After Alex fell asleep, I still hadn’t heard from Victor, so I texted him. There was no way I could sleep tonight until I spoke to him.Could those men really stop me from running the company?I couldn’t sit still, so I left Alex’s bedroom to walk the halls of the mansion.I ended up in the ballroom, looking at the portraits of my ancestors that hung in gilded frames in a long row across one wall.I stopped in front of the portrait of my great-grandfather, Blake Colby Wilson.Earlier, Alex had compared me to this serious, professional-looking man who was his grandfather.He had to be teasing. How could I fill the shoes of this man?Maybe those men from the Board of Directors were right about me. But even if I could run the business, they may not let me try because I’m a young woman.I walked across the room to the portrait of my parents and looked up at my mother’s face.From everything I’ve been told about her, she was more than beautiful. She was caring, intelligent, and incredibly
After a decent night’s sleep, I climbed out of bed and got ready for school. Jennifer entered my room in time to help me with my hair and makeup.“There’s some kind of a ruckus outside,” she told me as she dried my hair with a round brush.“What do you mean?”“It sounds like a bunch of voices just outside the front door,” she replied. “Benson went out to deal with it, and he didn’t look happy.”“I better go down and see what’s going on,” I said.Jennifer rushed to get me ready to leave for school, and I went downstairs.As I was crossing the foyer, I heard the sound of many voices shouting questions at the same time outside the mansion’s front entrance.Panic raced through me. I had heard that sound once before when Victor had to use his Alpha voice to save me from being crushed outside the school.It was the sound of dozens of reporters shouting questions.Why were they here? Victor released a statement when Alex was in the hospital and another when he came home. What would make them
When the school day was over, I couldn’t leave because the reporters had returned.I watched them through the safety glass at the school's front entrance. There seemed to be more of them than there were this morning.How could I reach the gate to meet Victor with the reporters waiting to pounce on me?I texted Victor and told him I couldn’t leave the school because reporters had me trapped inside the building.He instructed me to wait inside the school for him.I was curious as to what he was going to do. The last time he used his Alpha voice to get them to stop crushing me. What was his plan this time?Within a few minutes, he came through the double doors and motioned for me to follow him outside.Instead of football players, Victor brought the police. At least twenty officers held the crowd of reporters and onlookers back while Victor and I walked to his car safely.As the reporters continued to shout questions, Victor and I sped away from the school and toward Alex’s office buildi
The media room on the first floor was designated exclusively for press conferences. Its design was genius.With a separate, hidden exit on the stage area, it was designed to allow a spokesperson from the company to give a statement and then leave immediately afterwards without going near the reporters.Victor and I waited behind a door with a two-way mirror watching dozens of reporters file into the press conference room and take their seats.My stomach was in knots as I watched the room full of people buzzing with curiosity. They all had video cameras and their phones ready to record me as I read the prepared statement.Geez, it meant there would be recordings of me speaking on the evening news. I didn’t want to be on TV.I wanted to ask Victor to do the presentation, but I knew he was right. It was my family’s company and my father who was ill. I had to do it.I sent a prayer to the goddess to let me be able to speak clearly and not make a fool of myself in front of the entire city.
“The teal cocktail dress will do nicely,” I told Jennifer as she helped me prepare for the evening with Victor.The dress was one of the most attractive I owned. The irregular hemline and sweetheart neckline made me feel more feminine and pretty.“Did you want to wear your hair up or down?” Jennifer asked. “You should wear your gold and pearl jewelry with the dress.“How about if you arrange my hair long to one side,” I replied. “I haven’t worn it that way in a while. And I agree with your choice of jewelry.”“I’ll use the peach makeup palette,” Jennifer added. “It brings out your eyes the best.”After I was ready, I went downstairs to Alex’s room. I met Benson just outside the door and instructed him not to let Alex see the news tonight in case footage of my press conference was aired.I didn’t want him to know about the difficulties with the press and the board. It would upset him.Fortunately, he hadn’t had the TV on much in his room since he came home from the hospital.“You look
Am I jealous?“Well…I…I don’t think so,” I stammered a bit with Victor staring at me like that.“Excellent,” Victor said, his gaze softened.“But even if I were, I would never show it here in public,” I said.“Let’s sit down then,” Victor said with a smile. “Our meal should be arriving soon. And then maybe I can arrange for you to dance with William.”“That would make Diana very happy,” I nodded.Right. Victor should be the one that help William and me. Why would I get nervous at that simple question earlier?We sat down, and the waiter began bringing our meal. The pâté was good, and the venison carpaccio was exquisite.We enjoyed every bite and washed it down with more sparkling grape juice. When our dessert came, William moved his chair to our table and joined us.“Mom and Dad are across the room chatting,” he said. “They’ll be gone for a while. Do you mind if I have my dessert with you?”“Not at all,” Victor said. “We’re having the chocolate-diamond ice cream.”“Me too.” William gr
Since I wouldn’t be missing an actual class, Principal Jones agreed to let me leave school early each day. She gave permission for William, too, when he didn't have football practice.We met at the front entrance after we signed out and walked out to the student’s parking lot together.William helped me into the passenger seat of his Mustang, and I gave him directions to the parking garage's entrance below Alex’s office building.“Wow! Your father owns this whole building?” William asked while parking in a slot near the elevators.“Yes, and this is only one of his buildings,” I replied. “Come on, let’s go upstairs.”We took an elevator up to Alex’s office, and William had a good look around before we started on the files that had been placed on the deskWilliam took a glance at some of Alex’s holdings and whistled. “I knew your family was wealthy, but I didn’t realize they were this wealthy.”“Your family is wealthy, too,” I said.“Not like yours,” William observed. “I’m impressed. An
Victor and I had a productive afternoon at the office. I was learning more about effective advertising and human resources issues.When we were finished, he took me home in plenty of time to prepare for the big Alpha Association party.I had a simple dinner with Alex before going to my room to get ready. It would take some time. I wanted to look just right.I chose a more serious dress for this party. It was a boatneck, A-line, calf-length dress made from tan mulberry silk.Jennifer styled my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck, and my makeup was flawless yet subtle.“You’re just perfect, Miss,” Jennifer crowed. “No one will be able to find fault with how you look.”“Thank you, Jennifer.”I picked up the small tan clutch that was lying on the bed and put my phone inside of it before going downstairs.I stopped to see Alex while I waited for Victor to pick me up.“You look stunning, Daisy,” Alex said as he examined me from his bed. “I know you aren’t thrilled about attending this even