When my dad said the new CEO and I would be working closely together, I didn’t expect it to be this close. It seemed that the introduction day was just the first of many awkward encounters.

And I was dreading each and every single one of them.

It wasn’t that Lucas was being flirty again, like he was in that elevator. In fact, he was nothing if not professional in his treatment—always polite, always cool, always asking me for my opinion on matters related to the business. So, what was my problem?

Many, apparently.

It was just that even when he was all dressed up like that; he was still so… dominant and commanding. As much as I hated to admit it, it just had a certain effect on my omega nature.

“Meeting. Ten minutes.”

I looked up. Lucas was standing in front of me, waiting for me to acknowledge his words. I nodded my head. He didn’t break his gaze, instead smiling slowly in a way that had my heart pitter-pattering more than it should.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll be there.”

Then Lucas was gone. I looked down at my desk, refusing to watch his retreating backside. I’d been doing that too many times to count now, and enough was enough.

“Wow,” Mike whistled under his breath. He was one of my omega co-workers, and right now he was the one looking at Lucas’ butt in admiration. “I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Our new boss is hot as fuck.”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I prepared the stuff I was going to bring to the meeting, then typed in a few more words on the blog article I was writing. One of our other writers called in sick for a week, hence the task fell on me.

“Leo? Hello? Don’t you think our new boss is hot?”

I shot Mike a look, then stubbornly stared back at the computer screen. “He’s okay, if you like that type.”

I could feel him staring at me. “Okay? Okay? Are you blind? He is like God’s gift to omega-kind. And he’s so handsome and mysterious, too. You can tell he’s got a lot of alpha intensity going on under all that polished veneer.”

I stifled a scoff. “He’s nothing special, Mike. Trust me,” I said. Then I gathered my notebook and folders and headed straight for the meeting room.

My dad was there, making relief course through me. Again, it wasn’t like Lucas tried to do anything with me. If I was being honest, he was even avoiding me in that sense, never again mentioning that hotel scenario after that first day. It was supposed to make me feel calm.

Instead, it had my nerves on edge.

This, in turn, had my patience running thin when Lucas started giving us a list of the segments he wanted removed from the magazine.

I looked at the list in disbelief. Then I looked at the alpha who made it, watching his infuriatingly cool expression.

“Are you kidding?”

He raised a brow. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

I scanned the list again. It contained some of our well-loved articles, those that included poetry and some short stories. With a start, I realized that at the bottom, he listed down the segments that he did want added in the magazine—and most of them included cheap, attention grabbing articles, click-bait galore, and those that involved delving into the lives of famous people.

“You do realize this is going to turn our magazine into a regular tabloid, don’t you? We don’t do famous people. We do lifestyle and inspirational pieces.”

“It’s not tabloid when you’re not gossiping about the famous people. We’re going to write about the human side of them, the truth, which in turn will have the readers intrigued. And we will have their consent.”

He then began to argue his points about his list, and why each segment he listed down needed to be eliminated. It all went along the lines of having to eliminate sentimentality when it was going to do nothing but run the magazine to the ground. At the same time, he said that the pieces he wanted included would put the magazine back on the spot, would be relevant and would bring in revenue in one hit.

“It’s not about the sentimentality,” I clipped out. “It’s about the integrity. Or does that not matter anymore?”

We argued back and forth. My dad didn’t join in. He simply noted down the good points on my end and the ones on Lucas’ end. Then he left us there to stew over it. He didn’t say it, but I think my dad didn’t like the fact his omega son was being so assertive and talking back to an alpha. An alpha who was also our CEO.

Over the next few days, we went over the new strategy Lucas presented, rewriting it every single time. By the end of the week, not one of us gave in to the other, which required my dad to sit in again and listen to our new points all over again.

To my shock, my dad began defending Lucas.

“He has a point, Leo.”

“What?”

My dad sighed. “We have to make some tough decisions. I’m not saying I like that we’re eliminating a lot of our old segments, but it might be the only way. I brought Lucas in because he can help assess that. Rebranding this magazine and also having the online platform might be a good idea to help us increase our readership. And you know how much we need that, Leo.”

It was like a slap on the face. I looked at my father quietly, not saying anything. I didn’t want to argue with him on top of my argument with Lucas, knowing it would just cause a rift. Instead, I told myself to calm down.

“Can we take a few minutes break?” I asked, keeping my voice as polite as I could manage. “I’d like to take a breather. Then we can make a final decision before the day ends.”

“Sounds good,” Lucas said pleasantly. I did not look in his direction when I walked away.

I stewed over it at lunchtime. I stewed over it hours later as I furiously tried to re-think it over in my mind, trying to eliminate any attachment toward the magazine. If I was the ruthless businessman who was trying to save a sinking ship of a company, what would I do?

The exact same thing Lucas was doing right now.

It was a hard pill to swallow. It was even harder to take knowing this was Lucas, and I just couldn’t seem to separate the sexy seducer from the businessman. It made me realize if he was right about the business, was he also right about me?

I was still shaken that I’d lost control just like that. I never did that, especially with alphas that were obviously, blatantly trying to seduce me. But I’d been vulnerable during that time.

And he’d taken advantage.

And I’d let it go on and on and on.

It wasn’t his problem that I still thought about it at night, right before going to sleep. It certainly wasn’t his issue that I was having a hard time trying to forget about it. I’d never had an alpha take me like that in the dark and made me forget who and where I was, and the total lack of control had been absolutely exhilarating.

It was also irresponsible and unlike me to have made out with a sexy stranger in an elevator. I had to stop thinking about that night if I ever intended on seeing Lucas as just my boss.

I took a deep breath. Then, just before the day ended, I knocked on Lucas’ office door.

Swallow my pride, it was.

“Come in.”

He looked up when I opened the door, a flicker of surprise in those blue-gray eyes before he hid it completely. Quietly, I closed the door and strode over until I was standing in front of his desk. He watched me expectantly.

I lifted my chin up.

“You have a point. I’m agreeing to the new segments and business strategy. I want to be a good team player and help the survival of this business.”

It must not have been what he expected. He straightened, those eyes piercing me. I didn’t look away even though I wanted to. It was too intense.

“What made you change your mind?” he finally asked.

“My father,” I replied. “I know how much this business means to him. I’ll do everything to keep this his legacy alive.”

“Good. Now we can get things in motion.”

“Now we can,” I agreed. I leaned forward, placing my palms on the desk. It was yet another move Lucas probably hadn’t anticipated, based on the way he raised a brow. “I have something else to say.”

“Do tell,” he murmured.

“I’m going to argue every step of the way if you step out of line. I will do my very best to still keep this magazine’s integrity—and if you change that, then expect us to clash.”

“That is… noted, Leo.”

“Good. Good day, Mr. Hiddleston,” I said, firmly.

I walked away. He called my name. I stopped just as I was about to turn the doorknob, then turned my head back to look at him.

A small smile played on his lips. A seductive one.

“It’s Lucas.”

He broke my tough-guy act and I couldn’t help but smile, which pissed me off because I wanted to show him how tough I was.

Then I continued walking away without another word. It was hard being this difficult when I was so attracted to Lucas, but I needed to keep my integrity.