eyes met hers, and the fire in his gaze changed as he assessed her in a well-fitted formal beige pencil skirt, white shirt, and blazer.

Faith’s insides squeezed with anticipation as she caught a glimpse of the hot stare. Her eyes glazed over, but she caught herself and regained control of the situation.

“Although we have already established that we are unable to pay you directly, I would like to know if you have any suggestions.”

“Although we have already established that we are unable to pay you directly, I’d like to know whether you are open to further negotiation,”

Kingston turns to face the man by his side, his lawyer. Mr. Anderson introduced himself as a representative of Kingston and handed her a folder. She picked it up and quickly scanned the contents. She took a breather to process what he was asking of her: 30% ownership and a seat on the board of directors. He is requesting Bill’s portion of the company, and she raises her gaze to meet him.

“No, I don’t agree,”

Faith’s firm and commanding voice reverberated across the meeting room.

“As far as I can tell, Mrs Reed, you don’t have any other options than this or direct payment,” Mr. Anderson remarked.

“Fifty per cent paid upfront, the remainder in interest-bearing instalments. Those are my terms, “Faith stated.

“Mrs Reed, you have already passed the due date. This is a squandering of my client’s time, “Anderson stated.

“Anderson, Mr. Your client, as you and I both know, is not going to court about this. The loan was made in the form of untraceable cash. " She stared at Mr. Anderson, then at Kingston, whose hot gaze hadn’t left her since she began speaking.

“You’re not on my terms, and I’m not going to agree with yours. Do you have any ideas for finding common ground? "

As he inspected her from top to bottom, his gaze shouted “many,” and she tried not to lose sight of the current situation.

“I have other ways to collect my dues,” Kingston remarked, her gaze shifting from her to Bill, and the threat was evident.

Bill’s grey eyes meet Faith’s, half annoyed, partly terrified that she may throw him under the bus. He’d told her that if they didn’t pay back, Alexander Kingston had contacts in the underworld. He’d actually be dead.

Kingston stands up and turns away, as do his associates.

“Two hundred million,” Faith murmured, knowing she’d later regret it, but heck with it! If she didn’t get him to say yes, this was the plan. She’d steer him away from his intended aim.

Everyone turns to look at Kingston, who arches his brows with modest interest.

Faith straightens her back as she walks around the meeting room.

“According to my sources, you intend to enter the fashion industry.”

“I’m listening,”

“I contributed to the development of the industry’s premier fashion brand. I’ll put money into it, develop it in a year, and profit $200 million. Nobody on your team needs to move a finger, and everything will be in your name. " The room became silent as she locked her gaze on Kingston.

The tension in the room rises.

“So you’re simply proposing that you construct us a firm and then hand it over?” one of the associates asked.

Faith shrugged, “If you want to put it that way.” For a brief moment, she believed he would refuse, and a little part of her hoped he would, but she couldn’t make a dent in her company’s financial structure simply because her husband lacked backbone.

“My final offer,” she said, adding that if he truly rejected it, she would see to it.

Kingston took a cold look at her and offered his hand. Faith regarded it with caution.

“Deal,”

He waited until his hand was extended, then he said, She finally gave in and placed her hand on his. The term ‘deal’ did not elicit the expected flood of relief. It calmed her worries and made her feel both sweet and horrible on the inside.

Alexander extended her hand and kissed the back of her neck.

Alexander took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. The brush of his lips stopped her heart, and her blood burned in her veins in pure hunger. He let go of her hand, and she remained motionless as he turned.

“Draw out a contract,” he told his secretary as he turned around. They all marched out.

While Faith simply waits for the moment when she can succumb to her trembling knees.