NIEVA

“I want you.”

I looked towards the man sitting in front of me, The Lord, waiting for his response, and all I got was silence.

He was doing some paperwork and didn’t bother to look up to his guest, which I found impolite, but who am I to say? I was the one who needed his help and power.

“You are not the first one to say that, Miss-,” said the man leaning towards the window who I did not see earlier.

“Nieva.”

“Ah, so you are that Nieva,” I was utterly confused. Only the lord was supposed to know about me, not some weird stranger. The matter was sensitive and discrete.

I was here with a purpose; the less known, the better.

The man advanced towards me with a confident stride and careful eyes. I felt like someone was watching, contemplating my every move and judging. I stood my ground. I was not stupid and have dealt with these situations before. The man maintained a respectful distance and forwarded his right hand for a handshake, to which I responded with a firm handshake. I felt his calloused hands underneath my hands and wondered who he was.

“Hello, I am Akai. How do we help you?” He was beautiful, with faint East Asian features only seen from careful observation.

We?

There was no ‘We’. I don’t want many people to know, but his being here might mean something. Maybe sort of a trusted man or a diligent employee. Anyway, as long as I get the matter sorted, I couldn’t care less.

“Hello, Akai. I hoped to talk to your Lord about Stephaine, but he seems occupied. I shall come at another time.” I said while glancing towards the mighty lord, who was now glaring at me at the mention of the particular name. He felt mocked. It was obvious with his deathly glare.

Akai’s eyes widened at my statement, and he was surprised by my straightforwardness. Think me stupid or gutsy that was not my problem.

I had to do that, be it intentionally or not. Otherwise, I would have been ignored and treated like any other guest. I had to play as cool as ice, but I was nervous beyond crazy my heart was beating wildly, and little beads of sweat were forming. My legs were on the verge of giving out, but I won’t give away.

Nothing.

I held eye contact with the man. That’s what I am good at; eye contact. He seemed ready to kill me, and so did I.

“Ehem”, My trance was broken by Akai.

“Akai, Leave”. The deep voice reverberated through the office and gave me goosebumps.

“But Bos-”

“NOW.” The authority in his voice left no room for argument. Akai left the room but not before quietly whispering, ‘All the best’.

I believed that was what I needed the most, seeing how angry the lord seemed and ready to bury me alive. I won’t be surprised if I die at this moment.

I was treading a dangerous territory of risks, power, and high-profile people, and it’s never good to be involved with them.

The lord or the boss motioned for me to sit in a comfortable chair, unlike this whole damn situation.

I took a deep breath and started to speak but was cut off by the lord himself.

“Speak. Five minutes.” He said, glancing towards his expensive watch and back to his paperwork.

He was so stingy with time. I only had five minutes to explain the situation, and he still wouldn’t look up.

Is he for real?

I came here with a proper appointment.

Not exactly.

He doesn’t need to know that. Heck, no one needs to know how many people I had to bribe to be where I am right now.

“Four minutes.”

“Can you, for once, look at me and talk?” Here, I just said and was a little bit anxious. He stopped doing whatever he was doing and carefully closed the file and put it aside with the pen.

Neat freak.

He heaved a sigh, maybe trying not to kill me and looked up with his glowering eyes. It was spine-chilling, but I didn’t mind- his eyes were fascinating to look at and behold. He may be a man with strength, but I was a girl with intent.

“Speak.” Now that I had his undivided attention, I was ready to speak.

“Your brother, Wynter, needs your help- I looked at him and found him listening quietly and staring at me, which I found rather uncomfortable, but I got to deal with this. I took that as a sign to continue.

-because of your mother.” He slightly stiffened at the mention of his mother. All I could gather from his reaction was that he, too, was not fond of his mother, Stephaine. I was not surprised as she doesn’t have a likeable personality except for that beautiful face of hers

“And you are in his stead because?”

“Umm...I am his friend, and he doesn’t know that I am here.”

I hesitated because I didn’t know what I was doing here and telling a stranger about my friend’s life. He might be a brother to my friend, but he was a stranger to me, and also my last best shot at help. He was rich, powerful and have got resources to help me: his brother and my friend.

I was prepared and ready to use all my cards. I may have come alone, but not without the proper planning and strategy to achieve my aim.

The lord seemed astonished by my revelation and tried to hide it, but it was apparent in his eyes.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” I smiled, not wanting to reveal unless he promised to help.

There was an urgency in my tone, which I wanted him to notice. By god of heavens, he did, and he was still a jerk.

“And I would help because?” Was he seriously asking that?

“Because he is your bro-

-Stepbrother.” He corrected me. It was uncalled for.

“Still, he is your blood and needs help....” One hard look from him was enough to shut me up.

“What’s in it for me?”

I sighed. I was exasperated. I thought it would be easy to ask for help, but look how wrong I was to think that it would be easy. If he wanted to know how far I could go, then my dear lord was in for a surprise.

I took my backpack from behind and opened the front zip to pull out the file and a pen drive.

“Here” I stood and carefully passed him the pendrive and the file.

“I heard you wanted to buy an A12 complex in the south area. That’s the property papers.” I pointed towards the black file over his desk.

“And as for the pen drive, look after I am gone.” He was curious, but I was not here to satisfy his curiosity but to make a deal.

“You think buying a property would be a hassle for me?”

“So far, yes. It has been two years but nothing.” I smirked, and something seemed to tick him off.

“Ah, fuc-

Suddenly, my chair swirled, and I was captured by a pair of blue eyes, razor-sharp, full of contempt, and ready to shoot me. Finally, I got the reaction I was hoping for.

I was still smirking. I could not help it.

Gotcha.

I was trapped, both of his arms around me, holding the chair’s arms. I forgot to breathe; it was slow and uneven.

I intently look into his eyes, trying not to cower in fear of his hard glare.

He was close. So close that I could smell his rich and lavish cologne wafting over my nostrils, momentarily making my brain dysfunctional.

Gaining sense, I tried to scoot away from my chair, but he was strong and sturdy. Not ready to let go this easily.

“Do we have an agreement?” I whispered in his ears and relaxed on the chair.

He came forward, and his legs were between my thighs. Leaning downwards, he whispered in my ears,

“Careful there.”

Why it’s hot in there?

“Or what? I suggest you back off.”

Baffled by this situation, I abruptly stood up, losing my balance and ready to brace for a fall, but a pair of firm hands around my waist stopped me, and once again, we were having a staring contest which I very much failed. I stare from afar, but not from proximity.

I backed off and maintained a respectful distance mumbling a small thank you. For the first time in my whole life, I couldn’t look into someone’s eyes.

It was getting weirder by the minute. It felt weird.

Gathering up all the courage, I put my right hand for a shake,

“Do we have a deal, sir?”

He took my hands in his large one, encasing my hands. My hands disappear in his large ones. It was a funny sight but not the situation.

“Yes, Miss Nivea. We do.” He said, not before kissing the back of my hand. I was embarrassed by his act of unexpected chivalry.

“Thank you.” I was ecstatic that the devil finally agreed to help me beat that cruel woman.

I handed him a small piece of paper containing my details: contact number, e-mail and address, for him to reach me.

“Thank you,” I said once again and trotted towards the door to go away to my hotel.

My hands were on the knobbed, but he beat me to it. He was behind me, and my back towards him. I controlled to not look at him and submit to his eyes after a while his breath fanned over my neck and then he whispered,

“Alessandro D’Almertia”

I nodded and made a run, not before hearing him laugh.