Chapter 2 Reunion in the elevator

Alexa entered the building, met the two guards who welcomed her heartily, and then made her way to the reception. Her silk tee shirt tightly clutched her torso, embracing the pointed shape of the two mounds on her chest as they stretched them out, and the sound of her heels clicking against the tiled floor reverberated around her. With each daring step she took, her freshly cut, shoulder-length honey pecan hair bounced repeatedly over her shoulder, making her a sight to behold.

"Good morning ma'am." The assistant manager for the computer department greeted, walking from another passage

and falling in line with Alexa's walking pace. He was a tall, lanky guy and Alexa knew him to be a heavy flirt. The whole company knew him for that too.

"Good morning Peter. How did your weekend go?" Alexa asked and flashed him a small smile.

"You really want to know?" Came the response with a crude smile.

"Or not. I'l pass."

She giggled with a contorted expression at whatever he might be reminiscing as his expression suddenly told her his mind was far away.

While Peter took another route towards his destination, she kept walking and finally made her way towards the elevator, watching so many people squeeze themselves in before it closed shut.

Approaching it, she patiently tapped her left foot and waited for the elevator to come to a stop, before pressing the silver upward arrow.

Walking into it as it parted, she adjusted her black pencil skirt and took a deep breath, mentally doing a checklist of all that was needed for the project presentation and confirming they had all been sorted out with the usual phone calls.

Just as the elevator door was about to be shut, someone stopped it by putting a leg in. The shiny polished Italian shoe was what she first saw as she had been busy with her head hung low as she planned her day.

Absentmindedly, Alexa trailed her gaze from the person's leg upwards. With eyes large as saucers, her breath immediately got caught in her throat when she recognized that face.

Deep chocolate brown eyes with intense seriousness in them were staring back at her. The defined cheekbones adjusted slightly as the person's lips stretched into a small, almost unnoticeable smirk and a perfectly arched brow rose.

She noticed the small smirk slowly stretch into a wolfish grin on his lips when he met her eyes. Alexa couldn't think properly for a second there, her head was a jumbled mess.

"Long time no see." Michael Barry's powerful, rich and dominating voice spoke first as he

stepped into the elevator, adding a knowing effect to the 'see' word as the door got shut.

Alexa gulped. Her ex-husband and the father of a child he probably didn't know existed stood right before her, in the elevator and they were alone.

She knew so many things could happen within a short time and that sent her heart beating several miles per second. She allowed her eyes roamn over his figure for a while, taking a sour but also a bit too grateful note in the fact that he hadn't changed much over the years.

He was just the way she remembered him. Michael was a sight to behold with the lone strand of his sleek black hair elegantly dangling over his forehead. It was still the same style he usually combed it into; straight to the back.

He was in a handsomely ravishing rich colored blue suit which paved a small passage for the white tee he wore under to peek out, matching with the same color of suit pants which deliciously flowed over his Italian shoes that nicely hugged his feet. He was wearing grey socks, his favorite color.

Alexa blinked twice and she felt her tongue cling desperately to the roof of her mouth.

"Hmm." She grunted as a response, set on ignoring him. She tried, but Alexa couldn't

ignore her ex-husband's dominating presence for too long. Especially when he pressed the elevator emergency button.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked with wide, alarmed eyes. When she tried to move closer to the door and press the buttons so the ride could continue, Michael took a step as well and she quickly retracted before she would bump into him.

The heat emitting off him easily seeped through her skin and that wasn't helpful in a bit. The elevator suddenly looked too small for them.

"You look like you were caught naked in the shower." Michael spoke in his deep tone which

she remembered, the effect of it sending pleasure coursing throughout her whole form and settling at her core.

She shook her head, calling herself stupid for having such a reaction to the man who hurt her.

Michael chuckled but Alexa pressed her lips into a thin line, intent on ignoring him. What was he doing here anyway? Alexa desperately hoped he hadn't come to do any business that would make him stay too long in Canada.

The anger she still felt towards him was very much present but she also couldn't deny the tingling sensation that was traveling through her body, pulsating through her veins at his mere deep baritone.

His cologne, the same one that drove her nuts all those years they were together, wafted through her nostrils and made her a bit lightheaded. She did a harsh breath intake.

"I don't know what you're playing at but you have no right to press that button." She glared at him.

"Come on, at least acknowledge my presence then we can go up." He muttered, faking disappointment.

With a blank expression, Alexa faced him. "Hi." She bit out.

A snort escaped his lips when she went back to staring ahead. He looked befuddled.

"That's childish Alexa baby!" The 'baby' sounded awfully. Her face pulled into a sour contour.

Something snapped in her. "So, calling me 'Alexa baby' isn't childish? Or stopping the elevator

ride just to make meaningless chat isn't childish? Also, you have no right to call me 'baby', you

know? Stop this nonsense, I have to be in my office soon."She was beginning to lose her patience.

"What? We both know you can do better than telling me what I should or shouldn't call you, Alexa. Besides, I love chatting with you." He boasted composedly, eyes narrowing.

Everything about him was composed, even the way he smiled and blinked. Alexa felt like a mess because she was freaking out at being alone with him in such an enclosed space, but she promised herself not to allow anything ruin her self-confidence and the beautiful, calm day ahead of her.

Flexing his muscle through the suit, Michael raised his hand to place it on her shoulder, but she slapped it away.

"Don't you dare touch me." Alexa spoke calmly,

like a prey warning a stubborn predator not to come near it. The wheel was spinning in her head as her mind ran like a wild animal in several directions.

She wondered what he was doing in Canada after being away for that long and what he wanted here with her. Several questions were spinning rapidly in Alexa's mind. What had he been up to all these years? How was his nana?

How was he doing? This was the question that worried Alexa the most. That even after all these years; she still cared about the man. She shouldn't. They were no longer together.

She wasn't worried because he was her ex-husband, no. She just cared a bit. She wasn't a weak woman who would remember all the years they'd spent together if he touched her. She was strong, independent and no man's touch would make her feel those sizzling emotions that could make her let down her guard again.

Well, except the touch of the man I'm currently trying to avoid, she thought sourly. She made a move to press the button for the second time, but Michael moved faster and stood before her, blocking her with his frame.

"You are looking good Alexa, and I'm glad Thomas industries has indeed been taking

care of you." Michael commented, his eyes boring deeply into her and making her body react in a way it hadn't in all four years they had been apart.

The mere mention of her company's name had her whipping her head in his direction. She knew Michael meant trouble whenever he acknowledged something, so when he didn't, everyone could breathe that things were still good.

Also, Michael always got what he wanted. What did he want with her company, or precisely, what did he want with her?

"What do you want from me?"

"What don't I want from you?"

His deep chocolate brown eyes were trained on her as he returned the question after twisting it in his own way. Alexa matched his gaze, the unanswered questions swirling in her head as she struggled to figure him out.

These eyes she had once grown to fall in love with stared at her, as if unraveling the innermost secrets, making her suck in a harsh breath. Finally, she broke the gaze and looked away.

"Let me try this again, why are you back?

And continue the ride. This is bearing borderline insanity. You can't keep me in here with you!"

She spat.

This time, the anger seeping off her was evident. To counter that thought though, the sexual tension she felt was also roaming in the air languidly between them. It engulfed her tightly and she almost felt like pulling out her hairs.

Whether she admitted it to herself or not, he did certain things to her without even suggesting anything sexual.

"It's obvious, right? I came back for you and this time, you can't leave me."

The businessman's words were stated in a way that bid no argument.

Alexa's mouth instantly hung open in in shock. This man couldn't be serious.

He was back after almost four years, only to tell her that she couldn't leave him. He was too late, already years late. He was joking, he had to be.

You are sick."

"Yes for you, it's a pity." His lips curled into a self-mocking sneer and Alexa stared at his plump lips while he spoke, remembering how those lips once worshipped her body, dove into her delicate feminine parts. How those lips had whispered empty promises while sucking and nipping at her sensitive buds.

For a few seconds, Alexa wanted to believe his words, but she had believed him all this while and it had done her no good. She wouldn't take such a risk again, because she knew where everything would fall in the end.

"Stay away from me." She managed to say.

"I own this building and you can't tell me what and what not to do." He spoke dryly, closing

the space between them and standing right before her.

In instinct, she took a step to the left, pressing the sixteenth floor button again before cowering when she felt Michael push out his chest. He had her cornered, the feel of her back almost pressed against the wall serving as a reminder that there was no escaping for her any longer.

"Step back." She snapped, and Michael grudgingly did, heaving a sigh.

Thoughts wheeled in Alexa's head. He owned the building, how? When realization sunk in, Alexa's back finally hit the cold metal as she licked her lower lip. He would be the man her boss had told her about, the Mr. S.A her overall boss had been repeating, without giving a proper name; the one who would be working directly with them. He was the owner of Petsmoni group of companies. It couldn't be true. Masking her surprise, Alexa's brow was hiked up as she wore her mask of nonchalance.

"Well, congratulations on your success Michael, but that doesn't mean you get to do whatever

you like with those in your goddamned building."

He pressed his lips into a grim line, his expression hard. "Is that so?" He countered.

Just as he raised his hand to gently touch her chin, the elevator pinged open, and that got Michael's attention. Alexa let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding and maneuvered her way beside him, making a mad dash away from him. She took in a breath of relief as she walked to her office.

She had made it this time. She hoped she would also have the strength to walk away next time.