Chapter 4 ALEXANDER GRANT.

~~~SOPHIA.

The word hit me like a slap and all I could do was to stare at him.

For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard.

"Your what?"

Alexander didn't look away. "My plaything."

The calmness in his voice made it worse and fury surged through me.

After everything? The endless criticism, the impossible standards, and the way he seemed determined to make my life miserable every single day?

Now this?

"You have lost your mind."

I took a step forward.

"No, seriously. Have you completely lost your mind?"

His expression never changed. "Possibly."

The answer annoyed me even more. "What?"

"Possibly," he repeated. "But that doesn't change the offer."

I laughed in disbelief, "Offer?"

"Yes."

"You call this an offer?"

"What would you call it?"

I threw my hands into the air.

"Manipulation, blackmail, and insanity!”

His jaw tightened slightly. "Blackmail would require a threat."

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"I haven't threatened you."

"You don't have to!” The words burst out before I could stop them.

"You are my boss. You know exactly what my situation is. You know I am struggling."

His gaze sharpened. "And whose fault is that?"

I froze. "What?"

"Your debt."

My mouth opened and then closed.

Alexander folded his arms. "Was it my fault? Your rent, your  loans?"

His voice remained frustratingly calm.

"So explain to me why you are acting as though I created the problem."

God, he had a point and I hated him for it.

Worse, a tiny part of me hated that I felt relieved hearing someone say there might actually be a way out.

"I didn't ask for your help."

"No."

"Then why are you doing this?"

For the first time, something shifted in his expression but he shrugged his shoulders off, "Because I want to."

“What happens if I say no?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.

Alexander answered immediately. “You walk away.”

I frowned.

“That is it?”

“That is it.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“That is your choice.”

The certainty in his voice irritated me. No, everything about him irritated me.

The confidence, the control, and the fucking fact that he never seemed rattled.

Meanwhile, I felt like I was seconds away from a nervous breakdown.

“You expect me to believe this conversation just disappears?”

“Yes.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. But, best believe everything still works out according to my terms.”

“Your terms?’' I spat, my voice trembling. “You mean you will ruin me if I say no. Blackball me from jobs, and spread that photo. That is not a choice, it's blackmail.”

He shook his head, almost gently. “Not ruin. But your situation? You have debts choking you already, no family net, no savings. Resign, and you're adrift. Stay, and it is the same grind under me. This offer changes that. Or it doesn't. It is your call.”

This man knew too much of me and saw me too deep. 

I felt small, the lace making me hyper-aware of my body. My thighs were bare, my breasts were rising with each breath. He moved then, deliberately. His hands slid to my hips, lifting me slowly, my ass leaving the floor as he hooked my legs around his waist. I was weightless against him, the thong pressing into me as my thighs parted. 

A hand trailed up one thigh, his fingers grazing the lace edge, slow and intentional. My skin prickled, heat flooding despite my fury. My body betrayed me first as a gasp escaped, sharp and involuntary. 

“Stop,” I whispered, but it came out breathy. His touch lingered, thumb brushing my inner thigh, sending sparks up my core.

He leaned in, his lips hovering an inch from mine, close enough I felt his breath warm on my mouth. His other hand rose, wrapping around my neck possessively. The position pinned me higher, my leg locked around him, my pussy aching faintly through the thin fabric. The tension coiled tight, and the silence was broken only by my ragged inhales.

“Say yes, and the rules apply,” he murmured, his lips brushing air near mine. “Arrangement starts now. No, and this ends, never happened and we're back to boss and employee.”

“You really think I will say yes, don’t you?” 

The corner of his mouth lifted and it was more than enough to annoy me.

“I think you are considering it.”

My cheeks burned. “I am not.”

“Then the answer should be easy.”

Damn him, because suddenly it wasn’t.

I thought about the collection notices, the overdue payments, the resignation letter sitting unfinished in my drafts, and the future waiting for me outside this office.

A future that looked exactly like the past which was just pure struggle, stress, and just survival.

I thought about opening my fridge and pretending crackers counted as dinner.

I thought about another year of surviving instead of living.

And for the first time all night, I hated myself for even considering his offer.

The choice dangled again, his grip on my neck a steady anchor. 

He released me then, lowering my feet to the floor, and stepping back two paces.

“What if I need time?” I slid down the wall a bit, my legs shaky while adjusting the thong that now felt damp. 

“You don’t.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me?”

“You already know your answer.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

The certainty in his voice sent another wave of irritation through me.

“You are unbelievably arrogant.”

“I have been called worse.”

I groaned. “I hate you.”

“Not enough.”

True.

Because if I hated him enough, this decision wouldn’t feel impossible.

The clock on the wall ticked loudly and Alexander glanced at it then back at me.

“Decide, Bunny.”

I swallowed.

My heart hammered against my ribs. Every instinct told me to walk away and to tell him exactly where he could shove his ridiculous offer.

Instead, the words that left my mouth were,  “How much?”

The silence that followed was deafening.

And for the first time all night,  Alexander Grant smiled.