HECTOR
I'm pressing an ice pack against my jaw when the door opens and Davina walks in. She takes one look at me and her lips twitch suspiciously.
"Sir, I heard about what happened. My apologies."
I drop the ice pack on the table and give her a bored look.
"You're a horrible liar, Davina. There's absolutely no need to lie."
She shrugs.
"Forgive me, sir. And you're right. I do not sympathise with you at all."
"My dog's not dead so I guess I don't need your sympathy."
I'm not upset at Athena. She caught me off guard and I cannot remember the last time someone was able to do that.
It goes to show how much she distracts me. All the while we were arguing, I could only fantasise about how it would feel to have her hot, naked body pinned beneath me while she screams in sinful pleasure.
I'm rather surprised by her stubborn streak. She's really come a long way from the soft, pliant Athena who'd let people bully her three years ago.
"What are you going to do about this, sir? Will you let it slide?"
I barely stop myself from smiling as I'm bombarded by memories of all the wonderfully wicked things I have planned for her.
"Of course I won't let it slide. I'll have to punish her. But first, I need to find a means of luring her into my trap…"
***
ATHENA
Forty minutes after leaving Diablo Fashion House, I'm just about to walk into my office building when a voice stops me. A familiar female voice.
"Miss Athena!"
I pause and turn around to find Hector's secretary walking towards me. Davina.
She's dressed to kill as usual in a knee length black dress and blood red, six-inch heels.
She was nice to me when we first met so I have no idea if I should be nice to her or hate her because she works for my enemy.
"Hi. Davina, right?"
She comes to a stop before me and nods.
"Yes, I'm Davina. It's nice to see you again."
I force a smile and nod. "Are there any problems?"
"I heard you punched my boss today." She says suddenly.
I blink in surprise, but I don't bother denying it.
"Yes, I did. And I'm very happy I did, if I might add."
She nods thoughtfully. "Believe it or not, I'm happy for you, too."
Okay, what?
"Um… why?"
She shrugs. "Between both of us, my boss can be a prick sometimes. Especially when there's something standing in the way of what he wants."
"And what does he want?"
"You. And his children."
The seriousness in her green eyes does something weird to my insides.
"Look, Miss Montgomery, I'll have you know right now that once my boss sets his eyes on something, he's ready to employ every means necessary to make sure he gets it. Good or bad."
A shiver runs up my spine.
"Is that a threat? Are you trying to scare me?"
"Of course not. Never. I'm only warning you to prepare for war.
I'm advising you as someone who's on your side that it's better for you to give in. This is not a war you're gonna win. In the end, Mr. Kensington always gets what he wants.
Oh, and Miss Montgomery, this should be the last time you lay your hands violently on my boss. If you do it again, I'll slam you with a lawsuit so expensive, you might actually have to consider selling off your business completely to recover from the financial damage it'll cause to your pocket…"
***
TEN MINUTES LATER…
"Oh my goddess, she didn't. Did that little bitch really threaten you?!" Jasmine gasps while I'm spilling the tea.
I shrug. "I don't know if I should call it a threat, Jas. She did say she'll sue me, but I don't know if she was saying it on behalf of her boss."
She slams an open palm on the table.
"Hector, that bastard. I'm glad you punched him."
A smile unexpectedly curves my lips.
"Yup. My fingers hurt but I've never been so satisfied in my entire life."
"What are we gonna do now, Chipmunk? You have less than twenty four hours to pay Hector ten million dollars. We need to think of a way forward."
I open my mouth to speak but just then, my senses tweak suspiciously and suddenly, I feel a strange presence in the room. I clamp my mouth shut and look up. Lo and behold, standing behind Jasmine is a six-feet tall, gorgeous-as-hell young man.
I get to my feet immediately and unconsciously break into a big smile.
"Mr. Hunter. What a lovely surprise!"
***
Hunter Dragonmir is a vampire and one of our longest, most trusted customers.
He's the CEO of The Dragon Empire, a world class fashion company that caters to the fashion needs of men in Europe.
He was one of the few people who trusted my brand and worked with me when I first started off.
Despite the fact that werewolves and vampires have been wired to hate one another, there's not a single thing that I dislike about Hunter.
"You didn't tell me you were coming to New York. What a lovely surprise."
"Hello, Athena." His deep, sexy baritone pierces the air.
"I had an urgent business meeting in the city and decided to drop by."
He holds out his arms to me and unable to contain my excitement, I let him pull me into a short hug. He smells clean and insanely…soft.
There's usually a dark aura around most of the vampires I've come in contact with but Hunter's aura is a wonderful combination of warm and mysterious.
He takes Jasmine's hand and kisses the back of her palm in greeting. A perfect gentleman.
"Jasmine. Looking ravishing as ever."
My best friend reddens like a tomato while I watch with glee.
"Thank you."
I pull him into the office and usher him to a seat. "Please, sit. We're so happy to see you."
His green eyes twinkle as he smiles. "I'm happy to see you, too. How've you been? How are the kids? I actually have a little souvenir for them in the car."
Jasmine and I exchange glances, nearly swooning on the spot.
"You honestly didn't have to…" I begin but he cuts me off.
"Athena, I know how hard it is to convince you to accept gifts, but I assure you this one is really from my heart. Please don't reject it."
Hunter has been trying to give me gifts for the past three years since we started working together and I've turned down every single one of them.
Right now, I'm torn. But in the end, I cannot resist the sincerity in his eyes.
"Um… okay. What is it?"
He breathes a sigh of relief and clicks on something on his phone.
"It's coming."
I don't know why, but my insides tremble with excitement as I await the mysterious gift.
Finally, a knock sounds on the door and without waiting for a response, a middle aged man dressed in a sleek, black suit walks inside.
"Hello, everyone." He greets with a courteous bow.
He hands two luxurious-looking black bags to Hunter and bows out of the room. Hunter passes the bags to me without opening them.
"Here. They're yours."
I hesitate before reaching out to get the bags from him. The gold lettering on the surface makes it very clear that whatever is in there was not purchased at a discount store.
I read the inscription on the bag and my eyes nearly bulge out of its sockets.
"Pyramid Jewellers?" I ask, my voice dripping with shock. "You got my kids something from The Pyramid Jewellers?"
Jasmine's gasp of shock is almost as loud as a trumpet… as it should be.
Pyramid Jewellers have won various international awards as the most successful jewellery company in America. Not only are they successful, their pieces are expensive as hell.
Jasmine and I quickly discard the bag and fancy wrapping, revealing two beautiful pouches.
They're both designed with expensive velvet materials. One is pink and the other is navy blue. One is shaped like a tiara and the other is shaped like a race car.
"They just recently launched their kiddies collection and when I saw it, I immediately thought of Heaven and Neveah. I hope you like it. I hope they like it, too."
My heart is in my mouth as I slowly open the pouches. A gasp slips past my lips when I see the Jade stones. Heaven's Jade stones are pink and are fixed on a small, beautiful, silver necklace. Neveah's are blue and affixed on a silver boy bracelet.
They're both beautiful and they look outrageously expensive.
"Oh, goddess. They're so beautiful." I whisper.
I look up and give him a warm smile.
"You didn't have to, Hunter. Thank you so much."
He nods and I watch in confusion when he gets to his feet and silently approaches me. My confusion doubles as he dips his hands into his pockets and produces yet another black-coloured pouch.
"Hunter…" I whisper.
"Shh. I got this for you. You're not allowed to refuse me, Athena."
I swallow the lump in my throat as he moves to stand behind me.
"May I?"
My gaze clashes with Jasmine and she nods eagerly.
"Yes." I whisper. "You may."
The moment his fingers brush against the skin of my neck, a small shiver runs up my spine.
Seconds later, he finishes and steps back.
"You can look now."
"Athena, Chipmunk, it's beautiful!" Jasmine says with glee.
"Really?" I look down and my breath catches in my throat.
The pendant spells my name. Athena. Each letter is a silver colour and neatly encrusted with hundreds of tiny diamonds. Mere looking at it, I know it costs a fortune.
I spin in his direction, my eyes wide.
"Hunter! You didn't have to. Seriously…"
"I'll feel very bad if you give it back." He says softly. "I've been meaning to give you something special for a while now. I hope you accept it."
I feel very bad receiving this but I swallow my protest and give him a small hug. He wraps his arms around me and once again, I'm enveloped in his delicious scent.
"Thank you so much. I really appreciate this."
I step back and our eyes clash and hold for a second. I wait and wait, but I don't feel any of the violent, sparkly emotions that wreck me whenever Hector Kensington is in view.
My heart doesn't constrict and my pulse doesn't accelerate. I just feel shivers all over my skin.
I'm about to say something when Jasmine interrupts.
"Uh, Athena? A letter just arrived."
The magical moment is gone and I turn around to find Jasmine holding up a white paper.
Judging from her facial expression, it's not good.
"What is it? What does it say?"
"It's a warning from Hector. He got an order from the court to take over our business premises if you don't refund his money in the next thirty hours.
The bastard wants to throw us out in the streets…"