CHAPTER 5 - FLIRTING WITH THE CEO

Constant sighs escaped from my lips as I walked down the corridor toward the dining room. The delicious aroma of food coming from the kitchen made me hungry, but the situation caught me off-guard.
“Does it really have to be that way?” After noticing a set of candles on the table, I inquired. He didn't even have to prepare a candlelight dinner for me! What for? Was he planning to rekindle our love affair? I shook my head in disbelief that he could resort to desperate measures just to have me back in his life.
“Yes, because the generator is broken and there is no electricity here,” he replied in a calm voice.
“What are you talking about?” After hearing his response, I gaped in horror as my self-confidence crumbled to the ground.
“Wait a minute, did you think it was going to be a romantic dinner?”
Blood rushed to my cheeks as he joked, and for the first time in my life, I was grateful for my not-so-fair complexion because my embarrassment was less visible to Lance's eyes. “Of course not!” I exclaimed.


I snatched one of the chairs and sat down, vehemently disputing his claim. I ate before Lance because I didn't want to wait. Lance's presence tested my patience, and I was afraid the mask I was wearing would fall off.
He warned me not to rush through my dinner, saying, “Eat slowly and enjoy the food.”
I pretended to be hungry, but I really wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. I didn't like how he seemed to care about my well-being because it seemed superficial to me, but I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter whenever he was so close to me. When I looked up to see him, I noticed he was staring at me, and I responded by raising my brows.
“Alexa, you look fantastic,” he expressed his thoughts.
When he tried to flatter me with flowery words, I just rolled my eyes at him. As if it were going to make my stomach turn with delight! Did he think I'd fall for his words yet again? When I couldn't think of anything else to say to put him in his place, I joked, “Quit staring, or you'll fall for me again.”
As he placed some bite-sized steak on my plate, he grinned. He responded, “I already did.”
To keep me from feeling good and giddy at the same time, I chewed my food thoroughly. I stood up after wiping my mouth with the napkin and said, “I'm done.”
“Don't be obnoxious, and take a seat!” He gave the instruction. He reminded me of my callousness by saying, “It's rude to leave the table while I'm still eating.”
I looked at him in disbelief for a few moments. “Do you mean obnoxious?” I sarcastically chuckled and furrowed one of my brows in his direction. “If you don't want to hear an earful, don't lecture me about being rude,” I said as I stormed out of the dining room.
“Alexa!”
He shouted for my name, but I couldn't be bothered to turn around when he called my name.
From the dining room, I went straight to the guest room assigned to me and ensured to lock the door. Knowing Lance, he would try to sneak inside, and it would be a disaster. I tried to call Liam before going to sleep, and after several attempts, I was able to get through to him.
“Are you still alive?” I had to shout to get his attention because his surroundings were noisy, and it appeared that he was in a bar or something similar.
“Are you having fun with him?” Liam inquired, and his tone enraged me.
Because I was afraid of throwing my phone against the wall, I clutched it tightly. Lance's relative was exactly like him, arrogant and conceited! “Hey, I told you I wasn't a hooker!” I yelled at him!
“Did I make any mention of it? Why are you so defensive?” He asked, and I was perplexed.
“Take care of your own affairs,” I told him before asking about his schedule on picking me up from the island. Then, I sighed deeply because I didn't know how to explain it to him in a way that he would understand me. I waited for his response, but Liam was deafeningly quiet for a few moments, and I wondered if he had passed out. “Hello, are you still there? Is everything all right?” His silence worried me because he was the only one who could get me off, Isla de Salcedo.
He caught me off guard when he said, “I'll come to get you in an hour.”
“Are you serious?” I needed to know if he was serious or if he was joking.
“Yes. Get ready, and I'll be there in an hour,” Liam said as he abruptly ended the call.
Even though I had only spoken with Liam for five minutes, I was still perplexed by his announcement. He didn't have to sail in the middle of the night to get me; he could do it in the morning instead! My heart fluttered at Liam's words because they were unexpected for a woman who had been single for a long time.
“Thank you, Liam. You’re my lifesaver,” I said.
“My pleasure,” he replied, and then the call was disconnected.
The idea that Liam might be interested in me as a woman made me laugh. I took a deep breath to calm my heart for the nth time, and I made a mental note to start dating when I returned to the mainland.
Regardless, I prepared my belongings and spent the remainder of my time in front of the mirror while double-checking myself. In my mind, Lance was to blame for the previous trauma and humiliation. His betrayal harmed me even more because I couldn't bring myself to date someone else without worrying about being hurt again. The fear of being betrayed again kept me from taking a chance on another person and dating a slew of attractive men. Everything was his fault!
When I heard a knock, I glared at the door because I knew that Lance was outside. After all, it was just the two of us on the island. I was supposed to ignore it, but I had something to tell him. I tied my hair into a ponytail before I strolled towards the door to open it.

“Hi,” he said as soon as I opened the door.
I furrowed my brows and glowered at the man who smelled so good! I wished that he would take a few steps away from me because his familiar scent assaulted my senses, and it was alarming! “Do you have something to tell me?” I inquired.
“I thought you are tired, Alexa. I am not sure though why you’re wearing some make-up,” he said.
“Well, I am glad that you come to see me now because I have something to tell you,” I informed him. Then I paused for a moment when he snapped his brows and glared at me as if I did something wrong! “Liam is on his way to get me right now,” I told him, and Lance's brows drew together in the middle of his broad forehead, then he glared at me as if I had said something incorrectly.
“What did he say?” He refused to believe Liam would risk his life to sail to the island late at night just to get me. “Did Liam tell you that he likes you?”
“Nope, but if that's the case, I'd appreciate it,” I admitted.
“He's not a good person, Alexa,” Lance sneered at me as if his words of warning would persuade me to stay on the island.
I responded, “Everyone is bad in someone else's story.” I looked at my wristwatch and saw that I only had ten minutes until Liam arrived. I smiled at him before retrieving my belongings, “I should get going now, and thank you for accommodating me,” but he followed me inside and locked the door behind him.
He reiterated Liam's inability to be trusted, saying, “You can't be serious about leaving now.”
I told Lance to mind his own business for the umpteenth time, and he became enraged. “You're hurting me!” I screamed as he grabbed my wrist.
“Liam is only interested in playing with your heart and exploiting you for his own gain. Is it still your intention to meet up with him?” Before he let go of my wrist, he yelled at me, and I scowled at him.
“I am!” I yelled back, trying to persuade him of the significance of Liam's presence. He looked down at the ground for a moment, and I thought he was going to leave me alone, but he didn't!
Before storming outside, he announced, “Fine, then I'm coming with you.”
I was taken aback by his abrupt announcement of returning to the mainland because I had learned from Lance's secretary that he had no intention of returning to the office for an extended period of time.
I checked myself in the mirror and sprayed a little perfume before going outside, and my eyes grew larger when I saw him lounging outside the room. “Are you insane?” Lance's presence, as well as the fact that he had been waiting for me, astounded me.
I rolled my eyes at him when he replied, “I'm crazy about you.”
I walked right past him, but he kept following me. He walked alongside me on the boardwalk and offered to carry my bag. Of course, I refused to allow him to help me in any way. My mission had been completed, and I had no desire to make amends with him.
Liam waited on the boardwalk, and when he saw my companion, his face darkened. He scowled at Lance, then at me, and Liam commented, “You must be close to him because he walked with you up to here.”
“No, but when I told him you were coming here, he insisted on going to the mainland,” I said, to which Liam nodded. “By the way,” I cautioned Liam, “you should be careful with your attitude or I may include it in the article that you are not on good terms with your brother.” He simply smiled. I whispered into his ear, “But of course, I will appreciate it if you will not let him in the boat.” He laughed. The waves drowned out the sound of Liam's laughter, but Lance heard it and frowned.
Liam said, “I like you. I mean, I like your grit.”
I winked at him and shrugged off my shoulder, saying, “I don't mind having a hunk friend.”
Lance seemed out of place inside Liam's magnificent boat, as I preferred to converse with Liam. I liked the younger Salcedo's corny jokes because he has a good sense of humour. Lance attempted to separate me from Liam, but the latter refused to give Lance's demands.
While we were on the deck, Liam observed, “I don't know what happened between you and him, but it seemed like you've known each other for a long time.”
I just smiled and didn't say anything in response to his statement. Instead, I told him, “You don't like your big brother, do you?”