Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Ray spun around to look at their new secretary. It took him a moment to realize he was staring at Alexis. Another one to watch the emotions flickering in her eyes. And another one to know what she was thinking. The time he took to notice all that was all she needed to fly at him and land a solid punch on his face. He staggered back cursing.

"YOU? You're the boss?"

"Alexis......"

"This was your plan all along? To make my life miserable, give me stupid advice so you can go and laugh behind my back with Jerkface?"

"Miss Barret....." Duke didn't get to finish what he wanted to say because Alexis punched him too.

"You shut up. God I should have done that the first day I got here. I can't believe I was so stupid to fall for your lies"

"Alexa what are you doing?" Anna muttered taking her elbow. "Do you want to lose your job?"

"Lose my job?" she asked ripping off the glasses she had been wearing. "Let's see. Which one of you is going to fire me? Who has the balls to do that?"

Ray stood there at a loss for words. On the one hand, he was furious with his father for pulling this stunt on him. The least he could have done was warn him that he'd told Duke to hire Alexis. And then there was Duke. He couldn't believe his partner had done all the things Alexis had told him. What had gotten into him? Did he know who she was? Is that why he was doing it to punish her? And on the other hand, there was Alexis. She was furious with him thinking he was in on it. But even in her clothing, she looked hot. Mad but hot. If the whole office wasn't watching them, he would have taken her in his arms and kissed her turning her anger into desire, lust. The thought of having angry sex with her had him hardening instantly and he had to shuffle on his feet so he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of his staff.

"Look at them, now you have nothing to say?" she glanced up to the ceiling breathing in through her nose and out her mouth. Then walking towards them, she got in Duke's face and snarled "You backed up the wrong tree Mister. I am going to ruin you. Both of you"

"Listen to me Alexis...."

"I'm taking the rest of the day off. And no, I'm not quitting. I will be back tomorrow. So brace yourselves because this is the beginning of the end" storming off to her desk, she took her bag and left. Ray stared at her back as she punched the up and down buttons beside the elevator harder than necessary. When they slid open, she didn't even turn to face them. She stood with her back to them until the doors glided shut. He wanted to go after her and make her listen to him but he knew she was way too angry to let him talk.

"Get back to work" Ray ordered. Then turning to Duke he said "Let's have a chat. Shall we?" they locked themselves in his office. He didn't want to cause a scene or go off on his friend but he couldn't help feeling angry. Since when was Duke Copeland a dick? All the things Alexis had said about him didn't add up.

They met a few years back, when Ray was fresh out of college. He was looking for someone experienced who he could partner up with and start a business. Of course he could have done everything by himself but he knew Lachtech would be his someday. A global company like that would need most of his attention if not all. Partnering with Copeland was supposed to be a test. To see if he could start a business and make it successful. So far it was blooming. Until today that is. The advice he'd given Alexis wasn't meant to be used against him. Knowing her, she was going to hit them harder now. He had no doubt she could ruin them in the snap of a finger. Talk about digging your own grave. He only hoped his partner had a good reason for doing what he did or they would have problems.

"What the Fuck is going on Copeland?"

"I don't know. I should be the one asking that"

"Why did you hire Alexis?"

"I'm going to assume Alexis is Miss Barret." he said sitting down behind his obnoxiously large desk. "I hired her because your father asked me to. And honestly, she's been nothing but a pain man."

"Is that why you've been torturing her?"

"I wouldn't call it torture. It was more like teaching her a lesson. She came in here feeling all high and mighty when she isn't even qualified for the job. There were more candidates better suited for this job than her. I wanted to make sure she understood that if it wasn't for your father, she wouldn't be here"

"Is that so?" Ray unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat in front of him. "Has my father ever asked for anything from you?"

"No."

"Did you stop to wonder why he recommended you hire 'Miss Barret'?"

"No. I found it a bit strange though. It's not like your father to vouch for an unqualified person. Besides why didn't he give her a job at Lachtech?"

"Exactly Duke. Ask yourself why he didn't hire her himself"

He furrowed his eyebrows "Now that I think about it, nothing makes sense."

Ray wanted to reach across the desk and make his partner understand. Maybe a hammer to his head would jog his thinking "Of course nothing makes sense." he shot up, pushing his chair back and leaning on the desk. "Miss Barret as you call her is none other than Alexandra Rutherford."

"What?"

"You heard me. Alexandra Rutherford. The Rutherford Princess. That is why my father asked you to hire her himself. Did his secretary call you?"

"No. He did it himself"

"Don't you think that should have been a sign or something? Dammit Duke. Do you realize the damage you've done?"

"I didn't know who she was"

"You weren't supposed to. That is why she was in disguise. Because she wanted to have a normal job and know what it's like to not be the Rutherford Princess"

Duke pushed his chair back and started pacing "Why didn't you tell me who she was?"

"I didn't know" Ray roared his anger rising. "My father didn't say anything and she called you Jerkface so I had no idea who you were either. To think I told her to take your business from you"

"She'll bury me after what I did today" he mumbled to himself.

"What did you do?" Ray asked, with a dangerous edge to his voice. Duke must have heard it because he raised his hands in defence.

"I really didn't know man."

"What. Did. You. Do?" he enunciated every word advancing on him.

"I made her clean the bathrooms"

One, two, three seconds passed before Ray exploded. "You what?" his hand moved before his mind registered what he was doing. When Duke staggered back, Ray realized he'd punched him. "Why the fuck would you make Alexis clean bathrooms? Isn't there staff who were hired to do that?"

"Listen man..... "

"I am going to walk away from this conversation before I give in to the urge of throwing you off that balcony" he pointed to the double doors that led outside. "I'll be back tomorrow. You better hope Alexis calms down or you will be the one out of a job"

"You can't fire me. This is as much my business as it is yours"

"You don't have to remind me that. I can't fire you but if the Rutherford Princess decides to take all our clients, it would be your fault" leaving the office, he wondered who he should go see first. His father or Alexis?

He decided Alexis came first. When she left she was angry as hell and he wanted to make sure she was fine. He also needed her to know that he hadn't conspired with Duke to make her life miserable. If he had known she was working at the office, his office, he would have done everything to make sure she enjoyed her time there. God, Just the thought of her cleaning the bathrooms made his vision blur out of anger. He was tempted to dissolve his partnership with Duke then stand back and watch as his Princess showed him who was boss. But that was his business too. He'd built it from the ground up. The sleepless nights he'd spent made him want to fight for it. He had no doubts Alexis could give them a run for their money.

Aside from being beautiful, she was intelligent. He was sure he was the only one who knew she had two degrees. One in business management and the other one in international relations. He didn't know why she took the latter but what he knew for sure was that majoring in two courses at the same time had to have been hard. The fact that she succeeded in both only proved how smart she was. Add pretty to that equation and he was certain all their clients would choose her over them any day of the week. Hell he would choose her over anyone. Always. Stopping outside a supermarket, he bought her chocolates and flowers. Hopefully they'd lessen her anger long enough for him to explain himself.

When he got to their floor, he knocked on her door. After a few minutes of silence, he wondered if she had gone home. It would be harder for him to talk to her there because of her father, but first he had to know that she wasn't ignoring him. Taking out the spare key Hayley gave him, he opened the door. It was meant to be for emergencies only. He knew he was taking advantage and intruding on her privacy but he couldn't leave without making sure she wasn't there. Walking in he closed the door gently and called out. "Alexis" no answer.

He looked for her in the bedroom. It was the first place she would have gone to. When he came up empty, he decided that maybe she wasn't there. On his way out, he stopped staring at the entrance to the kitchen. There was no reason he couldn't check there too. He stopped when he saw her bent over a glass of water. A feeling of Deja Vu washed over him. Wasn't that how she'd been on Friday? Sad and dejected? "Alexis" he said walking towards her. "Come on, you have to know....."

"I trusted you" she whispered raising her head. The tears on her face gutted him. He'd seen her cry a few times and sometimes when her eyes were red or swollen, he knew she had been crying. Seeing her like that unsettled him. But knowing he was the reason felt like someone had stabbed him with a knife through his heart. "I trusted you Ray"

"I know Princess and that's why you have to understand that I didn't know my father had sent you there. I wouldn't have allowed Copeland to treat you the way he did. Please believe me"

"Leave me alone"

"Alexis...."

"Just go Ray"

Sighing, he turned around and left. Why wouldn't she believe him? He knew that she was angry but if she stopped for a second she'd realize that he truly had no idea what was going on. This is what happened when he left the office for a few days. And why was life so unfair? She had just started to trust him. After years of trying to make her see him, she finally does but something had to happen and ruin it all. How was he going to convince her he was innocent? And even if he did, who's to say she hadn't changed her mind about them? Dammit. Ray got in his car. His father was going to stop meddling in his life. This was all his fault. Half an hour later he Screeched to a halt in front of the house he'd grown up in and got out.

"Dad!" he bellowed the moment he stepped inside.

"Ray. What's up" Jasmine said striding towards him.

"Where is he?" his voice came out harsher than he intended but he was so furious.

"Right here so stop yelling"

"Why the hell did you not tell me that you asked Copeland to hire Alexis?"

"Uh oh. I told you it's a bad idea" Jasmine told his father leaving them to talk alone.

"So you found out huh"

"Found out? You ruined everything dad. I had her and because of your brilliant idea she just slipped through my fingers."

"Calm down Raymond...."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Ray realized he was yelling at his father and that his anger was getting out hand, but the thought of losing Alexis after knowing what it was like to have her, was driving him insane. "I want you to make me understand what made you think getting Alexis employed in my company was a good idea?"

"I was trying to help"

"Yeah well thank you very much for nothing."

"Are you done?"

Ray narrowed his eyes at his father. If he spent another minute with him, there was a chance he'd end up doing something stupid. Like punching his own father. "I know what you're thinking Ray. I'd like to see you try"

"Stay out of my life dad." he said, spinning around to leave. Starting a fight with his father would end badly. It would also be stupid because everything he knew he'd learnt from him. Getting in his car, he pulled out, wondering where he should go. The office was out of the question and he couldn't go to his apartment. Alexis was still mad at him so she wouldn't listen. He also needed a way to get rid of his anger. So gym it was.

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