Chapter 47
Elizabeth's POV
In my heart, the only value I had left was the value of being used.
My past love for Aiden had left me utterly defeated, and I understood now, with a chilling clarity, that only leveraging my own self-interest would allow me to survive, to thrive.
Alexander was a smart man; of course, he could see right through my intentions.
Since he had asked directly, I didn't dare lie.
"Yes," I answered, my voice quiet but firm.
Beside me, I heard Lisa and Anna gasp in unison. The looks they shot me were a mixture of shock and profound worry. They must have thought my blunt admission would send Alexander into an immediate rage.
Truthfully, I thought so, too.
But I had no other choice. If I lied now, wouldn't his anger only be greater later? Honesty, in this moment, was simply the least terrible path I could take.
However, the explosion I braced for never came. When Alexander spoke again, his voice sounded almost lighter.
"You're quick to admit it."
"Yes."
A sudden, soft laugh escaped him. "Good. That's the attitude I want. Elizabeth, you'd better never change. Use me, and be used by me."
I lifted my head, trying to read something, anything, in his eyes, but found nothing but an unnerving calm.
"Let's go," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly in a gesture that I took as permission to follow.
I scrambled to my feet and slid back into the passenger seat of his car.
Slowly, I was beginning to grasp what Alexander meant.
There had to be something he wanted from me, something he hadn't articulated before, and I couldn't possibly guess. But now, it felt like I was finally touching the edges of his plan.
As the car neared the imposing structure of the Windsor Group, I gathered my courage. "Mr. Windsor, the thing you said you needed me to do, is it related to the company's business?"
"It is," Alexander confirmed, his gaze shifting to me. "You will join the Windsor Group. You will work for me. That is your only option."
I couldn't hide my surprise, a sudden, dawning realization that I had, without noticing, stepped onto a ship I couldn't easily disembark.
"But why me?" I knew I couldn't refuse, but I at least wanted to understand the reason.
A man of Alexander's stature could have his pick of any professional in the country. And yet, he was speaking to me—the woman carrying his child—with a tone that left no room for argument, as if he were certain I could help him in some specific, crucial way.
"You worked at the Smith Group. You should be familiar with the Riverdale development project, shouldn't you? The Smiths have been preparing for it for a long time."
I nodded. "Yes. When I was still there, I was involved in some of the preliminary work. So, you're planning to win that contract?"
The project was backed by the government, which meant the deciding factor wouldn't be corporate scale or influence, but the sheer strength of the proposal itself. It was a truly level playing field, one that demanded immense effort from the team.
"Since you were involved at the Smith Group, you should know the details of their proposal, then."
I swallowed hard, my eyes darting to his face.
The implication in his words was as clear as glass. He intended to use my former position to acquire the Smith Group's trade secrets.
My mind raced, connecting the dots of the project's information. It clicked into place with a terrifying certainty.
"From what I know, the Windsor Group and the Smith Group are indeed the two strongest contenders for this project," I said, thinking aloud. "With my help… letting you easily craft a proposal that outmaneuvers theirs… the project would essentially be yours."
After saying that, I still felt a trace of fear.
I hadn't understood any of these stakes before, but Alexander had calculated every move far in advance. The man beside me was far more formidable than I had ever imagined. For my own sake, I knew I could never, ever make him my enemy unless I had absolutely no other choice.
The car pulled up to the Windsor Group, and the skyscraper still managed to take my breath away.
The Smith Group's headquarters was already impressive, a place I had grown accustomed to, but the Windsor Group was on an entirely different level. It was bigger, grander, and teeming with more employees, every polished surface exuding an aura of wealth and elite competence. Walking inside, you couldn't help but feel small.
I stole a glance at the man beside me. Dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, he moved through the space with an air of complete belonging, not a hint of dissonance in his posture. It was as if he were born to be here, a king in his natural domain, never once having known what it felt like to be looked down upon.
"What will my position be at the Windsor Group? Mr. Windsor, you have to give me a specific title, right?"
The prospect of working by Alexander's side was, of course, something I'd agree to a hundred times over. Not only would I gain invaluable experience, but I'd also have access to high-profile events and a network of contacts. For me, it was a proposition with no downside.
Alexander gave me a cool, sidelong glance. "You'll be my assistant."
We stepped into his private elevator, and the name of his current assistant immediately came to mind. "But don't you already have an assistant?" I blurted out. "That man, Charles?" If I also became his assistant, wouldn't our roles overlap?
"Who decreed an assistant can only be singular?"
His question left me momentarily speechless.
It was true. While Aiden only had one official assistant, he had an entire secretarial department, a dozen young, beautiful women who orbited him constantly. Back then, I was always getting jealous, a knot of discomfort tightening in my stomach whenever I saw them. Aiden would just dismiss my feelings, telling me all CEOs were like that, and I shouldn't be unreasonable.
I later learned that many executives did have secretarial teams, and not wanting to start a real fight with Aiden, I dropped the subject. But it never stopped stinging, seeing him surrounded by a flock of women every time I passed the secretarial pool.
My gaze drifted back to Alexander.
If, as Aiden claimed, almost every CEO was like that, did that mean Alexander was, too? Did he also have a whole department of secretaries? Was he planning to put me in it?
He led me directly into his office. Along the way, every employee who greeted him couldn't resist letting their curious eyes linger on me.
"So where will my desk be?"
Alexander gestured to a corner of his own expansive office. "Here."
I froze.
Just then, Charles walked in with a cup of coffee. I couldn't help but ask him, "Doesn't the company have a secretarial department? I can work in the open-plan office out there."
Charles answered matter-of-factly, "Ms. Spencer, Mr. Windsor doesn't have a secretary."
"No secretary?" I was floored. My head whipped around to look at Alexander.
That face—it was the kind that would be the absolute center of attention in any crowd, more handsome than Aiden, more charismatic. Just picturing him with a secretarial department, I could easily imagine how many people would vie for his time.
And now Charles was telling me he didn't have a single one?
"What's with that expression?" his cool voice sliced through my thoughts, pulling me back to reality.
I composed myself. "I'm just a little surprised. I thought every male CEO had a lot of female secretaries."
Alexander, a man of higher status and greater ability than Aiden, had none. Thinking back on the misery I'd endured with Aiden, the injustice of it all felt even more acute. That bastard. He was so insatiably greedy.