Out Of Darkness

Chapter Five

Alea

Pretend, pretend, pretend. That word kept echoing in my head the instant I got to work. With so much energy drained this morning, I felt utterly exhausted.

"Hey, gorgeous! I must say, Juul was right. You look absolutely radiant. I'm glad you're not wearing those ugly clothes anymore!" Stacey my personal assistant said the moment I stepped off the elevator. 

"Good morning, Stace. Hi Liz. Yeah, I know. You've said that more times than I can count." Approaching Liz, our receptionist, I asked her if I had any messages and took some mail from her.  

"Good morning, Mrs. Apollo" Liz cheerily stated as she handed over my mail, inducing a slight grimace from me.

"At one pm, you have a meeting scheduled with the owner of Lev Corp. Since it was lunchtime, I went ahead and booked a table at Laminys for you to eat. He intends to see you there," Stacey said

"Lev Corp? What the hell is Lev Corp?" I asked, raising my eyebrows while shifting through the mail. 

"They manage some type of security business."

"Security? What exactly does he want with me?" 

"I didn't ask. I did try, but he's adamant about meeting you. I think you should go and see what he wants. Couldn't hurt and it's in a public place." Stacey said.

"Hmm. Okay. I will go and see."  I said turning to go to my office.

"Did I tell you how much I like your new do, hot stuff!" Stacey yelled as I walked away.

"Stace, seriously, for the thousandth time!" I replied loudly, making the girls and myself chuckle together.

Stacey West, was a loudmouthed, plus sized older woman. She was down on her luck and was looking for job. Her bubbly personality is what instantly drew me to her. She was beautiful, radiated happiness and was always in a good mood. Her saying was 'when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.' No use worrying about things you can't fix. She was somewhat right, I suppose. But not everyone's problems are the same.

In my office, I sat my belongings on couch and went to my window. It had a view of the waterfront and bay. I adore this particular sight. The scent coming from the sea. The birds that flew all over. The people walking on the beach. Additionally, you could see the dock. The yachts. Whenever I looked outside to the ocean, a strong desire to hop on a boat and set sail washed over me, yet it remained an impossibility for me. Handling considerable responsibilities, I also had countless people relying on me. 

Turning to my desk, I ruminated on the upcoming line. I had difficulty generating ideas. Without the drive, I found it hard to concentrate. My thoughts went back last night. Aleksei. He stood out as exceptionally gorgeous. Never have I found myself so captivated by a man before. He had a gentle touch. His hand felt strange on me. I found it intriguingly odd. While there were tingles, the warmth dominated. Throughout my entire life, I've never experienced such warmth from just one touch. There was an unmistakable attraction in him. It wasn't the look in his eyes he gave me as though he wanted to devoured every single piece of me. It wasn't his Godly features. It wasn't even his muscular body that screamed sinful. It was his touch that was so impolitely gentle. He embodied the essence of fire, standing both within and as himself. "He hurt you". He knew. With mysterious accuracy, he knew. It scared me that he could know something so private in a matter of seconds. He was dangerous for me to be around. That much I knew. If he could evoke such emotions within me with just a gentle touch, then I needed to keep my distance from him. While I probably won't see him again, this is still a small town. His irresistible appeal likely led numerous women to pursue him passionately. I found the notion of him being around so many women unsettling. I also found it absurd since I had only been near him for less than five minutes.