Thanks for voting and commenting, people! I appreciate it! Every single time I saw someone read my story I wanted to jump up and down from excitement. I’m super grateful some of you decided to check out my writing skills and I hope I won’t disappoint any of you!

I would like to dedicate this chapter to LoveEpicLove for inspiring me with her brilliant work. If you haven’t checked out her story ‘Lights, Camera, Kiss Me’ you are missing out big time!

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A Fight without Remorse

Chapter 2

Later that day, Alexis was sitting on the airplane, nervously fiddling with the fabric of her black skirt. She had no idea how she would solve the problem in Miami.  The thought unnerved her.  Under normal circumstances she was quite confident about her skills. Normally she wasn't easily cowed and here she found herself crying and had no idea where to start.

She was used to dealing with irritating customers and handling board meetings. Honestly, this time she had no idea how to go about finding the right employees to fix the aqueduct. She’d hoped that one of her managers would be able to help her, even her sister didn’t have a clue as to where to begin.

Jade had suggested going to local firms that worked with the best plumbers in the area. Alex had followed her advice and tried to contact a few of them. So far she hadn’t made any progress. They all told her they were busy and that she would have to wait a few more days. Face to face, she was hoping to get them to change their minds.  Now she had to prepare a convincing speech in hopes of making them feel threatened so they would try harder to find some time to work on the hotel.

It was an utterly frustrating situation. She prayed that she would be able to solve the issue before they got too far behind on their schedule. Their time to finish the hotel was already limited, extra problems would very likely lead to a delay of the opening. That would be quite a disaster since the reception was already arranged and bookings had been made for the first few rooms. It would lead to unflattering media attention.

Suddenly the seatbelt lights went on as the airplane was getting ready to land. In a few minutes she would be arriving in Miami, her busy day of work would start. The flight had been quite relaxing. There hadn't been too much turbulence. That was a good thing. Fear of flying was phobia number one and Alex was scared shitless every time she got on an airplane. Solving the plumbing conundrum was the only reason Alex mustered the courage to get on the plane on this day.

It wasn't easy being a successful business woman who had such a deep fear of flying. Due in part to job obligations, she was required to hop onto a plane a few times every year.  It was a hope that her fears would lessen with each successive flight but that hadn't happened yet. The opposite had occurred. Her fear exacerbated instead. Her doctor had prescribed her some antianxiety medication to aid in calming her down during flights. She always had to take one about two hours before she stepped onto a plane.

The pills made her feel tired. Most of the time, she fell asleep before the plane even took off. Landing was always the worst. Usually she'd wake up just as the plane started its descent.  She practically had to hold her breath to prevent herself from spiraling into a full blown panic attack.

Her mother had told her more than once to see a psychologist to assist in conquering her fears, she hadn't listened though. She wasn’t going to see a shrink because she was afraid of flying. Her grandfather died in a plane crash when Alex was just five years old. Her mother strongly suspected that this was the catalyst behind Alexis’ fear.

She didn't really remember it. Sometimes she still had flashes of memory. Her grandmother storming into the room, her cheeks wet from the tears streaming down her cheeks. Harold Henderson had been a pilot serving with the US Air force. While on one of his overseas missions, he got into trouble flying in the midst of a thunderstorm. He wasn’t able to navigate due to the storm.  His plane crashed into the sea. Neither his body nor the wreckage of the aircraft were ever found.  The authorities surmised that is sunk to the sea floor and was carried away by the ocean tides.

Alex squeezed her eyes closed  and gripped the armrest, her knuckles white from her herculean hold. She didn’t dare look out of the tiny window, knowing she would see the houses growing bigger and bigger indicating they just about to make contact with the runway.

With a loud thud, the wheels of the aircraft made contact with the landing strip, Alex let out a relieved breath, knowing the worst was over. Once the plane came to a halt, it started to taxi towards its gait at the airport. Slowly Alex let go of the armrest and opened her eyes. The woman who was seated beside her, gave her a small smile. She smiled back politely as she watched the first people begin to unbuckle their seatbelts and stand up to retrieve their belongings from the overhead storage compartments.

She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with much needed oxygen after her small panic attack. It was ridiculous how she worried each time there was a landing. She was certain her luck would eventually run out and she'd succumb to death via plane crash too. Alex waited a few minutes until most of the people had left the aircraft before slowly standing up. Her legs were still a little wobbly. They felt like Jell-O from the turmoil she had just gone through.

“Are you okay, ma’am? You look a little pale,” one of the air hostesses asked her, looking a little worried. She nodded at the woman, her lips pressed tightly together. She felt like she was going to be sick, but she ignored the feeling and held her head high as she left the plane.

Next time, she surely would book a first class flight. There hadn’t been any seats available because she needed to find a flight on such short notice. The economy class seats were packed together and the entire time, she’d felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Quickly she made her way to the baggage pickup. Her eyes spotted her bright pink suitcase, she picked it up from the luggage carousel and made her way outside where a cab was waiting to take her to the hotel she was staying at.

She’d deliberately picked the hotel owned by their biggest competitor, wanting to see for herself was this hotel had to offer. Maybe she could pick up on a few ideas to improve their hotel. When she walked outside of the airport, she was met with the comfortable Miami heat. It was 89.6 degrees. Alex quickly removed her jacket. It had been a cold and rainy day in New York city, she was way over dressed for this weather.

A man in his late fifties was holding up a sign that read her name. She quickly walked over to him. “Good afternoon sir, my name is Alexis Johnson,” she introduced herself politely, before handing him her suitcase.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Johnson. You may take a seat while I put your bags in the trunk,” he stated before walking over to the yellow vehicle. She nodded and thanked the driver while she hopped into the backseat. The air conditioning was blasting through the car. The chill caused goose bumps to erupt on her arms and legs.   

A few minutes later, they were driving along the beautiful landscape through Miami. It was a hot day. Most people were relaxing at the beach. “We will arrive at your destination shortly,” the taxi driver informed her. The hotel was located close to the airport so she wouldn’t have to sit for hours in the car before she arrived at her hotel.

She kept staring through her window, fascinated by the scenery. Everything looked so different from back home. All her life, she’d lived in the Big Apple and though she went on lots of holidays and saw some beautiful places, she still never wanted to move. All those skyscrapers and massive buildings were her home.

When they arrived at the hotel, the driver quickly stepped out of the vehicle and went to the trunk of the cab to take out her suitcase. “Have a nice stay,” he said after she paid the fee as well as giving him a sizeable tip. Alex smiled politely at the elderly man, before walking inside the hotel building. She walked straight to the front desk to check in and was given her room key within seconds.

“Have a nice holiday, Ms. Johnson. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please contact reception. You simply have to dial #1.  You will be connected with one of our operators,” she explained, a large smile radiating across her features. It was fake as hell, of course, yet the girl seemed charming and polite.

She noticed most of the staff worked like robots, doing their work precisely without showing the guests how they were feeling. Each and every one of them was wearing a huge smile, like they were engaging in their dream job. Alex thought it was a little over the top, though she was convinced the hotel manager would fire them if they didn’t smile like idiots.

She didn’t want her staff to work like that, her employees needed to be sincere, but still friendly. She didn’t expect them to keep a smile on their faces 24/7, but she did expect them to be polite to their guests.

Alex thanked the lady behind the desk, before walking over to the elevators to search for her room. A bell boy would bring her suitcase upstairs, so she didn’t have to worry about her favorite pink bag. She wasn’t inside for more than a minute when her cell phone buzzed.

“Alexis Johnson, CEO of the Henderson Empire Hotel Group,” she answered politely, when she picked up her phone. It was how she always answered her calls using the same robotic greeting.

“Hi, Ms. Johnson, Carly here,” the voice came from the other side of the line. Carly Morrison was the project leader for the Miami hotel. She had trained with Henderson Empire for two years in preparation to manage the hotel. The twenty-nine year old was their youngest hotel manager.

When they broke ground at their newest facility in Miami, Alex had to name the head manager. Each of their hotels had one. They had to be reliable and well educated to ensure that their individual hotels ran smoothly and were an asset to HEHG. There had been three candidates for this position. Alex chose Carly, the youngest one of the group. She liked to work alongside people who would follow up with her instructions and listen to her advice.  Older people often carried different opinions, were convinced that their way was the right way, and often gave her grief when she would issue a directive for them to follow.

“Yes, Carly, what can I do for you?” Alex asked, while sitting down on the edge of the bed. She was exhausted after the flight and from being sleep deprived for months. There was no time for whining, she knew she still had a long day ahead of her.

“There’s a Mr. Jordan here, who claims to be your newest assistant, can you confirm that? I can’t let him in the construction yard if he doesn’t have your permission,” the woman questioned confused. Alex eyes almost popped out of her head when hearing those words not actually believing Marcus would play this dirty, going behind her back like this.  Who the hell did that little piece of shit think he was? 

“He’s applying for the job, but I haven’t signed his contract yet. He does not have the permission to go in the construction yard unless I’m present as well,” Alex told the manager. There was no way she was going to let Marcus set foot on her property when she wasn’t around.

“Okay, thanks, Ms. Johnson. I will call you later this evening to update you on what's occurred today,” Carly answered politely.

“That won’t be necessary, dear. I just landed in Miami, I will be visiting the construction yard later,” Alex informed. She was planning to ask Carly to dinner tonight to talk about their further collaboration and everything that still had to be done before the opening. Striking up a friendship with one of your employees was never a bad thing, it made them more reliable and honest.

She still couldn’t believe Marcus actually had the nerve to fly to Miami to visit their hotel. Her mother had told her about the clause in the wedding contract, though she hadn’t thought her father would send his guard dog this quickly. Alex had been expecting a visit from her dear stepbrother though she thought she had more time before Marcus made his appearance.  Alex had no doubt they had some cockamamie plan hatched to tear her down.

She had no idea from where her father’s sudden interest in the hotel group came from. The old man had ignored her all this time and stayed as far away from work as possible. He was a retired jackass that smoked cigars and drank the most expensive liquor. He and his wife were the perfect pair, both lazy and snobby.

It had to be Marcus.  Since she knew he’d graduated business school with honors. He'd quickly lined up a job with one of the leading pharmaceutical companies. Marcus must not have liked their grueling schedule because now he wanted in on her territory. That sneaky bastard! If Marcus thought he could just fall into this job without any effort, he had another guess coming. She worked her ass off the last couple years to prove to the board members that she could meet and exceed the challenges of the CEO position. There was no way she was just going to roll over, play dead and let that piece of shit take her job. 

***

Two hours later she was standing at the entrance of her newest baby, the Miami Beach Palace. The Henderson Empire Hotel Group was famous for its remarkable hotels. This one was designed to really showcase their dedication to perfection. The large hotel in Miami beach had all the luxury and every amenity you could ever imagine. It was without doubt worthy of the name Henderson. Alex felt proud to be the owner.

“Good afternoon, Alexis,” a seductive voice whispered in her ear. With a shriek, she turned around, her eyes widening when she saw blue eyed Marcus in front of her. He was 6 feet tall, had broad shoulders and was clad in an expensive looking suit that enhanced his male physique.

“Marcus?” she murmured, shocked to the bone. Wow, she’d always known he was a handsome creature, but how was it possible he looked better now than he had in college. He’d grown from being a scrawny boy into a real man, the masculinity radiating from his body.

God dammit, was she seriously thinking of how beautiful he looked? Marcus was her worst enemy. Damn hormones! Her body was betraying her. It should recognize him as the sick bastard he was. No, instead she felt herself attracted to him, like a bee to a pot of honey.

“It’s nice seeing you again after all these years, Alexis,” he smirked, his voice low and husky. The way her name rolled off his tongue perfectly didn’t go unnoticed by her. She hated him for calling her by her real name instead of Alex.  Her mother was the only one allowed to call her Alexis.

“I wish I could say the same,” she hissed, her eyes spitting fire. She wasn’t interested in friendly chitchat. Her mission here was to save her hotel and make sure it would be ready in time for the planned opening.

“What’s wrong, kitty cat? Are you not happy to see me?” he asked, feigning innocence. She wished she could slap that charming smile of his into next week but she contained herself. Violence was not the solution to her problems with Marcus Jordan. They would have to solved in a more constructive way.

“You’re wasting my time, Marc. If you don’t have anything important to say, I’m going to go inside,” she told him, letting out an annoyed sigh.  Under normal circumstances she was a fairly patient person. Marcus got on her nerves and knew just which buttons to push. Wanting to be as far away from him as possible, she skittered closer to the entrance of her building.

“I assume you heard the great news from your mother. We are going to be awesome co-workers,” Marcus smirked, winking at her. He hadn’t changed a bit, she thought sadly.  A part of her had hoped he wasn't the same arrogant womanizing jerk she used to know. It seemed he hadn't changed at all which made hating him that much easier.

“We will never be co-workers, Mr. Jordan. I  have to accept you as my assistant over the course of the next few weeks, but don’t expect me to play nice. My lawyer will find a way to kick your ass out of my company,” she snarled angrily.

“Still as charming as ever, Kitty cat. By the way, I love the sound of Mr. Jordan. It sounds so dirty coming from your lips,” he said huskily, making her cringe on the inside. He must be sick in the head with all his sexual references. Did he honestly think she could be so easily charmed? There was no way on this earth that she would ever share the bed with him.  She could just see him, using her body to add another notch to his fence post in his quest to take over the reins of the company from her.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

However, with as much animosity as she held for him, her body still betrayed her.  Little goose bumps erupted across her arms. His voice was dripping sex and every fiber in her body seemed to ignite. The woman inside her wanted to claim this delicious man and make him hers. Luckily her brain still held sway over her hormones. She could still suppress her feminine desire that was screaming out for attention.

She should have known that her hormones would warp speed into overdrive in the presence of a gorgeous man. She hadn't had intimate relations in a very long time. Her body was simply reacting to the opposite sex because it had been so long and she needed a good lay. The attraction to Marcus was physical only.

"I would recommend that you keep that filthy mouth of yours zipped and treat me with some respect or you'll be on the first plane back to New York in a nanosecond," Alex hissed, looking disgustedly at him before turning around and walking into the entrance of the  building.

She could feel him follow closely behind her, though she didn’t dare give him a second glance and kept walking. Her steps were swift and in control. There was no way she was going to show Marcus how much he affected her. He didn’t need to know her weaknesses.  He was dangerous enough as it was.

***

Marcus smiled wickedly as Alexis hurriedly walked away from him. She was obviously trying her best to stay calm after he challenged her. He enjoyed seeing her squirm. The little bitch deserved everything that was coming at her.

Not only had she ignored all of his overtures back in college, she'd made him look like a fool. Every single girl had wanted to go out with him but Alex was the one he set his sights on. He preyed upon her in his attempts to make her fall in love with him. Payback was to have come when he dumped her for what her mother had done to Peter. 

Little miss sunshine had different plans. Instead of falling for him, she repeatedly turned down his advancements, not caring if there was a crowd around or not.  She had humiliated him time and time again. This time he would exact vengeance not only for Peter but for himself as well.

Alexis had made it clear she would not cooperate and make him her assistant. At first, he’d wanted to kill her for treating him like a little