8. Alex
8
ALEX
Present…
Instead of focusing on work, I sat in my office, staring out the window and thinking about Olivia. She was like a plague of the mind. I couldn’t get rid of her no matter how hard I tried. Her phone call earlier made it worse. Who did she think she was trying to arrange meetings? I’d be the one staying in charge here. I’d keep my head around her too, unlike when I was a stupid kid in love.
Back then, Olivia owned me. I would have done anything for that woman. Of course, I was convinced she was just as in love with me as I was with her. She made me think she accepted who I was. I’d always been honest with her. I never hid who I was, and she told me she didn’t care. The liar… Olivia was one hell of an actress. That bitter taste of resentment rose in my throat .
Before I could swallow it, I heard a commotion outside my door. Just as I was about to get up to investigate, my door burst open and my harried-looking assistant appeared.
“Everything alright, Opal?” I asked.
She straightened her glasses and sighed. “Mr. Knight, I’m sorry to bother you, but Olivia Brentwood is here. She refuses to leave even after I threatened to call security.”
My eyebrows shot up. Olivia was just as stubborn as I was, so I had sympathy for my assistant. “It’s fine. Let her in.”
She nodded. However, before she could even step aside, Olivia brushed past her. My assistant scowled at her, and Olivia gave her a sheepish look. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I have something urgent to discuss with your boss.”
Opal sighed and closed the door.
Once we were alone, Olivia turned to me with a tight smile. “Mr. Knight.”
I raised my eyebrows at the formality.
“What part of I’m busy didn’t you understand, Olivia?” Although I glared at her, I had to admire how classy she looked in her tailored pantsuit that hugged her hips and emphasized her long legs.
“Please,” she scoffed and waved a hand to encompass my empty office. “You just wanted to avoid talking to me.”
“Bingo,” I replied through clenched teeth. “Because we have nothing to talk about.”
“On the contrary…” She ignored my cold reception and advanced into my office to take the seat in front of my desk. She sat with her shoulders back and watched me with raised eyebrows as if she expected me to fall in line and appease her desire to chat.
Typical Ice Princess.
Gritting my teeth, I sat behind my desk and faced her. I just stared at her, giving away nothing as I liked to do when facing an opponent. My icy stare had the desired effect. Olivia visibly swallowed and her haughty expression crumbled into lines of uncertainty. Satisfaction flowed through my veins. It felt good to take Princess Olivia down a notch.
“What do you want, Olivia?” I asked, checking my watch. “You have five minutes.”
“That’s hardly?—”
“Five minutes, and I’m calling security to escort you out.”
Her jaw slackened, but she schooled her expression quickly. I snorted inwardly. She really thought I’d have a kumbaya attitude with her ? Either she thought herself too important or she had a bad memory. It was likely the former… the arrogance of a Brentwood.
“I figured you’d have calmed down after our first meeting, and we could be more… civil,” she began.
I leaned back in my chair to study her with mild amusement. “As I recall, you were the one on your high horse during our last meeting. You implied that I’m somehow not good enough to acquire BioTech.”
“I did no such thing!”
“You were willing to sell until you discovered I was the buyer.”
The slightest tinge of pink highlighted her cheeks. “If that’s the impression you got, you were wrong. Nevertheless, I’m here to discuss terms.”
I almost laughed out loud at her audacity. “Strictly your terms, I take it? Because for some reason, you think you’re still in charge. That’s a very Brentwood attitude to have. You’re more like your old man than I realized.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits, and it was all I could do not to smile. There weren’t many who could get Olivia this riled up. The fact that I still could was satisfying. It would be nice to toy with her a little before her ultimate demise.
“I’m willing to propose a deal,” she said. “One that would be beneficial to both of us.”
“Hmmm.” I steepled my fingers and watched her with raised eyebrows. “Let’s hear it.” I didn’t care what it was. I’d shut it down regardless. I was simply curious.
The glint of hope that shone in her eyes would make my refusal that much sweeter. “BioTech isn’t just a reflection of the Brentwood empire. We’ve helped many?—”
“You can save the education session,” I interrupted. “I’m well aware of BioTech’s contribution to medical science. It would be foolish of me to not educate myself on a company that’s soon to be mine.”
The Ice Princess’s expression remained neutral, but I saw the flash of temper in her eyes. It was so brief it could have easily been missed. “So, you must understand the importance of having someone with my expertise run the company. You’re a tech mogul, Alex. I know science. I’m who BioTech needs at the head.”
“I’ll hire another scientist… an entire team of world-renowned ones,” I shrugged. “My interest in BioTech isn’t philanthropic…”
I could see her gearing up to argue. That familiar fire of defiance sparked in her eyes. I was the one who stoked that fire to life back in the day. Before Olivia and I dated, she was her daddy’s perfect little soldier who was willing to do anything he said whether it made her happy or not. I held her hand and helped her out of her fear of defying him. And how did she repay my love and support? By practically ripping my heart out and spitting in my face, that’s how. The memory reinforced the steel wall I had around my heart and I stared at her as if she were any other opponent about to be crushed under my feet.
“Then what’s your motive?” she asked.
“Money,” I continued. “I’m not interested in dismantling everything the Brentwoods have built. Kudos to you for your contribution to society. I mean to continue the good work. However, I’m here to win , Olivia, to expand my empire.”
Her posture stiffened. “Money has never been your main goal. You’ve never been like that.”
“Then you didn’t really know me,” I lied. Claiming to be a heartless businessman like the ones I loathed while keeping a straight face was harder than I thought it would be.
Olivia stared at me intently as if waiting to see the crack in my stony facade. She’d never see it. That boy who wore his heart on his sleeves and was eager to express his emotions was long gone. He was buried in the grave that she put him in.
When she shook her head sadly, I thought she’d give up. However, she continued to push.
“Fine. Since you’re all about money and winning now, I’ll sell you a fraction of BioTech. You can be a silent partner. You can help BioTech’s mission while making a hefty profit.”
After a few beats of silence to make her think I was actually considering, I laughed. “A fraction? Not a chance. I’m taking it all. There’s nothing you can do to convince me otherwise.”
Her cool expression finally crumbled. “At least take a day or two to consider. It’s a win-win deal.”
“The thing is, I’m not willing to let you win anything. I’m in this for the solo win.” I smiled serenely, which had her face turning red.
“My God, Alex. You’ve become a… a… power-hungry, ruthless asshole . ”
“What’s the matter, Olivia? Are you disappointed that I’m outdoing you in the heartless department? You’ve always been a competitive monster…”
She jumped to her feet. “You’re full of crap. You’re doing all of this to get back at me!”
I sat back in my chair and regarded her with cool amusement. “My, my, aren’t you full of yourself.”
Her eyebrows snapped together as she studied me for a moment. She then sighed. “What’s happened to you, Alex? You weren’t like this.”
“Maybe getting involved with a heartless Brentwood degraded my character.”
The crimson in her cheeks seeped away, leaving her pale. She used to vent to me about the underhanded methods she heard her old man used to stay on top. She’d always desired to do things differently. Maybe taking a shot at her family’s name like that was a low blow. Honesty, I had nothing against her entire family, but… collateral damage and all that…
Olivia’s nostrils flared. “I’m not going down without a fight, Alex. Don't take it too hard when you miss out on that win you’re so hungry for.”
I snorted as she grabbed her handbag and marched out of my office with her shoulders squared. If there was one thing that Olivia never lacked, it was determination. She wasn’t an easy target and though I disliked her, I respect her. My respect wasn’t enough for me to back down though.
I brooded in silence for a few minutes, eying my laptop. It called to me, just begging me to boot it up and do something slightly unfair. “No, I won’t do it myself.”
I’d keep my hands relatively clean. Besides, I promised myself I’d lay off the hack jobs when they didn’t involve helping people .
Plus, my secret identity as the White Knight had been made public by a goddamn nosey journalist. I managed to spin the tale, letting the public think I got the name because of my line of work and not because that was the name I used as a hacker… I’d been forced out of cyberspace to lay low for a while.
I picked up my phone and dialed the number of an old friend, Andrew, who had carved out a niche for himself in the world of private investigation. A raspy voice from years of smoking greeted me.
“Alexander Knight. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Andy, how’s it going?”
“Depends. What kind of trouble are you going to get me into?”
I grinned. Andrew and I went way back to high school. “As if you weren’t a troublemaker yourself.”
“Sure, but I stopped being reckless years ago. You on the other hand…”
I rolled my eyes. He sounded like Jamie. “Relax, I’m not calling about anything extreme this time.”
“ What? You mean no government hack job or pursuing dangerous criminals?”
“Jesus, Andy, you know I don’t like discussing certain things over the phone.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I asked you to look into a gangster once, and it was for a good cause.” I had no regrets about my extracurricular activities.
Andrew grunted. “Whatever. Shoot, I owe you big time, anyway.”
“You sure as hell do.” He was one of the people the White Knight helped.
I got up and began pacing the length of my office. “I need comprehensive intel on every associate, friend, or potential ally of the Brentwoods. ”
“You mean, the royal family of Massachusetts Brentwoods?”
“Correct.”
“And why can’t you do this yourself? You’re very capable.”
I looked skyward. “The press has been on my ass since that… government thing. I’m laying low.”
“Right, I forgot about that. Can’t have anyone knowing Alex Knight, the media’s favorite bad boy, is actually a hero ,” Andrew teased.
“Shut up about it, Andy,” I sighed. My best friends didn’t even know about my secret gigs.
In a more serious and professional tone, Andrew continued. “The Brentwoods have a wide network and digging up dirt without alerting anyone will require some finesse.”
“I’m not looking for dirt. This is nothing shady. I just need to know who might be willing to throw their weight behind the CEO of BioTech.”
“Hmmm,” Andrew hummed. “Okay.”
“That’s it? No more questions?” It was shocking.
“Hey, man, you’ve saved my ass and plenty of others who deserved to be saved. You get to misbehave once in a while without question. Besides, I’m going to charge you an arm and a leg for this.”
I snorted my amusement. “Gee, thanks.”
“Plus, you aren’t asking me to do anything illegal this time. ”
“It was for a good cause,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re a piece of work, Knight. You’re a good guy, but sometimes you’re not so good. I bet it works out great for you with the ladies, huh? Chicks dig morally gray men.”
“ Goodbye , Andy,” I growled.
He chuckled. “I’ll email that report soon.”
“Thanks.” When I hung up, I scowled at my device.
“I’m not morally gray …” Or perhaps I was… whatever .
I’d do what I had to do to beat my rival. Olivia wasn’t backing down, and I bet she’d pull every string possible to keep her company. That could include her running to her daddy’s old friends. I needed to stay two steps ahead.