✦ Kristen Ford has always been fiercely independent-a trait that threatens her family's reputation. Her father, Evan Ford, decides to send her to Blackwood Academy, an elite school known for straightening out troubled kids. But Blackwood is no ordin...
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Alexander
I exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke, watching it swirl and dissipate before extinguishing the stub and flicking it away. The cards dangled from one hand, my fingers shuffling them with practiced ease. The dim light added to the already tense atmosphere of the room.
"If you lose, it looks like I get to handle the contract," Sebastian said, with mischievous smirk, one that I always find annoying.
"I admire your delusions," I replied, my own smirk mirroring his. Sebastian Carson was the only man worth my time. The rest including my father and the students I begrudgingly taught, were mere distractions, unworthy of my potential. His mind was a true definition of cunning, a twisted mirror of my own.
His wife often joked that we would be fierce competitors for Satan's throne in hell. It was a thought that amused me; the devilish rivalry between him and me was more stimulating than anything else in my life. Our battles were a gane of wit and strategy, each move calculated and each word a challenge. He was the only one who could keep up with me, the only one who made the game worth playing.
However, one thing we don't have in common is his love and passion for his wife, an obsession that runs so deep it's almost unsettling. As for me, I'm incapable of feelings like love. Once upon a time, Sebastian and I stood on common ground, sharing the same dispassionate outlook on life. That was until his wife decided to crash into his world, tearing apart the foundation we had built together. But that doesn't stop him or distract him from his ruthless means. He is still unforgiving in his ways, which is exactly what I want and why he is the person I chose to work with.
"The professor role suits you better anyway, so what's the point?" he said, letting out a provocative laugh. Did I forget to mention he loves to test my patience?
I pressed down on the cards, almost tearing them apart. "Don't test me, fucker. Anything but this," I growled.
"Ease there, motherfucker. Destroying the cards because you can't win?" he taunted. Sebastian knew all too well what made me lose my shit, and he never missed an opportunity to push those buttons.
I leaned back, my gaze cold and calculating. "Winning isn't the issue, for me. It's about who controls the contract. We both know this deal could make or break our business on the East Coast."
Sebastian leaned back, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "You think you can handle the pressure? The heat's already on us. One misstep, and we're both dead men."
"Pressure is for the weak," I replied smoothly. "This contract is our ticket to the top. I won't let your distractions derail us."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Always so serious, maybe you should lighten up a bit. Might make you a better player."
I narrowed my eyes. "And maybe you should take this seriously for once. This isn't a game. It's our hard work on the line."
Sebastian leaned forward, his smirk fading slightly. "Alright, I'll give you that. But if you want the contract, you're gonna have to prove you're not just all talk. Show me you can win."
