Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control (10 page)

The situation only got worse when she came home from school one day and found out her mother had left their family to be with another man. Most men would have broken down or at least fought to keep their families together, but not her father. He just let her mother leave them and he never spoke her name again after their divorce.

Standing up, Raya raised her arms above her head and stretched, trying to relieve some of the stiffness from her back. She had been sitting in that same spot for hours without moving. It wasn’t making any sense why she couldn’t get the brilliant ideas in her head to come across like she wanted them.

Was she making a mistake by not taking Thorsten’s offer?

She might not like him, but all of the information she found out about him on the Internet proved he was an excellent businessman. Moving from behind her desk, Raya walked across the room over to the contracts tossed on the table. She picked them up and stared at the words
Alpha Male Incorporated
printed along the top with Thorsten’s name underneath. Could she give all of this up and more to someone else?

She wanted to prove something to more than her father and herself. Showing Thorsten she was capable of being a successful businesswoman held her back from signing the paperwork in her hands.

He was out to take this place from her. How could he ever believe she would want anything near a romance with him? Taking one last glace at the contracts, she flung them back down in disgust. If Jax hadn’t taken her away from his cousin, they would have probably argued for another twenty minutes and she would have won, not him.

She learned at a very young age how to debate and compete without getting intimated by a man. One thing she gained from watching her older brother was not to follow his lead on anything. He was constantly going off in directions that weren’t even paying off.

Raya jumped when her cell rang. Reaching for the phone in the pocket of her skirt, she pulled it out and glanced down at the number. It brought a smile to her face.

“Hello, Mama,” she answered. “Is there something wrong?”

It had taken her a long time to get over her mother breaking up their family, but after she grew up most of the hurt had passed. She started reaching out to her mother again while attending college, and they rebuilt their relationship. Now, she spoke to her almost three times a week.

“Yes, you didn’t come over tonight. I thought you were going to leave work early and come see me. I wanted you to tell you about this nice young man who volunteers at my job.”

Sighing, Raya moved away from the table and went back to her desk. She sat down and slipped her shoes back on. “Mama, I have told you I’m not interested in a guy right now. I’m too busy with work to drive down like I used to do for you. Besides, I’m still at work and I was about to leave when you called me.”

“Raya Jacque August, don’t you dare lie to me,” her mother said. “You weren’t about to leave that place at all. I wish you would just give it up and sell it like your brother wants. You’re too young and beautiful to waste your life away trying to save something that is gone.”

“Cedric talked to you about the business?” she asked, surprised. “I didn’t realize he had been keeping in touch with you.”

Her mother sighed. “I called him and he told me what was going on between the two of you. Things between us are still a little strained, but not as bad as they used to be. At least now he answers my phone calls instead of letting me go straight to voicemail.

“I didn’t call you to talk about Cedric. Baby girl, I want you to be happy, and holding on like this isn’t good. What happed to my little girl who loved painting and making things with her hands? Why don’t you go back to something that you truly love, sweetheart?”

“How do you know that I’m not doing what I love?” Raya questioned, getting up from her seat.

“I can hear the sadness in your voice, not to mention see it in your eyes when I get to visit with you. You’re spending way too much time away from your friends and family. I want my smiling, laughing daughter back. When was the last time you went out with one of your friends and just had some fun?”

Walking around the desk, she glanced back to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything before grabbing her purse and heading for the office door. “Mama, I don’t have too many friends and Sahara is a married woman now. Plus, she is getting ready for a concert. She doesn’t have time to do anything with me right now. I’ll call her when things get calmer for the both of us.”

“We both know if Sahara knew you wanted to spend some time with her she would put everything else on hold for a day or two and do something with you.”

Out in the hallway, Raya locked the door and walked down the corridor towards the elevator and got on. The doors closed behind her and took her down to the first floor. When the doors opened and she made her way over to the security guard’s sign-in station, she signed out before waving good-bye to the guard. He acknowledged her with a nod of his head before glancing back the magazine lying on his desk.

Once Raya left the building she hurried towards her car in the parking lot. She forgot how fast it could get dark at nine o’clock. Since she had never stayed quite this late before, she would make a note not to do it again.

“Yes, she probably would, but I want her to enjoy the honeymoon stage of her marriage. I’m not a child who needs to be entertained. I know how to go out and have fun all by myself.”

“Sahara’s husband is very good-looking. He really looks young for his age, but he’s a lot older than her. Does he have any single family members that he can fix you up with?” her mother questioned.

Oh, if you only knew the half of it
, she thought. Jax looked young for a real
good
reason.

Stopping by her car, she quickly unlocked it, slid behind the wheel, and closed the door. She locked it behind her then tossed her purse onto the passenger seat. “How do you even know how old Jax is?” she questioned. “You only met him once and it was at the wedding reception.”

“
OK
Magazine
,” her mama replied, shocking her. “I get it every month in the mail. They had written a small article about Coco and it talked about how Sahara had married her much older bodyguard. He looks good for forty-five. Ask him about what I suggested; he might have a single brother or something.”

She wasn’t about to ask Jax to fix her up with anyone. She already had one Irizarry man she was trying to get rid of. Why would she want to replace him with another one?

“I hear you, Mama,” Raya sighed. “Look, I’m in my car and I need to get home, it’s really late. I love you. Have a good night and I’ll try to come and see you sometime next week.”

“Okay, sweetie. I’ll talk to you later,” her mother said. “Have a good night and drive safely.”

“I will.” Raya promised before hanging up. She tossed her phone inside her purse before staring her vehicle and driving off.

For a split second, she thought about going to
Levert’s
for a drink but decided against it. She didn’t want to run into Alec again. He was a nice enough guy, but the pint of chocolate mint ice cream at home was calling her name. Besides, she had to get up early tomorrow morning to make a trip into town to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables.

Walking around the farmers market the next day, Raya relaxed as the warm morning sun beamed down on her body, making all of her problems melt away. Pausing in front of her favorite display, she glanced at the brightly colored fruit inside the wooden crates.

Coming here every Saturday was a part of a weekend routine that she never skipped no matter how busy she was with work. She loved how shopping for fruits and vegetables gave her a little exercise and relaxation at the same time.

Nothing tasted better as a late night snack than a fresh, juicy apple with some peanut butter while watching television in bed. She was trying to get back into healthier eating since what she ate at work was more junk than healthy. It was just easier to grab something at a fast food restaurant and head back to work.

Raya spotted a shiny apple that might be what she was looking for at the back of the crate. She was reaching for it when a voice spoke behind her.

“I guess your date didn’t end all that well if you’re here this early in the morning buying fruit. You should have agreed to my dinner invitation instead and neither one of us would be searching for fruit this morning.”

Raya dropped her hand as a familiar reaction took over her body. She slowly turned around and there stood Thorsten behind her, looking big and powerful. She had to admit the air of self-confidence surrounding him in a crowd was sort of attractive.

Taking her eyes off his body, her gaze locked with his and the devilish gleam shining there. “Mr. Irizarry, what are you doing here? I thought a playboy like you didn’t roll out of bed until after the sun had gone down and your usual hangover was gone,” she tossed back.

Instead of getting angry like she expected, Thorsten laughed at her. The warm, deep richness of the sound surprised her. “Raya, can’t you ever greet me with a smile and a kind word? You treat me like we are enemies instead of friends.”

The nerve of him! He wasn’t her friend and they both knew it.

“When did I ever admit to being friends with you? We haven’t been around each other enough to even be acquaintances.”

A light breeze blew around them, making a lock of Thorsten’s well-groomed, dark hair fall forward on his forehead. The tantalizing smell of his aftershave somehow captured her attention more than it had before. She tried to look away from him, but couldn’t.

“How can you tell me that with a straight face?” Thorsten questioned. “You know it isn’t true. I know a lot about you. Sahara loves bragging about her best friend to anyone who will listen.”

She felt his hand brush her hair away from her neck before his fingers slid sensuously over her bare arm. Raya started to move away but was halted by an iron grip on her wrist.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to leave. I have other things to do today. I can’t spend all day at the farmers market. You know how it is when you’re busy with other things in your life.” She had to get away from Thorsten because being this close to him was bothering her for some reason.

“Since your schedule is free today why don’t you spend it with me?” he suggested, pulling her closer to him. “I’m free myself and I think we need to clear the air between us. We didn’t get off to the best start. I mean, most women are able to handle my conceit. I didn’t know you wouldn’t be able to, which is okay. I can tone it down for someone like you.”

Insulted, Raya jerked her wrist away from Thorsten. For a minute, he almost came across like a civil guy. He almost fooled her but not quite. “What do you mean, someone like me? Are you talking about a smart woman who can hold an intelligent conversation for longer than five minutes without using the word
like
twenty times?”

In a defensive gesture, Thorsten folded his arms across his wide, muscular chest. He may not have bulk on his body similar to his cousins, but he was fit all the same. “Are you implying I only date airheads and can’t handle a woman of your education?” he demanded, staring down at her.

“If the ego fits,” Raya snapped, then brushed past him and blended into the passing crowd before he could find a way to stop her.

Moving through the other shoppers, she headed for the strawberry stand she noticed off to the side when she was walking around earlier looking for cauliflower. She hoped they were fresh enough to make strawberry shortcake for tonight. She wasn’t a huge sweets person, but her mother had taught her a recipe that was to die for.

When she was taking home economics in high school, it had gotten her an A for the class and the talk of school for an entire two weeks. The main thing that made it so
good
was the fresh strawberries—not canned or frozen, but fresh. Something about them being cut up and added to dessert made everything taste more scrumptious.

As she continued her way towards the opposite side of the farmers market, Raya nodded at a few familiar faces. Most people around here interacted pretty well with each other, particularly when it came to telling each other about the best stands to visit for the perfect fruits and vegetables. She was halfway there when suddenly a hand reached out and pulled her behind an empty stand away from the other shoppers.

“Let go of me,” she screamed, fighting against the person.

“Will you stop yelling? You’re making my ears hurt.”

Raya instantly froze at the sound of Thorsten’s voice as he pressed her body against the back of a stand. Anger took over as her eyes clashed with his and she noticed his usual smirk in place.

“What in the hell do you call yourself doing?” she hissed, pulling at her wrist, but Thorsten’s grip was too tight and he wasn’t about to let go.

“I wasn’t finished talking to you. So, I followed you,” he answered, loosening his grip, but he still had his hand on her body.

The light feel of his skin against hers was starting to give her stomach butterflies, something she hadn’t felt since her neighbor Matt Evans came outside to get his mail without a shirt on. However, this sensation Thorsten caused was ten times stronger and more potent.

A slight warmness was slowly starting its way through the entire length of her body. She worked on blocking it out, so she could focus all of her attention on Thorsten.

“Well, I was done talking to you which is the reason why I left. I have things to do today and dealing with you isn’t even on my list.” Raya pulled her wrist away from the nuisance blocking her path.

“Have dinner with me tonight,” he said softly.

The invitation completely threw Raya off her guard. All she could do was stand there and stare at Thorsten for a second. She shook her head, hoping to clear whatever was messing up her hearing.

Did he actually ask her out on a date? Was he out of his mind?

She would never be able to sit across the table from Thorsten at a restaurant. He would drive her up the wall with his know-it-all attitude. What would they have to talk about over a span of two hours? She couldn’t do it. Not without worrying if he had another motive up his sleeve.