Chapter 10/157: Alba Graçia

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Important A/N at the end of the chapter! Enjoy your reading, loves!
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My first day at work proceeded normally after my 'reunion' with the president in the morning.

And let me make one thing clear: if I had thought that he'd become a pinch more lenient just because we kissed, I had been damn well wrong.

Very wrong.

Orders showered on me from left and right, he wanted everything done as though I'd never left in the past six months. He bossed me around as though the man I'd kissed earlier was a stranger he did not know off.

And frankly, I did not really mind that.

Because here's he thing about my and Rickard Ellington's relationship: neither of us knew what was really going on, or how deep what was going on really was. Talking about it from my perspective at least, I knew deep inside, I was not ready for any kind of realization or consequence, that would come if we ever laid what was going on on the table and wanted to put it in some frame.

My heart beat rate suddenly started picking up, as I sat in my office lost in my thoughts.

Though, my thoughts did not last long as my phone before me buzzed with a text message, and checking it out, I saw it was from Katy:

'So who's in for a girls' night out where my best friend tells me the hot tea about her first day back at work? My treat.'

I smiled.

I loved how supportive my best friend is.

'You know I love you, right? So you'll pass to get me from the company? I'll be done by six.' I typed back.

It didn't take Katy a minute to reply: 'Perfect, I'll get you your sneakers because we'll be touring the mall for long, and I'm sure heels won't be the best thing to wear in this case.'

My smile widened, I just love shopping outings with Katy.

I threw myself into work after this, motivated to finish and meet my best friend.Oh well, I can't really deny that there is some hot tea to tell her right? Right?! .

.

.

As soon as I finished my task, I started packing my stuff preparing to leave.

I decided to pass by my employer's office before leaving.

As I exited my office, I was met by a weird scene.

I blinked.

She stood there; dark short hair cascading in thick curls but not reaching her shoulders, full lips colored in bright screaming red, and her beauteous deep green eyes were fixed on me, protected by thick lashes which stood out in pride. She was attired entirely in a black leather jacket and pants, which contrasted with her very light skin color and emphasized her long legs, as well as black ranger shoes.

She didn't blink as she met my gaze. I gulped, who is this?

I figured she was not going to say anything, and so I nodded softly and turned, heading towards my employer's office.

It was at that that I heard footsteps following me.

Wait... She couldn't...

I picked up my pace.

She picked up hers.

B-But how did she cross the security system?!

I let out a panicked breath, as I reached the door knob of the president's office and stormed inside, shutting the door behind me loudly.

I panted as my body shook slightly.

Good God, what... what was that?

From before me, a cold unwavering gaze was fixed on me.

I let out a soft breath and raised my gaze up to meet his.

His expression remained unchanged, zero emotion or any form of reaction shown to my state.

Hey, thanks for asking if something is up, it's really nice of you!

"Th-There's someone outside!" I decided there were more important matters at hand now, "She... She might be under your father's command and after me!" I stopped, seeing his expression still did not change.

Just What is up with him?

After some seconds of ultimate silence, the president maintained his unfazed expression as he parted his lips. "So you're saying there's someone outside?" He finally muttered in a throaty tone.

I frowned at him then nodded.

And hey, what happened to this person outside?

He stood up at that, his considerable height still had that shivering impact once you see it.

With irritatingly slow and confident steps, the intimidating man approached the door.

"And pray, tell me," He spoke as his eyes fixed mine, and I felt their magnetic powers invade me, "Why such a person, who invaded the entire security system of the company," He reached the door, and his expression remained stone cold as he gently, firmly though, nudged me away from the door.

"Would stop at the front of my office door from getting to his target?" His voice was icier than ever, but at the same time, I knew him enough to notice that hint of sarcasm.

Hey, what is he...??

And he swung the door open.

I gasped as my entire body shuddered, but I was fast enough to take a defensive position I'd learned in my Karate lessons through the past six months, preparing my fist to shoot.

As the view before the door sank into my consciousness, I let out a stunned breath, and my eyes widened.

...

She was standing before the door, hands crossed before her chest, and her back laid against the wall in an ultimately, completely, and unoffensive position.

Wait, wha...

I blinked softly, "Um, I-I don't understand..." I breathed out, confused as I saw her eyeing me with the same deep and silent look from earlier.

From behind me came a voice, sharp, unwavering, and as cold as an iceberg.

"Alba will be your personal bodyguard from now on, Signorina Segretaria."

*Signorina Segretaria: Miss Secretary*

I blinked again.

Huh...

HUH?

"What?" I exclaimed, and my heart alternated between him and the woman before me.

At that, the silent beauty before me straightened from the wall, as she crossed the two steps towards me, and fixed her eyes into mine.

They were piercing, and they held so much depth and secrets that could not be fathomed no matter how hard I tried to look. And the main thing that I could see in them was that they were cold, but not in peace. They were cold in ultimate... hurt.

They looked deeply wounded, even though the woman's expression was poker face. Numb.

"Alba Gracìa." Her voice was low, and her tone was calm, composed, and very unfathomable, "At your service, Señrita Thorne."

*Señorita: Miss (Spanish)*

I parted my lips several times in an attempt to voice something out.

Fail.

A smooth ultimatum voice came from behind me at that, and every letter seemed to have been dipped in ice. "You are dismissed, Alba. The Miss Secretary here shall follow you shortly." He spoke, and the woman before me nodded, exiting as she shut the door.

A minute of silence passed, and it took me quite the effort to contain all my thoughts, take a deep breath, then turn to face the man behind me reminding myself over and over who he was, and that little Cherry-pie has to keep her cool if she doesn't want to be frozen right at this spot.

"What..." I started, gesturing in the air, "What did you do?!"

He fixed me with his cool gaze, and not even a twitch in his expression could be observed, "I appointed a personal bodyguard for you." He answered without hesitation. Dead serious. As though he could not notice all the anger in my voice.

Oh well, maybe he does need to notice.

"I figured that out!" I snapped, "The issue here is why?! Just, Who do you think you are to take such a decision on my behalf?!" I voiced out pissed, "I never asked for this, and most certainly, I do not want this!"

Scenes from the last time I had two body guards protecting me in Tottenham came to my view.

Romeo staying behind while holding two rifles attempting to protect me from a rain of bullets invading my body. Harold Calder drenched in his blood after he'd shielded me from a shower of bullets that were aimed to kill.

And finally, most importantly, the scene of my father's figure before me as it got shot three times, flashed before my eyes.

And I shuddered.

No. There's no way I'd let this happen again.

I let out a frustrated breath, "I most definitely will not accept this! Just no!"

The man before me flinched not, as he fixed me with an intense look. His jaw moved slightly, and it appeared to be quite tight. He reached for his wristwatch on his right hand, as he clenched slightly. Yikes, he's pissed.

"First of all, use that tone with me again, and you will find yourself dismissed off of this company with no single penny and no business company willing to employ you again." He started, and his voice this time had frozen, I could tell despite the fact that his tone was still maintained and unfazed, that he was not very pleased. "And secondly, it has already been decided, and the matter is not up to you anymore. Should you wish to be part of the scheduled plan against Trevor Ellington Conway, you are obligated to abide by every single measurement I see suitable, Signorina." He let out, dominance and ultimate tyrancy reeking from his words. I felt a shiver cross my spine on how cold his tone was.

But still, it was not going to be this easy for him this time. Not in this matter, at all.

I bit my lips, as I clenched my fists.

Fixing my eyes into his, I felt them reflect the exact frustration and insistence I had broiling within me.

"I... I am willing to do anything to be able to be part of this plan, Mr. Ellington," I muttered, and kept my eyes glued into his. His orbs evolved into a deeper level of iciness, as though they expected I was not going to keep the recessive tone.

"Anything, except use another human shield for my protection. Ever again."

My voice was not high, but it was not low either. It was resilient, and my tone was unwavering. A knot was formed at the back of my throat, and I knew how sensitive this matter was for me, which made me understand my body's reaction.

My eyes stung and my heart ached.

He has to understand. He has to. He can't pressure me into this matter in particular.

For a second, it looked like I had taken my employer by something similar to surprise, as he let out a blink and his lips parted slightly. He deepened the intensity of his look into me, and I felt as though the tides in his eyes were going to swallow me into them.

I wet my lips deciding I have more to say, as I stepped closer to him, feeling like having some intimate space share between us might serve better idea delivery.

Okay, just don't mind what I just said. I stepped closer to him because I just felt like it.

"I have spent the past six months learning how to shoot, and how to defend myself..." My voice came low at this, "Because I don't want to be protected again, Mr. Ellington." I whispered, and my voice shook at that, "Please, please understand me." I looked away at that, trying to swallow the tears that threatened to come up my lids.

Silence continued from his side for a long minute, and yet he continued fixing me with that concentrated, very effective gaze. He let out a low, calm breath, as his orbs roamed over me. He seemed to be thinking his words well as his gaze intensified, before he finally fixed me with a chilly yet soothing gaze. "Try having her as an escort, for one day." He let out, and his tone reflected the normal arrogance and iciness it had moments ago, yet this time it seemed to hold a hint of hesitance, as though he was giving an effort to make me understand he wasn't imposing something on me.

And I saw that effort. Despite the fact that the arrogance and boastfulness in his voice were dominant, and despite the fact that his chilliness reflected nothing related to hesitation, I could feel it somehow. Maybe because I knew him too well. Enough to know that seeing my state, and how he seemed to think too well before just throwing another tyrant comeback, he did mean to show me that I had some kind of choice.

He reached for his wristwatch over his right hand, and he stressed there. "This way, I can give you my word that Alba will not..." He paused, and I knew at that, that he was stuck.

He had understood what I pointed at and why I did not want a bodyguard. He had read my thoughts about Romeo, Harold, and my dad. And he could see my state of trauma just by the thought of any person shielding me or protecting me.

So he wanted to give me his word. That if Alba is simply an escort, she wouldn't risk her life for my protection.

Oh but he knew it better than anyone.

That he had appointed her after viscous and thorough thoughts and considerations on how to keep me safe. He knew very well that, especially after the state he saw me in during the last battle in Tottenham, I was a target to his father, and that Trevor Ellington's men will not hesitate to end my life at any chance they got. He more so knew that, knowing his father, the latter will take every single chance there is to torture his son through me.

His eyes darkened at that, and they lost me. A shudder ran through my body as I looked at them while he shifted slightly, and his left hand remained clutched over his wristwatch. "That if she is put in a situation where it's either your life or hers," He let out painfully slowly, and his tone reflected so much danger. I kept my gaze at his eyes, and my mouth went dry.

They were turning into a shade of grey. An emotionless, dark, and murderous shade of grey. And they resembled that man's eyes...

It was as though the promise he was about to give me was raising all kinds of thoughts in his mind, and as though he were looking at different scenes before him. He looked ready to kill, and it was among the few times I saw this in his eyes...

The look that he was not convinced with what he's telling me.

"She will save herself." He finally let out, and his dangerous look remained. "Considering that's what you wish for."

I let out a soft breath at that, phew, done.

Oh but my employer was far from done.

He turned to capture me with his cold, merciless gaze, and it was unmistakable at that.

It was that look.

I remembered it too well.

How could I even forget it?

The final scene I remember from Tottenham's battlefield shot to my mind, and I recalled the scene too well.

It was the second he shot my father's murderer.

Three shots. Unflinching.

They were those murderous eyes.

The eyes of Trevor Ellington's monstrous silhouette.

And I shuddered.

"But I swear to you on my pride, Thorne," He barely parted his lips, and his eyes remained fixed into mine, yet they mirrored everything but actually talking to me. They looked as though he were talking to an ultimate stranger he recognized not. "That if I ever find you in an analogous state to the one in Tottenham, or if you cease to exist." -Oh, you still don't want to call it 'die', huh?

He didn't flinch, and I felt his eyes turn into complete steel.

Inhumane, dark, and cold-blooded, steel.

And his statement came clear, with a voice as glacial and immovable as though he were speaking to his father or to some enemy.

"I will execute Alba and any breathing creature involved myself."

I gasped, and my entire figure shuddered, "You... You..." I struggled for words, as I tried to voice my thoughts out, "My entire worry is about keeping the woman safe, and this is your solution?! Seriously, Mr. Ellington!" I let out a shaking voice, as my nervous system was not coping well.

His eyes slowly started regaining their form, as they mellowed slightly, and his cold blues reappeared. "Not true. Your entire concern was for no other human to die protecting you, and this is exactly what I granted you." He stepped near me, and our face became relatively close I could feel his minty breath fanning my lips, "However this, in turn, has thrown the responsibility of ensuring your own safety on you. And you know you can." His tone hardened, as it dropped below zero degrees, "A simple archetype of what I'm aiming at, is the shot you received on Leonard's behalf back in Tottenham."

I gulped, and started getting what he was pointing at. What he was trying to do in a nutshell, was use my own selflessness to promote relatively selfish acts. So that the next time I'm put in danger, and I want to favor anyone's safety over mine...

"You will be putting Alba's safety on stake if you don't take care of your own safety, this way." His voice came unwavering, and deadly dominant, continuing my own line of thoughts. "Fair, do you not think so?"

I eyed him with a deep look, as I frowned softly, but my look was warm at the same time.

You... You have really blamed yourself a lot in the past months.

That you've become this protective of me...

A soft smile came to my lips, as I eyed him warmly, "I promise to take care of myself more from now on."

He kept on eyeing me with those deep sea pools of his, and for a second, they roamed over me before he had a weird facial change.

I was not sure I saw it right, but in a fragment of a second, his lips slightly arched up, and his beauteous dimples on either sides twitched.

He... He'd let... Holy shit... a smile at me?!?!

"You claim that," He mouthed, as he turned his face away from me, as though to hide the failing muscular issue that was occurring with him, "But when I opened the door for Alba, and you had thought she was an assassin,"

He turned back at that, and his expression was back to normal at that. Bossy, composed, and stone cold.

Yet it had something weird burning in his glassy orbs.

They burned. All the chilliness in them burned. With some kind of want, some kind of... desire.His left hand reached for my shoulder, as he pulled me. "You rushed to stand before me."

Towards him.

His hands came back around me, and his huge figure engulfed my relatively slim one.

His drugging, intoxicating, and musky smell invaded my senses, and beneath my ears, my heart almost stopped as I heard it.

It was soft, it was composed, and yet it was so soothing.

I could hear his heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump...

His chin came over my head, and his grip around me tightened.

For a second, I could not believe the almighty Ellington had initiated such an action.

"Do not ever attempt to shield me again, Thorne. Ever."

His voice was almost a whisper. It was hoarse, and in the form of an non-debatable order.

And yet, it hit me on a different level.

I knew he was not hinting at this time.

But rather, at that time.

When the murderer of my father was going to shoot me, and he moved before me.

Yet I crossed him to stand before him again.

Good lord, you have replayed that incident in your head maybe more than I did myself.

My hands snaked around his back, yet they didn't meet.

But I gripped as tight as I could nevertheless.

I didn't really have any comment on that, because I couldn't promise it.

Not this, at all.

And for some reason, he didn't push me to promise it.

Maybe because he knew, that just like he could not

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