ALPHA CYRUS

Chapter 23

CARMELA THOMPSON

"You need to report today." Was the first thing that left his mouth as I opened the front door.

Standing before me is Cyrus, wearing his dark grey suit with his hair perfectly styled that made him look like a handsome yet ruthless person that he actually is. As much as I hate to admit it, I was stunned at how handsome he looks right now that I am almost gawking at him.

Scolding myself mentally, I straightened my posture and tried to meet his blazing eyes.

"Why would I do that? As far as I can remember, I resigned yesterday." I told him firmly. He just rose his eyebrow as a smirk came upon his face.

"Really? As far as I can remember Ms. Thompson, I did not receive a resignation letter from you..."

"But..."

"And even if you did give me that goddamn letter, I won't accept it." He said not letting me interrupt.

I felt fury take over me as his words hit me. I actually forgot to hand him my resignation letter as I only decided to quit yesterday but how dare he tell me that he wouldn't accept it anyway?

"You know what, Mr. Steele? I don't care whether you accept my resignation letter or not. I told you, I quit and you can't stop me." I told him then turned my back. I was about to slam the door when he spoke once more.

"Then I'll see you in court." I was stoned to the ground at his words.

Within seconds I turned to look at him but I was shocked when I almost hit his face. He's inches away from me. I shut my mouth as I couldn't breathe normally. I tried to back away but he stopped me with a soft chuckle.

"You wish to breach the contract? Sure. Now tell me Ms. Thompson, is your lawyer available right now?" He said in a hushed tone.

I hated how his whispered threat turned me on. May be there's something about his sexy voice but his eyes were too much to handle. He's looking at my eyes, then to my lips.

"You can't scare me Mr. Steele." I told him after waking up from the sleep that his eyes have put me in.

"Is that so?" He said smirking at me. I nodded like a puppy.

The warmth that he brought to me disappeared when he backed away. I instantly composed myself despite this eerie feeling and looked at him in the eyes.

"Do what you want. I don't care!" I said with confidence and his face softened.

His shoulders slumped and his eyes filled with sadness. I closed my eyes shut, reminding myself that I am sick and tired of this man. That I need to get away from him but what he said next blew me away.

"Please." He whispered.

He took two steps forward until he's almost towering my frame.

"I didn't want to use some legal actions. I just said that hoping that you'd change your mind." He confessed, I listened.

"If you really want to quit, I will let you go but please, give me more time..." Then his eyes met mine. I gulped.

"Give me more time until I find someone who can replace you as my secretary. Only then, you are free to go." And his last words awakened a feeling deep inside me.

It saddened me, scared me even. I suddenly regretted asking him to allow me and let me quit as his secretary. It's like I was slapped right across my face with the truth that he's only here because he needed an assistant.

What did you expect? He's just your boss.

And this voice is right, of course, he's nothing but my boss and I'm no one more than his secretary.

"Alright..." I said then I saw how his face brightened up.

"I'm staying."

"Thank you."

"But..." I said cutting him off. "Only until you find your new secretary Mr. Steele, after that, I'm free to go." He nodded at me with a smile.

"I'll see you later then." Then he disappeared leaving me with a racing heart.

I went back inside Ashton's apartment and took deep breaths, calming myself and preparing for the worst.

I don't why but when I saw his sadness, I felt sad. When he smiled, it warmed my heart. I've been getting this weird feelings since yesterday but luckily, I am sober enough to remind myself how bad of a person Cyrus is.

And the biggest challenge here is how I can't let my emotions change the way I view him. I should always be cautious around him or else, I might not like what's going to happen next.

Having my heart settled, I decided to take a bath and eat the food Ashton prepared for me before he left. He actually insisted to stay but I told him that I would be fine and that my apartment is going to be checked by the management and see what they have to do for my added security.

Then I suddenly remembered the thing that bothered me most last night, Tristan. After realizing that he was able to get inside my apartment when I clearly remember locking the door, the fear consumed me once more. I know he's a nice man but what am I supposed to think after the incident? Who am I supposed to trust?

Putting the thought aside, I decided to hurry my way to the office before I get stuck in the busy streets of this city.

I took the bus at 7 am and I have it all to myself. I sat somewhere in the middle and leaned my head on the window as I watched houses disappear as the bus passed by.

Minutes passed and students almost filled the bus but I felt something. I turned to look around but saw nothing strange or no one acting suspicious. Only teenagers talking and laughing with their friends, some are just listening to music with their headphones on.

I hugged myself as I felt goosebumps all over my body. I decided to put my earphones on and listen to random music to help me divert my mind.

Finally, the bus came to a stop and I rushed down together with the students. I took my earphones off and walked a little too fast as I kept looking behind me to see if someone's after me.

My pace became quicker when I saw someone wearing a hoody jacket and a beanie. His face is unclear but he was right behind me. I tried to act as if I didn't see him but when I turned to look back, I saw him smirked and my heart pounded so loud that I could hear it clearly. Why can't I see his face?

I held onto my bag and crossed the street, almost running to the other side of the road. Although there are a lot of people around me, I do not feel safe at all.

When I was nearing the building, I turned to look back one last time and he was gone. I stopped walking and closed my eyes, sighed in relief and wiped away the drops of tears from my face.

I don't know what is happening to me but since that night, I always felt like there's a pair of dark eyes watching me, someone following me and I am scared. Composing myself, I walked once again only to be stopped at the entrance when I saw Tristan coming towards me. The person whom I can't seem to trust at the moment. I almost ran away, good thing Cyrus was here to keep me standing.

"Don't run. I'm here." And I didn't.