𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 || j. daniel atlas

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

Alena stood in a lift between two towering security guards. They had come to collect her from the hotel restaurant just as she was finishing breakfast with Chase. She hadn't thought that The Other McKinney could have been any more insufferable than he had been the night before, yet he seemed to have found yet more things to whine about. If Alena hadn't just spent a year pretending to be the perfect PA, she would have thrown her mimosa into Chase's face and gone back up to her room.

She had chosen business attire – well-fitted, navy sailor trousers and a white, bishop-sleeve blouse – and had pulled her hair back into a low bun. The previous evening, Alena had been all set to take the seductress path. Today, she was in no mood to waste any more time. Walter had to know she meant business. At least, to begin with.

The doors to the lift opened to a seemingly empty penthouse. Twisting the ring on her left thumb, Alena stepped into the space. Despite the widescreen television and the ominously large computer processor at the back of the room, she felt as though she had fallen back through time to the era of gold and Gatsby. The polished floor glittered, emphasising the slow click of her heels as Alena meandered down to a pit in the centre of the room; a circle of iridescent, leather sofas around a glass-covered pool. She followed a pink waterlily as it floated across the surface, when came a voice.

"Ah, Miss Warbeck. Thank you so much for coming!"

Alena looked up to see that the guards hadn't followed her. From the direction of the balcony doors came bounding a small man in a dark emerald suit and loafers. He had a tidy beard and bright eyes. She knew what Walter Mabry looked like from her research but now he seemed, ironically, much more alive.

"This place is incredible!" Alena looked him straight in the eyes and grinned. She thought the truth would be a good place to start.

"Oh, thank you very much. I'm glad you like it." Walter held out his hand. "Walter Mabry, officially. It's a pleasure you finally meet you."

Alena took his hand and shook it with vigour. "Alena Warbeck. The pleasure is all mine, Mr Mabry."

"Drink?" He pointed at the bar.

"No, thank you. I had a mimosa with breakfast."

"Then you've already started." Walter hopped back up out of the pit and towards the bar. "One more can't hurt."

"It can. Trust me, I know."

"Come on, Alena. I don't want this to be like a business meeting. You came out here to have a good time. So, let yourself."

Alena clenched her jaw, huffed through her nose, but in a way that she knew Walter would find amusing rather than rude. "Alright. But just one."

Walter grinned. "What can I get for you?"

"Another mimosa then," she said, with a soft, defeated sort of sigh. With the ease at which he had taken in using her first name so quickly and his unwillingness to take no for an answer, Alena wasn't sure if Walter already trusted her or was lulling her into a false sense of security. She resolved to act as though it was the latter. She took the drink with another smile and sat down across from Walter.

He sipped whiskey from a tumbler, clenching his jaw against the burn in his throat. Alena brought her own glass to her lips to hide her smile. It seemed Walter was also the kind of man who would go to certain lengths to impress her.

"Right, shall we get down to business? Well, 'business'." He set down his glass and clapped his hands together in a movement that reminded her, in the worst way, of Daniel Atlas.