"Morning, Sweetheart." Xavier mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Raine's waist.
It was early morning, and like everyday day, Raine was the first to get up so that she could get ready and make something special for Xavier to have for breakfast.
Ever since she had come into his life, the chefs that he had hired from the best restaurants in the city could no longer please him with their meals as much as Raine's dishes could. And Raine was more then delighted to do something for Xavier after he had done so much for her.
"Xavier..." Raine groaned, trying to unravel from Xavier's tight grip.
It was time for work but like ever morning, Xavier didn't let Raine slip away so easily. He loved keeping her in his arms for a couple of minutes longer each day. Just laying there in between the sheets and feeling her warmth under his skin was heaven to him.
"Let me go, Xav. We're gunna be late for the meeting." Raine wiggled, trying to break free.
"Five more minutes." He muttered.
"You said that five minutes ago too."
"Please..."
"Ok fine." Raine gave in, pretending to be irritated but silently celebrating the more time she got to spend, cuddled up in Xavier's arms.
Raine hadn't had the best live and there was no way that she could go back in time and fix the past. But being with Xavier made up for everything. He was what she wanted. And she was what he had craved for so long. And now that they were together, nothing could split them apart.
* * *
"Babe, can you grab me a coffee please." Xavier asked, calling Raine on the intercom. "These annual reports are putting me to sleep. I seriously can't keep my eyes open anymore."
Raine laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, I'll be there shortly." She said, hanging up the phone.
The world had always known Xavier as a serious man, one who'd do anything for the success of his company. But that wasn't the truth. Yes, Xavier was a business man and a damn good one. But that didn't mean he loved his job. It was a responsibility that was given to him by his late father, and he took it up because, well he had to.
It had been a couple of years since he had become the CEO of a company he grew up hating. But it was only now that he was glad he took it up. He came to work each morning happy because he got to spend his time with a women he was so fond of. Working didn't seem so forced now. Not when he wanted to strive to do better, not for a profit in his bank account, but to make proud a girl who had stolen his heart.
The lack of love that he had received in his childhood had turned him into a cold man. But ever since a certain someone had arrived in his life, his coldness had been washed away with Raine. She had thawed his heart and made it want to beat again. He was easy going, loving, joking, making her smile but smiling more himself. And although he was still the same strict boss to everyone at the company, he still felt light hearted, like a kid almost, when he was with Raine. Not a worry of the world because everything and anything he had ever wanted was with him.
"One extra strong, extra black, extra special coffee for the gentleman." Raine faked a British accent as she walked in, placing the cup on the edge of Xavier's desk.
"Thank you, beautiful." Xavier smiled, looking up from his papers. Truth was, he wasn't almost falling asleep nor bored. He just wanted to see her face and make her smile. And also have her coffee that he had strongly become addicted to.
"You're welcome." Raine grinned. "I'll let you get back to it."
"Wait." Xavier rushed out of his chair, grabbing Raine's arm.
"Yeah?" Raine asked, turning around and resting her palms on his chest.
"I need something else too." Xavier announced before landing his lips onto Raine's.
Their lips moved against each other, sweetly but with so much passion. Raine's arms wrapped around Xavier's neck and Xavier's arms pulled her by the waist so that there was no space left between them.
"That's better." He panted, pulling away only slightly from her lips.
Raine remained quiet, catching her breath as she blushed profoundly.
"I'm sure it was." She said shyly before rushing out of his office.
She heard him shout out her name as she ran away but ignored it with a blush. There was a lot of work to do and before anything, she was Xavier's personal assistant and wanted to do her job justice.
Xavier had a major meeting lined up for today and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect.
"Matt." Raine called out on the intercom. "Can you please double check to make sure that the receptionist knows where to guide the meeting members that will be arriving shortly. It will take place in room 389."
"Yes, Ms. Woods. I'll make sure they are assisted to the right location." Matt responded back.
"Thanks." Raine greeted before returning back to her work.
* * *
Just as it was time for the meeting, Raine got out of her seat, gathering her papers and getting ready to head out. But as she was about to leave, a beeping sound from the fax machine stopped her.
Groaning, she rushed to the machine to see what had been sent, hoping dearly that it wasn't another revision to the contracts that she had already printed out.
Raine you'd be a fool to think you can get away with everything that you've done. Smartness isn't suited for pretty girls like you. You already know what I'm capable of doing, so if you really are as smart as you seem, do exactly what I say.
If you want your billionaire boyfriend to live a long healthy life, meet me at the City Plaza Hotel, Room 506 in one hour.
- Charles Hadleigh
ps. If you say a single would to anyone about this, the results won't be pretty.
A shiver ran down her spine as her fingers trailed over Charles' name. The man that they had been searching for, had personally invited her to meet him. But that wasn't what evoked such fear in her.
What scared her the most was the threat that he had given. A threat to Xavier. She couldn't let him get hurt. Never. He was her everything and she had already lost so much to Malin, Killian, and Charles. But Xavier would not be one of them.
She knew exactly what she had to do. And although she hated it, it was the only way.
If she wanted to keep Xavier safe, she'd have to do exactly want Charles asked of her. Even if that meant putting herself in danger.
"Raine?"
Raine's eyes went wide as she shoved the paper behind her back and turned around to see Xavier standing by the door with a confused expression.
"X-Xavier!?" Raine stuttered, trying hard to keep herself calm.
"Baby, are you alright?" He asked, concerned with her sudden behavior change. She had been fine just a couple of minutes ago.
"Yeah!" Raine nodded. "I'm doing just fine!"
"Raine, I know you'reâ"
"The meeting!" Raine interrupted. "Xavier, you need to be down for the meeting."
"I'm aware." Xavier nodded, frowning. "You always come to get me, but you forgot. Are you sure everything's fine?"
"Yeah." She nodded once more. "I'm just....I've just been stressed. About...about Malin and stuff. That's all."
"Raine, you don't need to worry about him, ok?" Xavier assured. "He won't ever be able to hurt you. Not as long as I'm here."
"I know." Raine said. "Umm... you should get going. The meeting...it's really important."
"I know." Xavier stated. "You're supposed to be coming too, right?"
"I...I..."
"Raine are you sure everything's alright?" He asked once more. "I feel like you're lying to me."
"Everything's fine." Raine assured. "It's just that I had a couple of typos on this contract and I... I'm really sorry. I'm making some correction. But for now, you can take these for the meeting. Once I make the corrections, I'll be there."
"That's ok Raine." Xavier nodded in understanding. "You don't have to be so stressed about it. Just make the corrections and join us. I'll be waiting."
"Alright, I'll be there shortly." Raine confirmed.
"Ok." Xavier said, keeping his gaze on Raine for a second longer before turning around and leaving.
Raine let out a breath of relief. Xavier was going to be busy with the meeting for a while and that wold give her just as much time she need to get out of the office and to go to the City Plaza Hotel to meeting Charles.
Quickly grabbing her purse and jacket, Raine rushed out of her room and headed down for the lobby.
"Raine?" Jordon called out, seeing her rush through the lobby. "Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting with Mr. Thorn?"
"I... I forgot something important at home though." Raine made up. "Xavier told me to go get it."
"Alright, I'll get the car ready."
"No, no!" Raine refuted. "I already called a cab."
"Butâ"
"It's ok Jordon. I'll be fine." Raine said quickly before rushing out.
* * *
The City Plaza Hotel wasn't far from Thorn Inc. Located on the other side of downtown, the hotel was luxurious and grand, and also a competitor of the Thorn Inc properties.
Raine arriving nervously, catching the elevator that took her to the fifth floor where Charles was supposed to meet her.
The halls were empty, and that made Raine's stomach drop. If she needed to call for help, no one would be there to help her. Fear ran through her body but she knew that she couldn't back down. Not when she had come so far.
Locating room 506, Raine was about to knock on the door but found it open.
Taking one last breath of freedom, Raine pushed the door open and stepped into the lion's den, nervously.
The room was beautiful undoubtedly, but Raine's eyes didn't spend longer then a second on the luxurious details, instead, searching for the man she was dreading to see.
"I didn't think you'd show up." Charles' voice sounded out from the dark corner of the room causing Raine to freeze in her tracks.
A part of her was expecting Malin for sending that fax to Raine's office. After all, he seemed to be the only one that was interested in her.
"Raine Woods." He spoke once more, a smirk plastered on his aged face. "The women who drove my son wild."
Raine's eyes widened at the mention of Malin. From what it appeared to be, the room was empty, but Raine couldn't stop the quenching feeling in her stomach.
"I don't know what he saw in you." Charles spat. "You're just a worthless, weak, and pathetic girl, just like your parents."
"Don't." Raine spoke up for the very first time since she had entered the room. She could bare through all the cruel words that he wanted to throw at her. But when he dragged her parents in between all of this, that's where she drew the line. "Don't say a word about my parents."
Charles snickered at he stood up from his chair, making slow steps to her.
"What difference does it make?" He asked. "They are dead, after all."
"Because of you!" Raine shouted. "They are dead because of you!"
"No, no." Charles shook his head. "Let's not play to blame game."
"Shut up!" Raine screamed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. It was the first time she was seeing Charles in person, but after the truth that she had discovered, the way he had mercilessly killed her parents, she couldn't suppress the anger that was surging through her veins. "You killed them!"
"Innocent until proven guilty." He stated. "And you, Miss. Raine Woods, have no proof of anything."
"What do you want?" Raine gritted out. "Why did you call me here?"
"Don't worry, I didn't call you here to hand you over to my son. He doesn't need a pathetic women like you, anywhere near him."
"Then why?!" Raine screamed.
"I called you here to tell you that it's best that you stop prying into my business." He smirked. "I already know that you and your billionaire boyfriend trespassed in my office. I can ruin your lover's reputation with the snap of a finger." He said, snapping his finger. "And I can make him disappear just like I did with your parents."
"No, don't touch him. Xavier has nothing to do with this." Raine pleaded.
"Oh but he does." Charles sneered. "He knows the truth thanks to you. And if you want, I can get rid of him and then my son can do whatever he wants with you. I honestly don't give a damn. I've had blood on my hands once, another death won't do me any shame."
"No!" Raine cried. "Please. You can do whatever you want with me. You can hand me over to Malin, I don't care. But please don't hurt Xavier." She sobbed . "Please, I'm begging you."
"I really like this." He smiled sinisterly. "You, begging at my feet. If only your mother was like this too. Maybe I would've let her live."
Raine's blood boiled at the mention of her mom but she couldn't say anything. One bad move could hurt something she deeply cared about, someone she had began to love. And she couldn't let that happen. She had already lost her parents, but Xavier would not be a casualty of this sick game.
"Now, shall I get to the point?" Charles asked. "I don't plan on killing the CEO. Nor do I plan on handing you over to Malin. But in return, you'll do me a favor."
"What?"
"Give me the tapes."
"What tapes?"
"The tapes your boyfriend got a hold of. The tapes that your parents left behind."
"How do you know about those?" Raine said shocked. She had only learned about those tapes a day ago, but Charles seemed to be ahead of the game.
"I knew Eden and Abby very well. They were stupid enough to get on that flight but I never underestimated them. I knew they would leave some sort of message behind for someone to find because they knew they wouldn't be living for long. In fact, that's why Malin met you in the first place."
"What do you mean?" Raine asked, ignoring the shiver that ran down her spine as he said his name.
"You think Malin just bumped into you?" He laughed. "Him meeting you was no coincidence! It was a well thought out plan."
Raine wiped her tears off, her mind bombarded with confusion and shock.
"I sent Malin to you." Charles continues. "I told you to woo you so that he could find out if your parents left anything behind. But my fool of a son ended up falling for you. He was so in love with you that he forgot the mission. And every time I brought it up, he'd say you had nothing. And I let it go too. Once your old house was sold, I figured you lost any chance of finding the tapes. Malin was in love with you, everything was going great until you decided to crush my boy's heart."
"We were friends." Raine whispered. "And I never thought of him as anything more."
"But he did!" Charles raised his voice. "He was so in love with you that he forgot his father! All he cared about was you! All he thought about was you! And what did you do?! You crushed his heart and ran away?!"
"He was a monster!" Raine screamed. "I saved myself."
"But he found you, didn't he?" Charles smirked. "He did my job and found you, after all. And he would've killed you had not your lover saved you."
"How did you figure out that we got the tapes?" Raine asked. "After all of these years, why did you come now?"
"That's because of your Oscar worthy acting back at my office." Charles grinned mischievously. "I nearly believe that you were actually going to give birth in my office."
Raine looked down at the floor as Charles began to circle around her with slow steps.
"When I heard a story about two mysterious people in my office, I let it pass by. But it wasn't until one of my men informed me about activity outside your old house, that I got suspicious." Charles explained. "I know you have the tapes now and I also know that your boyfriend knows everything. But of course, if you do your part of the deal, I will leave him out of this."
"Why do you what the tapes?" Raine asked. "You said I have no proof of your involvement then why get ahold of those tapes. There's not a single thing in there about you."
"But there's a lot of stuff in there about the Boss." Charles said. "It was my job to make sure I destroyed any evidence. If the Boss finds out that there's anything floating around against him, not only will he kill you, but he will kill your boyfriend as well. Do you want his blood on your hands?"
"No!" Raine shouted. "Don't tell your boss!"
"I won't." Charles smiled. "As long as you give me the tapes, I won't say a word."
"I'll give them to you." Raine said.
"Good girl." Charles said, walking back to the desk. "I'll send you another message with a time and location for me to retrieve them. But until then, remember one thing. Xavier should know nothing about this."
" I won't tell Xavier." She agreed.
"And if you break any of the rules, I won't hesitate telling the Boss." Charles sneered.
"The boss." Raine mumbled. "It's Killian isn't it?"
"You're a smart girl, Raine." Charles said with a straight face. "And being the smart girl you are, you should know better then to mess with the Boss. Killian doesn't have a heart. You think me and my son are monsters? Don't ever forget that he was the one that killed your parents. And you? You're supposed to be dead too, Raine. You're death was supposed to happen ten years ago, but luck's been on your side."
"What do you mean?" Raine asked in confusion.
Charles chuckled venomously. "You think that car accident was actually an accident?" He asked.
"What accident?"
"When little Miss. Raine broke her arm?" Charles reminded her. "That was never an accident, Raine. That was Killian trying to get rid of you. You we're supposed to die and your parents were supposed to hear the news and fly out to attend your funeral only to be killed themselves the minute they set foot on that plane! It was all a plan! Your death, followed by your parent's death! Nothing remaining of the Woods family."
"Killian tried to kill me?" Shock would be an understatement to what Raine was feeling. Never in a million years had she though that her life would be filled with so much drama and betrayal.
"You're lucky he doesn't know that you survived." He continued. "I told him that I had taken care of you. Why kill you when you were being shipped off to your aunt anyways? I was too lazy to get rid of you but now I know that I should've... It's alright though, I'll be enjoying this as well. You begging at my feet, becoming my slave."
"You let me live." Raine whispered. "So Killian thinkings I'm dead."
"Nothing's as it seems, is it Raine?" Charles chuckled. "But I do pity you Raine. Not once did your parents think about you. They were so blind in their nonsense that they forgot if anything happened to them, there precious little girl would be left alone. Such a shame."
"They wanted to protect the country!" Raine defended. "Am I'm proud of their choices."
"Awe, you're just as pathetic as your father, aren't you?" Charles mocked. "I gave him the chance to end all of this but he was so caught up on being patriotic."
"I hate you." Raine gritted out.
"Yeah, I bet you do." Charles laughed. "But guess what? You'll still do everything I say. You will become my slave Raine."
"You're a monster." She whispered, tears falling from her eyes.
"I am." Charles smirked. "But if I'm a monster, then Killian's the devil."
"Does Killian know about the tapes?"
"All it would take is one phone call for him to find out." He grinned. "Shall I make that call?"
"No!" Raine quickly said.
"Thought so." Charles smirked. "Now run along Raine. And wait for my message."
Raine turned to leave as soon as Charles' speech was over. Her heart was hurting and her mind spinning and just as she opened the door to exit the room, Charles' sick voice stopped her.
"Don't forget Raine, you try to make one smart move, and I'll have Xavier's heart stop beating in a matter of seconds." Charles threatened her.
______________________
A/N: Hola Amigos!! Finally Charles makes an official entrance in the book! Don't you just wanna slap him? Anyways, our book is approaching the climax and I'm life is full of so much chaos right now. Three upper divisions and grad school applications is as hard as it get! But I'm glad writing helps me destress and your comments always make my day! Until next time!
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