A Waltz With Wolves (Book II in The Harrison Inc. Series) | ✓

Chapter Four: Equilibrium

**
SEBASTIAN

I don't like him.

Everything about this fucking guy—the way he talks, the way he walks, the way he looks at you when you speak. I don't like it.

Alejandro Quintanilla. He's Salvador Quintanilla's nephew, so I'd be an idiot to try and fuck up this early in the game by giving him a rude welcome.

"I just wanted to say congratulations on behalf of the Quintanilla family," Alejandro says to me. "We're looking forward to a prosperous future ahead for us and the Harrisons."

Bullshit. His stare is full of malicious intent. His grip on my hand tightens, and I let go without giving him a sour look.

"Well let's hope so," I reply. My eyes shift to Leslie briefly; Leslie just watches our encounter without a definitive expression.

Alejandro laughs at my reply; his mouth barely forms a smile. "Don't be so unsure of yourself. You'll soon realize the empire than two men of power can create together, Sebastian."

It's clear that I'm only a puppet to this man and his family. Whatever my father told him before we met has clearly given him the impression that I would be an easy tool as a CEO. My gut also tells me that my spot in Harrison Inc. was already predetermined; who is the Board to defy my father?

Who is anyone to defy my father?

I glance at Leslie again, and my mind tells me that I should have expected this—her gawking at Alejandro like he's some Colombian god. But one thing I didn't expect was for him to cheer her on with his eyes—narrowing in on her and smirking as if he likes her attention. Like her normal self, she scurries away when she can't handle it anymore. Alejandro continues to stare at her distancing figure.

Keep your cool, Sebastian. Don't do anything stupid.

"One thing I love about your country is your women," he tells me, eyes still in her direction.

I nod, clenching my jaw as tightly as I can. "I agree."

"You've had your escapades, I'm certain. Quite a lot of them."

"I have. Though I'm not accustomed to that lifestyle anymore."

This prick is testing me now, waiting for me to break. My father told Alejandro too much; he knows Leslie is a weak point in all of this. Fuck, fuck, fuck...

"Don't be so modest," he says, amused. "If I had women like that around every corner I don't think I'd be able to control myself. You two have known each other for short while, yes?"

"About a month."

"And you two haven't—"

"No," I say before his sentence even finishes. He knows he's hit a nerve and smiles the widest smile I've seen since we first shook hands, and it isn't much of a smile at that.

"I'm surprised," His voice turns into a mumble, though I'm sure he intended on me hearing him. "She's beautiful—"

"Yes, I know that. Is there a point to this?" I ask him, my tone more aggressive than I had initially wished.

Alejandro raises a brow at me; he's got me, and I let it happen. "I didn't mean anything by it. Just trying to start conversation; our first introduction didn't go well, after all."

"What are you talking about?"

And that's when I realize that I've seen this man before—the Hillcrest country club where I confronted my father about blackmailing Leslie. He was sitting at the table with Salvador when I walked up to them. Shit, how could I have forgotten?