Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Chloe could hear the beating of her heart as she twisted the door knob, walking into her apartment, which had been infiltrated by an unknown man. Or rather, people.

Stepping nervously across the floor, hearing the echo of each of her steps, she looked around at the number of men who were in her apartment. Six. She counted six of them. What was she doing? Why didn't she run? But to where would she run to?

"Miss Blair..."

The man sitting on her sofa purred. She stiffened, her eyes fixed on him. Her hands traveled slowly to the back of her jeans, where a pen knife was tucked between her clothes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." He added, his eyes glimmering with ruthlessness.

The impact of him in the room was too potent. He reeked of power and authority. Her apartment looked more terrible as she took in his expensive look.

"How did you get in here?" She asked. Normally, she had no problem talking to people. As far as she was concerned, the man sitting in front of her was in her territory.

"The last time I demanded to see you, you rudely turned away my offer..." He slowly looked her over, from her cheap clothes to her flip flops. "Why is that?"

Her arched eyebrows betrayed her surprise. "You must be Mr. Neil Ryan..."

"No one dares to reject my offers..."

"What exactly is your offer? Because these two said nothing to me..." She replied hastily, pointing to the two men she encountered earlier.

A muscle popped in his cheeks. "You're exactly what I expected..."

She looked angry. "What did you expect?"

"A fearless, beautiful, and egomaniac lady who would do exactly what I propose..."

She lifted her dark eyebrow. "And why do you think so? Why do you think I would accept your proposal?"

"You are a wanted woman, Chloe, or should I say, Alexandra..." Her cheeks turned pink. "You need money to keep your dying sister alive and I don't think you want to continue with your meager jobs..."

In spite of her efforts, Chloe was thunderstruck. Neil left her tongue-tied.

He continued. "I have come to you with the best offer of your life.."

She hesitated for a moment. "What's that?"

He signaled one of the men standing beside him, and he pulled out a file, placing it in the middle of the table.

Neil pointed at the couch- and Chloe obeyed. She simply obeyed. He had commanded something inside of her and she held back every urge to resist.

"The details of the offer are contained in those files.." He said quietly. In spite of knowing that it was going to be a dangerous job, she was intrigued by this mysterious offer.

She was eyeing the file placed before her casually. She didn't want to appear so greedy and desperate. After all, she never indicated she was tired of her jobs. But she was. She was thoroughly exhausted by them.

"How did you find me?" She finally asked, ignoring his dark eyes staring at her. She made no attempt to take the file.

"You are not a difficult woman to track..." He replied silkily. That was not true. For the past six months, he had spent a significant amount of money looking for her. He would always meet dead ends.

Chloe wasn't difficult to track. She was impossible to find.

He had in fact given up on finding this woman, who had the capacity to destroy his one true enemy- his brother. But one day, she had popped up on his radar, a careless mistake, which was his greatest accomplishment.

No one was going to stand in his way of bringing his brother down. Not even the final piece of his puzzle. So, he had tracked and watched Chloe for weeks, studying and digging up every bit of information about her. He was impressed, she was exactly what he needed.

"Obviously.." Chloe's smile lacked humor. "There have been rumors that I'm losing my touch..."

His self disgust flared. And he wasn't hiding it well. "Are you going to read the details of my offer, Miss Blair?.."

She looked down, scanning the file for a second, before grabbing it.

It took her about 10 minutes to grasp the details of his proposal. Chloe was alarmed and she was doing a horrible job at hiding it. It wasn't just a regular deal. It was her death sentence.

She was incapable of pretending she was tough enough for the job he was offering her. She had a clear mission. A suicide mission.

After what seemed like hours, she cleared her throat before speaking up. "So, you want me to sabotage your brother's billion-dollar deal..." It wasn't a question.

Fear, real fear was rushing through her veins. He wanted her to sabotage Nate Ryan's billion dollar deal. He was out of his mind.

Dangerous territory. Nate was a dangerous man. She had no idea he had a brother, talk more of him proposing a deal to sabotage him. Without any doubt, she was not ready for this job.

Neil's sculpted mouth ticked up. "I believe the file contains all the necessary details of this offer..."

"Oh.." She inhaled. "This file contains details of an impossible job.." Chloe tried her best to convince herself she didn't feel it. She didn't feel a strange tension and fear. She didn't.

Year's of doing business and no one has spoken to Neil like she did. His red, angry and terrifying face had a lot to say about it. "Miss Blair, I don't think you have much of a choice..."

Something struck Chloe in her chest. It was denial. Of course, she had a choice, she told herself savagely. She had every right to kick him out of her apartment. But she couldn't. He was powerful and capable of wiping out her existence within seconds.

"Your brother is not who I want to mess with..." She said calmly.

He threw her a furious look. "Really?"

"He's insane and vicious. Everyone is terrified of him..."

"Not me..." He thundered. "Nate is nothing to me.."

She resisted the urge to tell him to go deal with his brother if he was nothing to him. Why did he have to pull her into it?

"Sorry, but your brother has been driven mad by his hunger for wealth.." She threw the file on the table. "I reject your offer..."

He gave a low threatening laugh. "This is your way of saying you would like your sister to die?"

Chloe couldn't concentrate. She didn't understand the odd flicker of desperation within her mind. Her mouth went dry.

She gulped, then asked weakly. "What's in this for me? What do I receive for this offer?"

He lips parted into a dangerous smile, indicating that she had asked the right question. "Natasha.." He rose, his authority overwhelming the room. "She will be taken care of....the rest of your reward is also contained in that file..."

Of course, she had seen that coming. After everything he must have gathered about her, he knew it had to be her greatest desire. To save her sister.

She didn't say a word as he walked past her towards the door. Unfortunately, she was overwhelmed with emotions.

Neil paused at the door, his back turned to her. "This is the best offer of your life. You have three days to accept or decline...you know where to find me if you do change your mind..." He said confidently, before walking out of the room.

She heard the slamming of the door, the revving of the cars. And he was gone.

She exhaled.

********************************

Two days after Neil's visit, in the cold morning of October, Chloe stood in front a skyscraper, contemplating her every decision.

She inhaled. There was no going back. Destroy Nate Ryan? Impossible. Except she had to.

The truth was that she had accepted his offer right after he walked out of her apartment. She knew she had no choice. She wasn't going back to scrubbing dirty toilets for a couple of bucks while there was a job offering her thousands of dollars.

She had read the terms and conditions over and over again. The file was brief and precise. On her acceptance to take the job, her sister would be transferred to a private and more conducive hospital to receive the best treatment. That was the first and most important reward for the job.

Secondly, she would receive $300,000 for her upkeep during her stay with Nate. She didn't know how Neil did it but she was going to be Nate's secretary for months. And was going as Alexandra Daley, a rich business woman who worked for moguls like Nate. Nate hired millionaires to run his every day affair. She wasn't surprised.

She had to spy on him and report every detail of his activities to Neil. That wasn't the hard part of her job. After everything her father had taught her, it wasn't the most difficult part of her job.

What she was terrified of, was the final part of her job. She had to sabotage his billion-dollar deal. Nate was working to take over Highray, a billion-dollar real estate enterprise and she had to stop him. It was horrifying to her.

Now, she was shivering in front of Neil's penthouse. This was the only way to save her sister. She looked up at the top of the sky scraper. She wondered if he knew she was there already.

A lump rose in her throat as she remembered the most terrifying and nauseating part of her job. She had to seduce Nate Ryan.

A man, who enjoyed the company of the most beautiful and eloquent women. She had none of those qualities. Not even Neil's toughest magician could change how she looked.

Slowly, she forced her feet towards the skyscraper. There was no backing out now.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" the doorman said to her, scrunching his nose at the sight of her t-shirt.

"I'm here to meet with one of your residents.." Chloe replied casually. She had no business with a doorman.

He didn't bother to hide his disbelief. "You are here to meet one of my residents?"

She nodded. "Neil Ryan to be precise.."

She didn't understand if she had said something unforgivable, because at the mention of his name, the man quivered.

Eyeing her with disbelief and disgust, he reached for the phone on his desk. He dialed. Turning away, he spoke in a low voice. When he turned back to face her, he was wearing an utterly bewildered expression.

"Use the elevator, go straight up to the thirty eight floor.." He said in shock, not bothering to close his jaw that had dropped below his knees.

Chloe turned away towards the elevator, her flip flops echoing across the marble floor. Her pulse began sprinting a mile a second when she approached the elevator. She had one last chance to walk away.

She pushed the buttons to the thirty eight floor. She was not a coward. She would take the offer.

The door opened with a ding on the thirty eight floor. She numbly pushed herself out.

"Welcome, Miss Blair..." Two men who she instantly recognized were waiting for her. There were the same body guards that had been sent to offer her the deal. She despised them, and she didn't know why. They were simply doing their job.

"Where can I see him?" She asked, clearly minding that they were trying to search her thoroughly. "I'm not here with any weapons, so you can stop caressing my breasts."

The body guards immediately stopped searching her. "She's clear.." One of them said. "You can go in.."

"Is he in there alone?.." She asked, looking at the door before her.

They nodded. "You may go in..."

She flung the pent house door open, carelessly walking in. The pent house was like a castle in the sky. With every step she took, she felt smaller and smaller.

She had been to large buildings but none were as majestic as Neil's penthouse. Not even Callus' empire. She wondered how big Nate's penthouse would be if he was incredibly richer than his brother, Neil.

"I expected you sooner..."

Neil's masculine voice sounded from behind her. She turned hastily.

"Have you come to reject my offer?" He asked, taking a step towards her. Neil Ryan was good looking. He was tall, around six foot two, with broad shoulders and hazel eyes. He bore this intensifying look and he radiated with power. He was beautiful, but not quite like his younger and more successful brother.

"I am here to take the job..." She whispered.

"Why did you change your mind?" He asked in a low voice. "Do you suddenly believe my brother to be a changed man?"

She knew he was taunting her, sucking in every last bit of self-esteem that she had. She shook her head.

"Then, it must be the $500,000 you desire?"

Chloe threw him an annoyed look. "Do you need me or not?"

He walked past her, pacing a step before turning back to face her. "I might have changed my mind about you..."

Her face turned an instant red. "Two days ago, your offer to me was definitive..."

He shrugged. "And two days ago, your refusal was definitive..."

She opened her mouth to say something but the words were fighting at the back of her throat.

Neil gave a choked laugh. "You must be desperate, aren't you?.."

She didn't know it would come to this. But she nodded. She had come all the way to his pent house, she wasn't leaving without the job.

"My sister..." She whispered, then stopped, her throat dry. She licked her lips. "I need you to take absolute care of her.."

He froze, then relaxed as he looked back at her. "She will receive the very best medical treatment.." He said smoothly. "Besides, she will be my collateral if you fail to accomplish your task..."

Chloe's faced widened with shock. Why hadn't she thought of that? He was going to keep Natasha as a collateral damage or whatsoever if she failed to sabotage Nate's billion-dollar deal.

"Why do you think I would fail? Such measures are not necessary...." She blurted out, desperately trying to keep her sister out of the mess. She wanted her to have a peaceful life after all the pain, not trapped and locked up by Neil.

He gave her a crooked grin. "Whatever you have heard about my brother is untrue. He is not the wealthiest in the family nor the most successful. He is just a crook and a very good one, I must say. However, you were right. He has been driven insane by his hunger for wealth. You must not underestimate him..."

Neil Ryan had not always hated his brother. His pure desire to eliminate him begun five years ago. Chloe had done her research for two days. It was enough to know every thing about the brothers.

Nate had always idolized Neil, who became successful at a young age. While Nate played the cute bad boy at school, Neil buried his nose in business books and sought ways to make himself richer.

Nate, three years younger than Neil did not understand his brother's desire to make more money, fly around the world or buy expensive cars at that time. However, he adored his brother and hoped to be like him someday.

At their early twenties, Nate picked up a massive interest in business. He began to understand the need to be wealthy and recognized the huge gap between the rich and poor. At that time, he turned to his brother, Neil for financial and business guidance.

Neil was loyal. Family, business and loyalty. That was all he cared about. So, he began to teach Nate the way of business, allowing him to attend meetings and deal with several moguls like him. He loved the satisfaction he received from working with his brother. He bore thoughts that they would someday rule the world of the wealthy together. But alas, that was not Nate's plan.

Nate, crafty and greedy like his mother, had tasted power. He loved it. He sought it and devoured every bit of it.

Neil hadn't known that the years they strove together to build their real estate business, Nate was secretly planning to take over, steal his clients and cheat him out of his share of a billion dollars.

It was not until five years ago, that Neil had woken up to face his brother's betrayal that he began to seek revenge. Now, even though, he had long since built his billion-dollar real estate business, he still sought to destroy his brother who had stabbed him in the back.

Yes. Nate was insane with greed. But Neil was a dangerous man who sought revenge with a cold heart.

And, she, Chloe was caught right in the middle.

"I do not underestimate him..." Her feminine voice echoing around the penthouse. "I have dealt with men like him..."

Neil's eyes focused on her, standing in front of him and trying to prove her ability to take down his brother.

She wasn't as beautiful as the women his brother preferred, but she was smarter and more dangerous than all of them put together. Nate's typical mistresses were sleek and sophisticated. And they certainly would never wear flip flops to a pent house like his. But she was skilled, gifted with the ability of deception. If Nate had a match, it was Chloe Blair. He was sure of it.

He cleared his throat. "You must have understood the terms of the agreement..." His voice was coarse, even to his own ear. "Arrangements to fly you out in good shape will begin soon..."

"What kind of arrangements?.." She asked, sucking on her bottom lips.

He looked at her sharply. She clearly had no idea how horrible she looked. "You need to look like a woman a man would desire..." He said.

Chloe frowned. She certainly looked angry. "When do I leave?.."

This time, he looked serious. "You leave in two weeks. Your personal trainee will be oner to deliver every lesson you need.. My brother is a highly selective man, he would want the best from you..." Of course, he wasn't talking about her job as his brother's secretary anymore.

"I don't need lessons.." She said slowly. "I've had enough of them..."

He was pleased. He didn't need reassurance. He knew Chloe Blair was the woman he needed.

More than eight months ago, he had been seeking with all of his being, a way to sabotage his brother's takeover of Highrays Inc. He had desperately hired several spies to watch his brother in Los Angeles.

He had perfectly positioned his spies within Nate's business years ago when he began his quest for revenge.

When he learned that his brother had fired his long term Secretary in hopes of hiring a new one, he was delighted. At last, he decided to try a new way; Chloe herself.

All he knew about Chloe was in a file from a private investigator, who had tracked her for over 6 weeks. "Girl's so crafty. She's insane..." the investigator had reported. But Neil was pleased. If he was going to take down his brother, he needed someone who was totally insane. And desperate enough to face the devil. Chloe was a 3 over 2.

He had finally arranged for Chloe to be hired to work for his brother, knowing that Nate cared not who worked for him. Wealthy and eloquent. Those were his choices. Then, convincing Chloe to accept his deal was the final piece of the puzzle.

He shouldn't have been surprised that she declined the offer at once. Or that she knew and feared Nate, but had no idea about him or who he was.

Breaking into her apartment was never his plan also. He was just as desperate as she was. He had spent the last two days gritting his teeth and hoping that Chloe would be as desperate as he thought.

Then, like a miracle, he'd been woken from sleep with the news that she was ready to take the offer.

She had no idea how she was about to change his life.

"I insist you receive private tutoring..." He said fervently to Chloe. "And a change of everything..." His eyes eyeing her with disapproval.

Then he turned away from her. Once he reached his home office, he phoned her personal trainee to discuss the arrangements and how to transform Chloe to Nate's type.

When he returned, he found her sitting on his Sofa, looking extremely bored and exhausted.

"Have you had breakfast?.." He asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you asked....No.."

Crossing to his desk, he pressed the intercom button.

"Sir?"

"Send up a plate for breakfast..Just one..."

"Yes Sir..."

He turned back to Chloe. "You need to eat quickly. Your trainee will be here soon.."

She nodded, saying nothing. This job was important to him, for he even cared if she was hungry. How could hate make him passionate about her? Was he passionate? Or did he see her as a pawn in his game?

As she sat, she imagined the outcome of her job. She could only succeed or fail. If she succeeded, she would come back to her sister, with $500,000 that would change their lives forever. If she failed, she would lose her sister and Nate would destroy her. It was that simple, yet, complicated.

Neil had told her the truth. She should never underestimate Nate. She never intended to. She feared him.

The door opened, revealing a man with a tray of food. Now, that was quick. She was hungry and her mouth was watering.

Neil watched her as she devoured the meal in front of her. No wonder she had accepted the offer. Swiveling in his chair, he looked out through the window.

For five years, he'd been planning the perfect revenge. He had been fighting his brother's company, trying to pay back for his bitter betrayal.

And now, all of his plans were falling into place. He had Chloe. Nate wouldn't see her coming. She would crush him beneath her booth, and he would finally over throw his brother.

Chloe was determined to take Nate down. She had no choice. He had all the ammunition he needed to make Chloe Blair do exactly what he wanted. A cold smile appeared on his face.

He had her sister.