Limits of Destiny (Volume 1) (12 page)

*     *     *

After we had
breakfast together, Alexander gave me a lift to the bank in his Rolls Royce, or his chauffeur did to be exact.

“Let’s have lunch in my office. I’ll send Henry over to pick you up in the car.” His thumb gently stroked my knuckles.

“I can’t. Did you forget today I have an appointment with Sebastian Romer?”

He scowled and looked through the window.

“What’s up?” I asked him.

“There’s always some man sniffing around you, trying to get into your knickers.”

I looked at him, stunned. “Nobody can get into—as you so colorfully described—my knickers. I drop them whenever I decide and for whomever I want. So…”

“Don’t you get it? I don’t like you seeing him.” He turned to me and made a fist.

“What have you got against him?”

“I know Romer well enough to dislike him. He’s a weak-willed, spoiled good-for-nothing who thinks just because his father has money, he can do whatever he wants, which includes him behaving like a complete asshole at the party.”

I put one hand on his shoulder and the other on his face. I wanted to reduce the distance between us. “Look, I know Sebastian behaved awfully last time. Most likely, he was drunk or stoned.”

“Stoned?” He looked at me angrily and narrowed his eyes.

“I probably shouldn’t have said that.” I bit my lower lip.

“Are you telling me Romer smokes weed?”

I nodded.

“Do you?” His look penetrated me to the heart.

I instinctively pulled away from him, but he grabbed me by the waist and pressed me against his body.

“Of course not,” I snapped back.

“Good. Very good.” He held my chin and raised my head so I would look him in the eyes. “Don’t be mad. I want to know everything about you, and I don’t want you to keep any secrets from me.”

“Look, I don’t want us to fight, but he really has always behaved completely normally and never taken any liberties with me… He may have problems with drinking and smoking, but he’s not a bad guy overall.”

“Why are you so certain?” He looked at me suspiciously.

He definitely doesn’t believe me. Does he think I’m slow?
I felt annoyed with him.

“What did I tell you? I’ve known him for years. Yes, he’s weak-willed and spoiled, but he’s not a bad person.”

Alexander took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

“I’m going to have lunch with him at some restaurant, and I’ll tell him I’m with you.” I smiled at him sweetly.

“You’ll tell him about me?” His eyes locked on mine.

“I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to.”

A satisfied smile appeared on his lips and his eyes sparkled. “Oh,
on the contrary
. I do. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”

“Yes, yours.” I stroked his handsome face.

Henry pulled up near the bank.

“Have a nice and successful day.” I pressed my lips against his.

“You too, honey.” He kissed me so passionately I didn’t want to tear myself away from him.

*     *     *

Roberto sat in
front of his computer and, naturally, noticed my huge grin as soon as I walked in. “I guess the reason for your good mood is your great friend Kraftberg.”

“You guessed right.” The smile wouldn’t leave my face. “Roberto, is the boss in yet?”

“Yes, I saw him. Why?”

“I have to meet him for my annual appraisal.”

My boss, Tobias Brauner, and I had to discuss my performance throughout the year. The targets I’d set myself and whether I’d met them. Every employee had to go through it, and the result determined whether they would be promoted and get a raise.

It was clear from the talk we had that Brauner was satisfied with my work on the whole, and I was very happy when he informed me I was getting a raise. I immediately texted Alexander to show off. He replied he was proud of me and would wait for me in front of the bank at six.

I sat at my desk and was just about to start working on my urgent tasks when my coworker from accounting, Lena Eklund, walked in. She’d been working in the bank for around two months after transferring here from our Stockholm branch.

“Hi, Alexia. Do you have plans for lunch?” she asked, running her thin fingers through her long blond hair. She was wearing a dark-blue silk dress, which emphasized her slim waist very nicely.

“Hi, Lena. Unfortunately, I do, but I’d be very glad if we had lunch together in the next few days.” I turned to Roberto. “Are you free?”

I made a point of asking him because I’d noticed Lena really liked him. And Roberto was mainly into blondes anyway. I thought she was a very beautiful woman who knew how to take care of herself—she looked much younger than her thirty years. She had incredibly beautiful blue eyes, which gleamed with excitement whenever Roberto spoke to her.

“I don’t have any plans,” he said, looking up from the screen. “We could get lunch together if you want?” he asked and gave her a slight smile, which nearly made her swoon.

“It would be my pleasure,” she replied, and her high cheekbones reddened. “Is twelve good for you?”

“Yeah. See you later, then,” he answered and fixed his eyes on the computer again.

As she was leaving, Lena accidentally knocked over a Starbucks coffee cup that had been left on his desk, and the liquid spilled onto his keyboard and ran down his pants. Poor Roberto jumped as if scalded. Lena started to wail and apologize. I took out some paper hankies from my bag, which I passed to them, and then ran to the kitchen for kitchen towels.

When I came back, Lena took the towels from me and started to thoroughly wipe Roberto’s pants. Watching this whole ridiculous situation, I barely managed to contain my smile. On one hand, I naturally felt pity for my coworker, but on the other, the entire scene was so funny. Lena was kneeling on the ground, wiping Roberto’s thigh while he was shouting, “
Dammit, dammit, dammit all to hell.”

When she’d wiped away the very last drop of coffee, Lena apologized
yet again
and left.

Roberto looked at me angrily. “Don’t tell me you found this funny.”

“Sorry. It’s just that…” I trailed off, seeing his eyes narrowed in anger. “Can’t you see she likes you?” I blurted out.

“I can see she has butterfingers. Luckily, my pants are black and the stain doesn’t show much.”

“She simply gets anxious in your presence. How have you not noticed? I don’t get it.”

Roberto turned his head to me. “What are you trying to say?”

“You know full well. Don’t you like her?”

He sat on his chair, leaned back, and replied, amused, “Have you decided to find me a girlfriend?”

“Not really. I don’t want meddle. I just think she’s pretty cool,” I said, trying to justify myself.

A satisfied smile emerged on his lips. “She’s cute, but not as cute as you.”

I scowled, turned my head to my computer, and logged in. “Yeah, yeah, my beauty is like the sun shining down on the earth,” I said sarcastically without looking at him. I knew Roberto liked me, but there could be nothing between us other than friendship. I couldn’t imagine being intimate with him.

“To be honest, Alexia, I also think Lena is a cool chick,” he admitted.

My face glowed with joy. “I would’ve been surprised if you didn’t.” I turned back to him.

“But don’t you think she might go back to Sweden?” he replied and crossed his arms, lost in thought.

His words surprised me. I saw Roberto as a man who always knew what he wanted and looked for in life. He was self-confident and wouldn’t stop at anything, but now he looked uncertain. I’d never seen him like this before.

“Well, Alexander doesn’t know either whether one day I’ll decide to go back to the States, but he’s with me.” My lips were dry, so I licked them. I hadn’t had anything to drink since I’d arrived at work. I raised my bottle of mineral water and saw it was empty.

“Let me pour you some of my water.” Roberto approached me and filled a glass. I drank it at once, while he continued. “Alexia, I’m not Alexander… You know I’m quite sensitive.”

“Why do you think he isn’t?” I replied sharply. “Look, since I’ve been with him, I’ve not thought about going back to the States. Anyway, Lena has a crush on you. And she’s not eighteen—she’s mature and knows what she wants in life.”

“As usual, you’ve managed to persuade me, but it’d be your fault if I were to break her heart,” he said, sniggering.

“Yeah, yeah. Everything’s my fault.” I pretended to scowl. I knew he was kidding.

*     *     *

At noon, I
met up with Sebastian and we went to the nearby Japanese restaurant for sushi. We sat at one of the free tables, ordered our Food and I asked him in worry, “How are you?”

He looked quite worn out and his eyes were puffy.

Has he been overdoing it with the sleepless nights and nightlife?

“We’ve had a lot of work this week. I’m exhausted, but you look stunning as always,” he tried to compliment me.

“Thanks.”

God, I had no idea how to act around him. There was no problem before—we always had a good time together. We poked fun at each other, laughed. I could touch his shoulder, even hug him, without wondering whether he would get the wrong idea. But now, after he’d admitted how he felt about me, I felt awkward talking to him.

“Alexia, I’m sorry about my behavior. I don’t know what came over me. I’d clearly had too much to drink. I hope you’re not still mad at me.” He scratched his eyebrow nervously.

“To be honest, I was furious then, but I got over it.” I couldn’t stay mad at him for long. We’d known each other for ages after all.

“At the party, you were dancing with Alexander Kraftberg. Are you with him? I mean, are you two an item?”

“Yes,” was all I said. I could see in his eyes he was crushed. He’d never before shown in any way he liked me. We just partied together, and he never stopped kidding around, but now…

Is he just jealous of Alexander?

“Are you happy being with him?”

“I think so, yes.”

I myself was very uncertain about our relationship and didn’t trust Alexander. I knew he’d never been in a serious relationship before, and I had no idea how long he would be able to satisfy his sexual appetite just with me. Still, Sebastian was the last person with whom I would share my fears, which is why decided to withhold the truth.

“Next week, I’m going on a business trip to New York and Boston. Do you want to send something to your father through me?” He looked at me distractedly.

Dammit, he really didn’t look well. I wanted to tell him to take better care of himself, but how…?

“It’s very nice of you to offer, but I can’t think of anything right now.”

“Okay, if you remember something, give me a call. You know I’d do anything for you.”

I smiled at him politely.

During lunch, I tried to steer the conversation toward his cousin Lily and her new boyfriend Marco, but he knew no more about them than I did. Before we went our separate ways, I hugged him, but we didn’t give each other pecks on the cheeks like usual.

While we were hugging, I whispered in his ear, “Promise me you’ll take good care of yourself.” I had to say something—I couldn’t feign indifference.

A shy ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

“And no smoking weed. Please. It’s not good for your health, Sebastian.”

“I’ll try, but I don’t know if I’ll manage.” He stroked my shoulder.

“Bye and have a good time in the States.”

“Thanks. Bye, Alexia.”

*     *     *

It was six
when I came out of the bank. I felt my pulse quickening. I was excited like a schoolgirl about seeing him again, the gorgeous Alexander Kraftberg who drew the eyes of all women. I hadn’t imagined even in my wildest dreams that I could meet such an incredible man and he would want to be with me.

The Rolls Royce stopped in front of me, and Henry came out to open my door. I greeted him and climbed into the back next to Alexander. I threw my arms around his neck, excited and beaming with happiness.

“Mmm, I’m glad to see you’ve missed me too, baby.” He kissed me on the lips. “How was your day?”

“It was mostly fine, but I had very long meetings and mountains of work. How about yours?”

“It was a good day. All my meetings went very well.”

I leaned on his shoulder and intertwined my fingers with his.

After we picked up the small luggage case I’d prepared this morning from my apartment, we went to Alexander’s house in Küssnacht. A woman of around fifty with short chestnut hair and brown eyes met us in the anteroom. She was wearing a dark-blue short-sleeved dress. I instantly liked her.

“Good evening, Mr. Kraftberg,” she greeted him politely.

“Mrs. Schmidt, meet my girlfriend, Alexia Welson.” Then he turned to me. “Alexia, this is the woman who takes care of my house.”

Mrs. Schmidt smiled at me and I noticed she was sincere. “It’s nice to meet you.”

We shook hands. “Me too.”

“Mrs. Schmidt, we don’t have much time. Did you manage to pack my things? Did you buy everything on the list I gave you?” he asked her seriously.

“Of course, Mr. Kraftberg. Everything you asked for has been taken care of. May I ask if you’re having dinner here?”

“Are you hungry?” He gave me a questioning look.

“Not particularly.”

“Okay. In that case, I say we have some food quickly and then leave. Excuse me for a while—I have to go and get changed.” He kissed me on the cheek and went upstairs.

I went to sit on one of the chairs at the dining table.

When he reappeared five minutes later, Alexander was wearing worn jeans, which nicely highlighted his tight butt and muscular thighs. His dark-grey T-shirt very clearly outlined the size of his biceps. He looked incredibly sexy, young, and carefree, and this made me hold my breath. He noticed I was gawping at him and smiled faintly. He was well aware of the huge effect his incredible looks had on women.

Reluctantly, I turned my eyes away from him and looked around his kitchen. It was equipped with all the latest appliances. The dream of every housewife. My eyes scanned the numerous glossy white cupboards, the massive double fridge, and the two ovens, one of which was for steam roasting. The kitchen worktop was made of expensive black granite. Four high chairs were arranged around an island bar. The numerous small lights on the ceiling added a certain coziness to the atmosphere.