After twenty tense minutes of silence, the door to the kitchen creaked open. A woman stepped into the room, her footsteps quiet but purposeful. Alexander’s eyes flickered up from where he crouched in the shadows. Without a second thought, he moved with the precision of a predator, his katana in hand, and pressed it to her throat.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice low but cutting through the stillness. "What are you doing here? And why the hell did you send that Cyber Archangel to my apartment?"

The woman froze, her breath shallow for a moment before she answered. Her voice was calm, controlled. "My name’s Monica," she said, meeting his gaze without flinching. "And I didn’t send anyone to your apartment. You must have the wrong idea."

Alexander’s grip on the katana loosened slightly, his mind racing. Wrong idea? His focus wavered, confusion flickering behind his eyes. Monica saw the hesitation and seized the moment.

"I only did this because I needed money for my own stuff," she added, her voice hardening as she explained, eyes narrowing with a mixture of defiance and desperation.

Alexander's frown deepened, and he pulled the katana back slightly. Money for her personal stuff? He didn't like this—something didn’t add up, but before he could ask further, Monica made her move.

In a flash, she drew an energy knife from her side and lunged at him. The blade crackled with a dangerous hum as it sliced through the air.

But Alexander didn’t even blink. The knife, meant to cut through metal and muscle alike, hit nothing but air as he sidestepped with inhuman speed.

Monica's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't back down. Instead, her body shifted, a hiss of energy emanating from her as a high-tech armor formed around her frame, tightening into place. With a primal yell, she launched herself at him, fists glowing with gamma and fusion energy.

Alexander’s smirk grew as he watched her approach. Gamma punches? Fusion punches? Cute.

She struck him with incredible force, each blow shaking the ground, but Alexander didn’t even budge. With a lazy flick of his wrist, he deflected her final punch, sending her careening back through the kitchen, smashing through the walls of the house.

"Really?" Alexander murmured under his breath, stepping over the rubble. "This is what we're doing?"

But Monica wasn’t finished. She came charging through the remains of the wall, launching herself at him again with a powerful thrust of energy. Alexander barely had time to react as she hit him with a gamma fusion punch that sent him flying through the air, crashing through the outer walls of the house.

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The force of the blow sent him soaring into the sky, leaving a wake of destruction in his path.

Monica followed, her jet thrusters firing as she rocketed after him, her energy blade drawn for the final strike. She was closing in fast, her body becoming a blur of glowing armor and lethal intent.

But then, just as she was about to strike, she saw nothing.

Alexander had vanished from her sight.

Her scanners whirred to life, searching desperately for his heat signature, but there was nothing. She twisted in mid-air, scanning every direction, confusion clouding her expression.

"Where the hell did he—" she began, before she felt a sudden presence behind her.

"Contained Tecno Plasma," came Alexander’s voice, sharp and amused.

Before Monica could react, he released a small burst of plasma particles, each one traveling faster than the speed of sound. The concentrated burst hit Monica square in the back, sending her hurtling toward the ground at breakneck speed.

She slammed into the earth, the impact forming a crater deep enough to swallow what was left of her house. Dust and debris filled the air as Monica lay in the center of the destruction, her armor smoking and cracked.

Alexander landed gracefully beside her, stepping over the edge of the crater. Monica lay on the ground, dazed but still alive, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to move.

For a moment, silence stretched between them. Monica braced herself, knowing what was coming next. She’d seen this before—CEOs always finished what they started.

But Alexander didn’t do what she expected. Instead, he extended a hand toward her. "How would you like a job?" he asked, his voice casual as though offering her an opportunity at a coffee shop rather than the chance to survive.

Monica stared up at him, disoriented, her mind racing. Was this some kind of trick? A cruel joke? Why was he offering her this?

But she knew better. If she refused, he would kill her. That was how CEOs worked. She’d seen it firsthand in her years as a secretary.

With a weary sigh, she took his hand, letting him help her to her feet.

"Fine," she said, her voice laced with resignation. "I’ll work for you. But let me be clear about one thing—I’m not your slave."

Alexander nodded, unfazed by her tone. "Clearly. In my company, we respect individualism. Alexander Voss. A pleasure to have you on my team."

Monica’s eyes flickered toward the crater where her house once stood. The reality of her situation hit her hard. She had nothing left. No home, no personal life, no way to go back to the way things were.

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered. "Let’s go to your ‘corporation.’ Clearly, I don’t have a house anymore."

Alexander gave a small shrug, indifferent to her frustration. "Let’s go."

As he started walking away, Monica’s frustration boiled over. She had just lost everything, and yet here she was, being dragged into this strange man’s world. She wasn’t about to let him get away with thinking she’d just follow him like a mindless pawn.

"You should wait for me!" she yelled, hurrying to catch up with him. "I’m not your servant, remember?"

Alexander barely glanced over his shoulder, smirking. "I never said you were."

They continue talking while walks the rest of the way....................