Jealous Alpha Read online

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Nosy fuck! He sat there pestering me for the next ten minutes but I refused to answer him.

  He finally got frustrated and got up to leave. “Fine, I’ll just ask Gia.”

  “What did you call her?” I’d already made up my mind that that’s what I would call her when we were alone. How dare he?

  “Gia, why?”

  “Don’t call her that. Her name is Giavanna.”

  “Nah, I like Gia better.”

  “Gavin!” His playful mood dropped at my growl and he gave me a look of surprise.

  I looked away so he didn’t see too much and wondered again just what the hell was wrong with me. I’ve never been jealous over a woman before in my life.

  “Fine, have it your way. We’re going to be busy all day so if you need me I’ll be in her office.” He closed the door with a smirk and I knew he was going to make my ass suffer.

  We’ve never competed over a woman before, but this is the first time he’d be working this close to someone I had an interest in. I already hated that he was going to be closed up in her office alone with her all day.

  I made it to lunch before I couldn’t take it anymore. I stormed out of my office, startling poor Mary who was sitting at her desk having her usual afternoon salad.

  “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

  “I’m going to see how Gavin and the new architect are getting along.”

  I walked down the long hallway to the other offices headed to the one in the middle where we’d decided her office would be.

  They weren’t there and it didn’t look like anyone had been in a while. I walked to the other end of the hall where my brother held the other corner office.

  He wasn’t there but his assistant was. “Where’s my brother?”

  “He’s with the architect in her office.”

  “They’re not there.” Dammit Gavin, if you took her to lunch I’ll forget the love we share and strangle your ass in your sleep.

  She looked towards the connecting door that led to the office next door to Gavin’s. “Oh, they moved her from that one to this one here since it’s closer and Mr. Chandler said they’d be working together a lot.

  Son of a bitch. I moved towards the door and came up short when I saw the two of them sitting there with their heads close together.

  “Oh hi bro, what brings you here?” I squinted at him with visions of his bloody carcass playing through my head.

  “What is she doing here?”

  “She works here remember? You hired her this morning.”

  “No, I mean here in this office. Why isn’t she in her office, the one we chose for her?”

  “Oh that, I decided that since we’re going to be working so close together on this project with a lot of late nights in our future that this made more sense. Less back and forth.”

  Oh you did-did you? Mom’s going to be making funeral arrangements pretty soon for your ass little brother.

  Since there was no argument I could make without making myself look like a complete ass I decided to leave it alone for now.

  I didn’t say anything more to him as my eyes went over her bent head. She hadn’t uttered a word this whole time and since my eyes never left her I knew she hadn’t picked her head up.

  “Was there something you needed Evan?” I glared at him before turning and leaving the room to storm back to my office.

  4

  For the next couple of days I staunchly avoided her. I’d seen her once or twice in the hallway as she made her way to and from her office.

  But when I realized I was purposely lurking around in the hallway to catch a glimpse of her I forced myself to stop.

  I’d spent the last few nights alone in bed thinking about her. I’d had to stop myself from digging into her personal life, but I was dying to know where she went when she left here at the end of the day.

  Was there a man in her life? The thought filled me with dread and a jealous rage that was almost frightening in its intensity.

  I didn’t want to ask Gavin because he’s been more of a pain in the ass than usual lately. He knew something was up but since I refused to tell him shit, he’s decided to make my life miserable.

  She on the other hand seems to be actively avoiding me as well and if not for our weekly meeting that was coming up later I doubt I’d even see her.

  She was here before me in the mornings but I noticed she left early ever day. Come to think of it, she always left for lunch as well, unlike the rest of the staff who usually ate in the cafeteria we had on site.

  I was spending way too much time thinking about her but couldn’t seem to stop. She was beginning to interfere with my work, something I’ve never allowed before.

  I’m usually very good at compartmentalizing my life. Keeping business and pleasure separate.

  When I’m here I’m totally focused on the job, and when it’s time to play I can switch it off with no problem.

  Now it seems that she pops into my damn head whenever the hell she wants to. Something else that was new to me, I found myself getting antsy the closer it got to the two of them showing up here.

  They came through the door laughing at some shared joke and I felt my hackles rise. “Ooh look, the bear’s already growling and we haven’t even started. What’s eating you bro?”

  I ignored him as my eyes swept over her. She’d lost the jacket to her suit and the sight of her ripe breasts pressed against the blouse she wore made me see red.

  Is this how she dresses around him all day? “Where’s your jacket?” I was getting tired of the way she hides herself from me, always with her head down in my presence.

  I’ve heard the whispers. I know she’s well liked among the staff, especially the men. So it was only with me that she was this reserved. It was starting to piss me the fuck off.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Your jacket. That blouse is a bit revealing for the office don’t you think?” There was a twitch in my jaw and I was extremely pissed for no valid reason.

  She looked down at the wrap blouse that was in no way revealing though it hugged her plump tits perfectly and made my mouth water.

  The thought made me imagine what other men must think when they see her like this and my anger grew. She stood from her chair still with her head down refusing to even look at me.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll go back to my office and grab it.”

  “You left it in mine Gia.” She gave him a slight smile and it was obvious that my words had hurt her.

  He waited until she was gone to rip into me. “Evan what the fuck bro?”

  “Stay out of it.”

  “No I wont stay out of it, that was totally uncalled for.”

  “I said stay out of it, and didn’t I tell you not to call her that again?”

  “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you but I won’t let you treat her like you do everyone else. Since it was my idea to bring her here I feel responsible for her.”

  “You’re not responsible for her.” Is he trying to make me kill him?

  “I say I am. She picked up and moved here on my suggestion, of course she’s my responsibility.”

  “No, she’s not, stay the fuck away from her.” He was as shocked at my outburst as I was and I looked away when he got that contemplative look on his face.

  I could almost see the wheels turning in the little shit’s eyes just as she came back into the office with her jacket in place.

  She was even more reserved during the meeting, hardly saying anything and letting Gavin take the lead.

  “Are you an architect? I want to hear it from her, that’s what we hired her for isn’t it?” She lifted her head and looked at me for the first time and I almost burst out into laughter at the look of fire in her eyes.

  That’s right little bird show me those claws. She started a recitation of all that they’d done so far, all but tearing the pages from the portfolio as she flipped through it, showing me the draf
ts.

  “Is everything to your satisfaction Mr. Chandler sir?” Shit, I’ve really pissed her off.

  “I’m not sure, you went through it all so swiftly I barely had time to keep up. Leave it here and I’ll go over it later.”

  She barely restrained herself from tossing the folder in my face and I hid my grin behind a cough.

  I like her spunk, and it didn’t hurt that I was already imagining what it was going to be like taming some of that fire she had.

  I had no doubt that I’d have her beneath me sooner or later. Seeing as how she seems to hate my guts at the moment, it might take me a while. But there was no doubt that she was going to be mine.

  Besides, I was tired of the easy conquest anyway. She didn’t seem to have any interest in me, or my money.

  And the way she was glowering at me now said she’d just as soon scratch my eyes out as look at me. Let the games begin.

  Gavin for once was keeping his trap shut as he looked back and forth between us. “Okay, if we’re done here, let’s go Gia…Vanna.” He tacked on the last when I started to get up from my seat.

  I ignored his laughter as they left the room together, promising myself to beat the shit out of him later.

  As I flipped through the portfolio she’d left behind I had to give them both their props. Him for recognizing her talent, and her for being so innovative. It was like watching a dream unfold on paper.

  I’d only given them a rough idea of what I wanted, what I saw in my mind’s eye. But she’d turned it into something more. Gavin’s right, she’s one talented lady.

  I took pride in her work for some fucked up reason that I chose not to look too closely at. There was a meeting coming up with the client in a few months and I was suddenly looking forward to making the trip with my little bird.

  Let’s see how she avoids me then when we were alone in a foreign country together. Speaking of which. I picked up the phone and called Mary.

  “Mary, have you already made the reservations for the trip to Switzerland?”

  “Weeks ago yes. Everything on the ground has been taken care of.”

  “What about our rooms?”

  “She’s one floor down from you.”

  “That won’t do, I think Gavin has the right idea. Since we’re going to have a lot of late nights that week, I think it makes more sense to have her closer.” That sounded plausible even to my own ears.

  “See if there’s an adjoining room if not change hotels until you find something more suitable.” I hung up before she could question me and sat back with the wheels turning.

  I felt no guilt at my plans to seduce her. Since she’s so good at avoiding me here I’m going to take her to ground there.

  The thought helped to smooth out some of the rough edges in my gut that had shown up ever since she did.

  5

  Things were coming along nicely as she was no longer so rigid in the weekly meetings though I couldn’t seem to help taking digs at her.

  I questioned every new decision she made until I thought Gavin and I were going to come to blows.

  Once I insulted her idea for the placement of the grand ballroom and she almost gored me with her stare.

  “That’s the only place it makes sense, and since the client insist on having one…”

  “I still say it should be moved, it should be more accessible.”

  “But they want it to remain exclusive it’s not intended for all the guests. That’s why putting it at the very top of the building overlooking the mountains is the best idea.”

  “I’m not sure. The view is amazing that’s true, but…”

  “Evan, look it over again, and you’ll see that Giavanna is right. It’s in the perfect place.”

  “It needs to be big enough to cover the whole top floor with no obstruction, this is the only thing that makes sense.”

  Of course it was, but I wanted her to fight me for what she wanted instead of burying her head and hiding herself away from me.

  “I’m not asking you Gavin, did either of you think to ask me before making these changes?”

  “As the architect it’s my job to rearrange things so they fit. There was nothing wrong with your idea but this way is better.”

  “Convince me.”

  “What?” I barely restrained my laughter. She was gritting her teeth so hard I was afraid they’d crack.

  “I said convince me.” I made her hold my eyes this time without looking away.

  Gavin had that contemplative look on his face again as she went into great detail as to why her idea was better than mine.

  I listened to her with half an ear as my interest was drawn more to the way her chest lifted and fell with her anger.

  She was very good at hiding her feelings but I’ve grown to know her these last few weeks and she was getting easier to read.

  After that day she no longer hid from me but instead went head to head with me until our battles became legendary around the building.

  It was generally thought that I didn’t like her, and even Mary had taken me to task for being too hard on her. It was just my way of keeping my true feelings hidden until the time was right.

  I had no plans on having my personal life talked about at the office. Gavin, the little shit, had complained to mom about my behavior and she’d lit into my ass.

  She was the last one I wanted knowing about my real interest so that worked in my favor. With both Mary and Gavin thinking I disliked her, there was no way for mom to stick her nose in.

  Although she did scold me like a toddler for what she called my unfair behavior. I just ignored her and told her to stay out of office affairs.

  I convinced her that I was just nervous about such a big project and wanting everything to go right and that helped to keep her nose off the scent.

  Now I can sit back and enjoy my new game of lion and prey. It was fun being the one on the hunt, and I could already smell blood in the water. I know for a fact that Gia is well aware of me.

  I make it a point to invade her space whenever we’re in the same room together and as hard as she fights to ignore me, there’s no ignoring the fact that she gets flustered whenever I’m around.

  By the time we take our first trip together she’d be more than ready to fuck. I just have to keep up the pressure. My plan now is to keep her off balance as much as possible.

  Since she and everyone else already think I’m against her, it will throw her off her game when I change shit up. At least I know that she has no care for my money or position.

  I’ve been riding her ass for weeks now and instead of trying to curry my favor, she’s been giving as good as she got without fear of reprisals.

  That could have something to do with Gavin and the way he caters to her. If he wasn’t in a long-term relationship with the girl of his dreams I just might have broken his damn neck already the way he’s always smiling and laughing with my woman.

  I decided to head down to his office to see what he was up to. Since she’s been here I don’t see him half as much as I used to.

  Something I should be grateful for, but instead I find myself jealous of the time the two of them spend together.

  I pushed open the door without knocking and came up short. She was sitting in one of the two seats behind his desk, her back arched as she worked the kinks out. Lucky for her he was nowhere to be seen.

  I watched her as she reached her arms above her head and stretched before twisting her neck from side to side.

  “Where’s my brother?” She almost fell out of her chair at my approach.

  “He’s not here.” She started gathering up the blueprints they’d been looking over and I walked around the desk to stand next to her.

  “Let me see, are those the new ones?” I heard her indrawn breath as I reached over her for the papers in her hand. My dick started to rise and it was all I could do not to snatch her up from the chair and kiss her.

  “Stay where you are.” She was getting ready to bolt from the c
hair to escape me but I had no intentions on letting her get away from me that easy.

  I looked over the blueprints, genuinely pleased with her efforts. It was good that my woman was good at her craft and not just a pretty face and hot body.

  It’s true that some get through in life with just those things, but I was pleased that she had more substance than any of the women of my prior acquaintance. To be fair, it wasn’t their fault that I liked the social heiress type. Or used to I should say.

  “This is very good. I’m glad I let you talk me into it.” Her look of surprised confusion was just what I was hoping for. And when I smiled her mouth fell open in shock.

  “You must’ve worked really hard on this, thank you. I don’t have to tell you the importance of this project going off without a hitch.”

  “Not many agreed with us hiring a relatively new untried architect, but I’m assured that you know what you’re doing. Thank you.”

  “Um thank you?” That’s right little bird. I’ve ruffled your feathers enough, now it’s time to have you eating out of my hand.

  I spent more time looking over the plans than was needed, but I used the time to inhale her hypnotic scent and watch her twitch at my nearness.

  I smiled over her head as I watched the pulse race in her throat and her chest lift and fall with her uneven breaths.

  I leaned down close to her ear as I pretended interest in a particular scale on the sheet. “Have you checked on the ground levels there already to be sure this would work?”

  She swallowed hard before giving me an answer and when she did speak her voice was a croak before she cleared it.

  “Yes, ahem…we checked all of that already and when we go there in a few weeks I expect to have a thorough inspection done.”

  “Good, very good.” I let my lips brush against her ear and didn’t miss the way her breath stalled, or the way she shifted in her seat.

  “I’ll leave you to it then, tell my brother I was here.” I walked away before my dick became any more obvious, or I did something I’d regret.

  She wasn’t ready yet and I knew with a woman like her, one wrong move would spoil the whole thing.