Chapter 32 32
Applause broke out — scattered at first, then more enthusiastic as the staff registered the news. Emily blushed, shaking hands with a few department heads nearby. Stefan accepted the congratulations with a polite nod, his gaze still occasionally flicking toward Alana.
Alana clapped too — because she had to — but her hands moved slowly, mechanically.
She could feel her pulse hammering. Of course. Of course he’d do this. Take the job he once said he’d never want — just so he could be closer.
Her mind flashed back to his words that morning: “Like it or not, I’m staying.”
What was he planning? It was infuriating being left in the dark and having to assume everything. His expression betrayed nothing, but then again he was trained not to.
Emily’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Thank you, everyone. Stefan and I are honored to lead Maynard Group together. We’ll be calling a separate strategy meeting later this week to align departmental objectives.”
Alana looked up just as Stefan’s eyes met hers across the table — steady, dark, and unapologetic. It wasn’t arrogance this time. It was intention. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and he didn’t care.
When the meeting ended, chairs scraped, voices rose, and people filed out. Emily came around to hug her.
“Can you believe it?” Emily said, glowing. “I didn’t even know Dad was going to make it official today. Stefan too — though, honestly, I think this could be good for him. He needs something steady.”
“Right,” Alana said faintly, managing a tight smile. “Good for him.”
Emily frowned. “Hey, you okay? You look pale.”
“I’m fine,” Alana lied. “Just… surprised.”
“Good surprise or bad surprise?”
She forced a small laugh. “Ask me again later.”
Across the room, Stefan was speaking with Richard, but his attention flicked back to her, sharp and watchful. Alana turned away quickly, muttering an excuse about a call, and left the conference room before her composure cracked.
By the time she reached her office, she slammed the door shut and pressed her back against it, heart racing.
So this was his game. He wasn’t just staying in town — he was stepping into her life, her world, one careful move at a time.
She crossed her arms and exhaled shakily. “Fine, Stefan Maynard,” she murmured under her breath. He clearly wanted trouble, and trouble he'd get.
___________
“You should start calling before coming over, Stefan. You can't keep showing up like this,”
Stefan watched Alana sit back down at the table, half eaten meal in front of her. By the time he'd finished at the office, it'd been pretty late. Becoming CEO wasn't as freeing as most people thought it was, especially if you were still getting briefed about everything, and by the time he got into his car and drove to Alana's, it was pretty late.
Juliana was already in bed, and Alana was having dinner. The announcement of him becoming CEO clearly hadn't thrilled her, he observed. In fact it seemed to make her even angrier at him.
He tormented himself by wondering why. Was the idea of him being around so bad? Or was it because of the other guy. Travis, was it? Did she want him out of the way because she was developing feelings for this guy? The thought made him want to find this Travis guy and punch him till he swore to leave Alana alone. His gaze rested on her profile.
His woman. She was. Definitely. Even if she refused to admit it. She would be someday, and some lame guy in a suit wasn't going to stand in his way of starting a real family like Alana and his daughter.
“Aren't you going to invite me to join you?” he said. To lighten the mood or piss her even more? He had no idea. Just that he had to say something, “It's been a long day. I'm sure you can tell,”
Alana didn't spare a glance in his direction. “Yes, Stefan,” she replied, “I know it's been a long day. I got back from work, put Juliana to sleep and right now, all I want is to have dinner and go to bed. I don't want to deal with you or anything else,”
“You don't have anything to say about what happened at the office today?” he pressed.
Temper flashed in her eyes. “Oh so now you want to know what I think? You didn't think you should have said something to me about your new job when you showed up this morning to threaten me? I guess you wanted it to be a big surprise, and surprised I was. Congratulations on your new job, Stefan,” She dropped her spoon. “But now I'm over it, and no, I have nothing to say about you technically becoming my new boss. Now please leave,”
“I thought you'd be glad I was staying for Juliana's sake,”
She was, Alana thought helplessly. If Stefan stayed, Juliana wouldn't lose her father. And she wouldn't have to worry about him getting shot or killed on some bloody mission. But it also meant him being around like this. Showing up whenever he pleased. Infiltrating her life and messing with her senses. He'd already shown her how controlling he could be with the Travis incident, and something told her that his new job had something to do with wanting to control her as well.
She had to stop him now. She had to place boundaries and she'd start by letting him know he couldn't continue showing up whenever he wanted.
She shot him a derisive look. “You and I know exactly why you are staying and it's not just for Juliana,” she told him angrily, “You think you can just show up and take control of my life. Make me more passive. But I’m not interested in being passive or docile. I’m not interested in being managed or accommodating you or your bad manners in any way.”
She wouldn’t like it if she knew he found her so appealing right now, Stefan thought. She wouldn’t like it if she knew how much he wanted to touch her. How much he wanted to cover her mouth and drink her in, tasting her, taking her, making her melt.
He could make her melt.
He could.
He could do it now, too. Even when she crackled and burned. It’d be easier now, when she was on fire, her temper stirred, because anger and passion were so very close, anger flamed passion, anger made passion explode...