Chapter 63

Claire’s POV

For an uncomfortably long period, silence reigned between us.

I dared to take a peek at him and realized that he was staring at me with a smile on his lips.

“This is ridiculous,” I said inwardly. “Why do I feel so awkward in front of this stranger? I am an Alpha and I’m not supposed to feel awkward in front of anyone.”

Emboldened by this inner dialogue, I threw my shoulders back and tilted my chin so that I was looking straight into his rather hypnotic amber eyes.

He chuckled. “I had no idea I was this intimidating to other people.”

“Intimidating is not what I’ll call it,” I replied sharply and immediately wished I had not replied to that.

His eyes lit up with renewed interest as one of his perfectly shaped brows arched.

“So what will you call it?”

“Never mind,” I said and brushed past him to walk towards the door. “We should head to the Castle now.”

“Yes ma’am,” he replied, his tone laced with amusement.

When we stepped outside, I realized that the car that Alpha Kelvin and I had come in that morning was still parked in front of the establishment.

Mike, his Chauffeur came out of the car to hold the passenger door open for me and my brows furrowed in confusion.

“Didn’t the Alpha go to the Castle?” I queried.

“He did,” he answered and I nearly rolled my eyes when he didn’t give any further explanation.

Whatever. I didn't care anyway.

I turned to look at Alfie and suddenly realized that he was grinning at the Chauffeur.

Frowning, I returned my gaze to Mike who was positively glaring at Alfie.

What in the world was going on?

“Are you going to get inside the car or do I have to force you in here myself?” the Chauffeur queried and for one confused moment, I thought he was speaking to me.

Alfie chuckled. “It's okay, Mike. I didn't fly down here,” he replied, pointing to the yellow sports car behind the Alpha’s car.”

“That colour is hideous,” Mike said with a look of horror on his face. “I should have known the minute I saw it that someone strange had returned to town.”

“Come on, don't be so dramatic. I know you’ve always hated the colour yellow but you have to admit that it looks good on this car,” Alfie replied.

My gaze moved from one man to the other, wondering why they were conversing as though they knew each other.

“Miss Claire, whenever you are ready,” the Chauffeur said and I realised that he was still holding the door open for me.

“I'm so sorry,” I murmured and made to go in.

“So that's your name. Claire,” Alfie said and I couldn't help but notice the appreciation in his tone. “It suits you perfectly.”

“Thank you,” I replied, before sliding onto the passenger seat. I wondered what he would say if I told him that I was originally called Iris by my mother until my aunt gave me away.

We arrived at the Castle and I waited at the entrance for Alfie, who arrived about a minute after the Chauffeur and I.

“How do you and Mike know each other?” I queried as soon as he joined me.

He arched an eyebrow. “I had no idea that Personal Assistants were allowed to ask such personal questions.”

I rolled my eyes and he chuckled. “That is so unprofessional of you. I'm certain that you are going to receive a query if I told your boss that you rolled your eyes at me.”

“Well, luckily for me, I am not afraid of him.”

His eyes widened with the smile still on his lips. “That’s a first. Perhaps, he is no longer as he used to be.”

A scoff slipped from my lips. “Let me take you to him. Follow me,” I said, turning on my heels to walk up the foyer.

“Yes ma’am,” he chortled.

“Stop calling me that. It makes me feel old,” I complained, turning to face him.

“Should I call you Claire, then?” he queried.

“That would be much better,” I replied and turned to resume walking.

“And you are going to call me Alfie?”

“If you want me to, why not?” I answered without looking at him.

We reached the stairs and began our ascent up to the Alpha’s quarters.

“So you want us to be on a first-name basis? What a sneaky way to ask me out,” he teased.

“Trust me, you are not my type,” I replied with a smile.

“The truth is, I am everybody’s type,” he said as we reached another flight of stairs. “It's not like I'm being cocky or anything like that. I'm merely stating a fact.”

I laughed out loud at that. “I'm sorry if you find this offensive but you must be really delusional if you actually think you are anything other than cockiness personified.”

He chuckled and then there was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

“What is your type then? I need to know so that I can try to conform myself accordingly.”

“Quit teasing me,” I replied.

We had finally reached the Alpha’s quarters and I wondered how he was going to react if he found out that this perfectly handsome stranger was flirting with his mate.

Perhaps, I should play along just to get him jealous or hopefully, angry enough to agree to a rejection.

I stopped in front of the double doors and raised a hand to knock but his voice stopped me.

“Come in Claire.”

“Wait here,” I said to Alfie before entering the bedroom.

A surprised shriek immediately fell from my lips when I realized that he was naked.

In the real world, wasn't it the females who played the naked card after an argument to avoid apologizing? I vaguely wondered.

Alpha Kelvin smirked. “It's not like you’ve not seen a naked man before and besides, you’ve not taken your eyes off my body so I can conclude that you are enjoying the show.

I quickly averted my gaze. “Well, you had better get dressed. There's someone who wants to see you.”

“Please Claire, don't tell me you led whoever it is to the front of my door,” he replied.

I didn't need to look at him to know that he was frowning.

“What if he is someone who wants to kill me?”

Now, why hadn't I thought about that? I wondered silently and realized that it was all Alfie’s fault.

If he hadn't been so intense and charming and a good conversationalist, I would certainly have led him to the Alpha’s instead.

“Well, your Chauffeur seemed to know him quite well and was friendly with him so I figured that he was harmless,” I murmured.

“It doesn't matter Claire,” he said and this time, his tone was a lot friendlier. “Ask whoever it is to wait in my Study. Did he even give you a name?”

Just as I opened my mouth to reply to that, the doors opened and Alfie walked in.

“I did give her a name,” he said.

The silence that descended upon the room was deafening and I knew for a fact that the Alpha was regretting the day he asked me to be his Personal Assistant.