Elian Storm
"David, I am willing to surrender myself if you hand over Alena to me safely," the steady but desperate words I uttered over the phone were ones I never imagined doing.
"You are such a fool, Elian. I never thought you would stoop this low for love. Such a disappointment," came the sneering response of the leader of XS gang, David Garner.
"I don't have the time for chit-chat, David. Do we have a deal or not?"
"Alright, you got it. Come to the location I will send you. I know I don't have to say this to you but come alone and unarmed," he warned.
I hung up the call without bothering to reply.
"Elian, I don't have a goo
Chapter 1: Miserable LifeAlena FleurMy life was miserable. I thought my life would be perfect once I got promoted and got my dream job. But boy, was I wrong. Now I know why the previous COO left his job. The paycheck was nice, but not the CEO.The entire floor had a waiting lounge, a reception where an assistant was present, and a familiar cabin of my boss, Elian Storm.“Sir can meet you now, Ms. Fleur,” said Elian’s assistant, Rowan Dansen after I waited for ten minutes.I gave him a curt nod and walked straight to Elian’s cabin, letting my stilettos stomp after me. The sensor glass door opened automatically.Sucking in a deep breath to calm my temper, I went inside.Elian was leaning back against his chair, while his eyes were glued to the screen of his laptop.“Good morning, Mr. Storm,” I greeted in a professional tone. Elian instantly looked up at me. “Good morning, Ms. Fleur.” He got up from his chair to walk towards his coffee machine while I remained standing at one spot. “
Chapter 2: Cruel BossAlena FleurI finally got some free time after attending three meetings at a stretch.First the meeting with Mr. Drake, the second meeting with other executives to compile this month's budget, and the last and the longest one with the technical department to assess what improvements could be brought to our weapons.I was exhausted and ready to slump on my bed and sleep for hours without any disturbance. But I wish!My stupid boss gave me overtime for dozing off at work.I didn't get why, though. I finished all the work, and yet, he punished me. Maybe he was a sadist who enjoyed other people's suffering. That must be it. That cruel devil!No matter how much I curse him internally, I had to suck it up and obey his orders. I decided to complete some of my work from tomorrow in advance so that I could take it easy tomorrow.However, after two hours, when the office building was entirely empty, I started dozing off again. I jerked my head and sat upright. What if Elia
Chapter 3: A ThreatAlena FleurI couldn't believe what I was seeing.For a moment, I wondered if I was hallucinating due to a lack of sleep. But the next moment, when many pairs of eyes snapped in my direction, I realized with dawning horror that it was very, very real.I did the first thing my mind suggested—and that was run for my life!I turned around and started to run with all my strength. But no sooner had I taken five steps than I was pulled back by many arms and was forced to kneel down by the men who caught me.I winced as my bare knee scraped against the concrete and my hands were locked behind my back.God, this was it. I was going to die now. I never thought I was going to die like this. Not to mention, I was still so young and all. All because I saw my boss murder someone.I didn't know I had started crying until I tasted the saltiness on the corner of my lips. But nothing compared to the fear I felt when a cold muzzle rested against the side of my forehead.I closed my
Chapter 4: Goodbye, Ms. FleurAlena FleurI stayed up the whole night like an owl, over and over again replaying the scene of Elian shooting through that man's skull.I doubt I could ever forget that traumatizing scenario. Elian's threat afterward was no balm to that, either. If I spilled a word about it to anyone, I was dead.While I wasn't good at lying to my close people, I could keep a secret. But who knew how long I could keep when it was eating me alive?I should have listened to Mom and gone back to Georgia. In that way, I wouldn't have had to see what I did last night. Maybe it wasn't too late to just leave the town and ghost Elian. But he was most likely to find me.The sun was already shining outside my window while I was busy thinking about the possible ways Elian could kill me if I slipped up.Shit, now I had to get ready and go to the office and see Elian's face again. How was I going to face him after last night? How was I going to not freak out while sitting next to him
Chapter 5: I PromiseAlena FleurSeriously, what was with people threatening me with guns?Was it a new trend for handsome men to turn up and scare cute innocent girls like me? God, please get these dangerous men away from me and I will do more charity than I already do.I could understand one of Elian's men putting me under gunpoint, even Elian himself, but who was this tall man with pretty green eyes and black hair? What had I ever done to him? Was this one of Elian's enemies who wanted me dead for whatever reason?“Um, I think you have the wrong person here. I swear I have not seen you kill anyone, so you can let me off the hook—” I tried to reason, only to get cut off by the man.“You are Ms. Fleur, am I right?" he asked."Yes, I am. But I'm not on sale for people to kill—""I don’t have the wrong person here, Ms. Fleur. You’re a risk to a person I really care about, so I’m afraid I have to kill you. It’s nothing personal, I promise. So could you just make this easier on both of u
Chapter 6: Avoiding Or Not?Alena FleurThe next day, I mustered my courage and decided to go to the office.Elian was right; I couldn't avoid him forever. So I got dressed up in a white blouse, light pink suit, and black formal pants and marched out of my apartment with a smile plastered to my face. I wanted to be completely professional.I took the public elevator, instead of the private one. I would take no risk of bumping into Elian today. After all, I had a meeting with him two days later. Until then nothing would require me to see him. Therefore, it was going to be an Elian-free day!I entered my cabin to find Anya arranging my desk."Good morning, Ms. Fleur," she greeted with a bright smile.I smiled back. "Good morning, Anya.""I missed you so much yesterday," she whined and came to give me a hug.I chuckled and returned her hug. "Did anyone give you any trouble in my absence?" I inquired, pulling away from the hug and putting my bag on the desk.Anya was thinking hard, and ju
Chapter 7: Shooting PracticeAlena Fleur"But why?" I couldn't help but ask Elian."Because you said you need something for protection," he simply said."But didn't you say afterward that you were going to keep me safe?" I asked."Let's be realistic here, Ms. Fleur. Even if I try my best and stick with you 24/7, which I know you won't like at all, I can't always protect you. Sometimes, you need to be your own savior. And for that, you need a weapon, no matter how good you are at self-defense," he explained."Wait, how do you know I'm good at self-defense?" I questioned."That's all you got from my speech?" he let out dryly."No, I understood what you meant. But how do you know—""I don't know. I was just saying hypothetically," he clarified.It was still strange, but I nodded my head in understanding nonetheless."So now, can we go? We have to be back soon," Elian urged, walking towards the door, but I remained intact in my place. "What's wrong?""How do I know you are not taking me s
Chapter 8: WeirdAlena Fleur"How can someone be so careless? You were doing so well, and you could have kept that up. But no! You had to go knock yourself in the face. This is why I'm always telling everyone at the office to never get overconfident, but look at you now!"I was holding a bag of ice to my chin as Elian scolded me mercilessly. With how much he was rebuking me, I almost wanted to yell back that it was his fault—his stupid damn charming smile!"It's not my fault, okay? It's the gun's fault," I mumbled with a pout."Of course, it's never your fault. You're the most innocent person in the world," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.I continued pouting."C'mon, let's get you to the doctor," Elian urged."No, it's just a small thing. Look, the bleeding stopped as well." I pointed to the tissue in my nose. "Plus, it's not even broken. Why bother going to a doctor?""How about we let a professional decide if your nose is broken or not?" he let out."No. I'm not going to a