Alpha's Private Plaything (Elsa and Drake Stone) novel Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Don’t read into it, I warned myself as I applied concealer to hide the

dark circles under my eyes. He was just protecting his investment.

Downstairs, the lobby was bustling with activity as our group prepared to depart. The original plan had been to visit the mountain resort site one last time before returning to the city in the evening, but Taylor approached me with a clipboard as soon as I appeared.

“Change of plans,” he said briskly. “We’re all heading to the departmental meeting room. Apparently there’s an urgent

presentation.”

“What kind of presentation?” I asked, accepting the coffee he handed me with grateful hands, taking a long sip and feeling the caffeine hit my system like a blessing.

Taylor shrugged. “No idea. The directive came from both companies

jointly.”

Across the lobby, I spotted Ava approaching Drake, her perfectly styled hair bouncing as she walked, hips swaying in an exaggerated motion that made me roll my eyes. Her hand brushed his arm in an unnecessarily intimate gesture that made something dark and possessive stir in my chest.

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“Drake, do you know what this meeting is about?” she asked, her voice

carrying across the space, high and sweet like artificial sugar.

Drake stepped away from her touch, almost imperceptibly. “It’s a joint

decision from both packs. I don’t have the details.”

I turned away, my fingers tightening around my coffee cup until the cardboard creaked in protest. Whatever game Drake was playing, I

wanted no fucking part of it today.

The meeting room was already filled with executives and engineers when our group arrived. I took a seat near the back, trying to be inconspicuous, my shoulders hunched slightly. My head still ached,

and the last thing I needed was to be pulled into another

between the companies.

power play

Fifteen minutes into the presentation about quarterly projections, a

secretary appeared at my side, her perfume too strong for my

sensitive nose.

“Ms. Hale? Your presence is requested in conference room B,” she whispered, her hand lightly touching my shoulder.

I felt a jolt of anxiety as I noticed the same engineer from yesterday

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waiting by the door, his expression unreadable. Had there been a

problem with the modifications? I followed the secretary out, aware of several pairs of eyes tracking my movement, including Drake’s

golden gaze that seemed to burn through my skin.

The secretary led me to a smaller meeting room where three executives I recognized from upper management sat at a long table. A projection screen displayed the site plans I had modified with Mina’s help. My stomach tightened into a knot as I stood before them.

“Ms. Hale,” one of the executives said, gesturing for me to sit. “We understand these cost–saving modifications were your idea?”

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. “The initial concept was mine, yes,” I admitted, clasping my hands in my lap to keep them from fidgeting. “I passed it to a former college senior who specializes in this field, and she helped refine the details.”

The executive nodded, looking at the plans with renewed interest.

“And you further modified her suggestions?”

“Yes,” I admitted, sitting up straighter, finding my voice. “I adjusted a

few aspects to better suit our specific site conditions.”

The three executives exchanged glances, and I braced myself for criticism or accusations of overstepping. My nails dug into my palms

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Alpha’s Private Plaything

Chapter 192

Elsa

“You’re very compliant when you’re sick,” he observed, tilting his head

slightly. “I tell you to eat, and you just do it. What if I were giving you

poison?”

I swallowed another mouthful before answering, my eyes narrowing

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