Francesca stepped toward Alex, her eyes within an inch of pinning down Alex's gaze. Her piercing gaze seemed to go through him, judging every impulse and every desire he held.
"Alex, I have a proposal for you," she purred, an unmistakable sultriness in her voice. "I want to move toward my objective, and in exchange, I will grant you the one thing you truly desire."
A thousand wild things mixed in Alex's mind. What on earth could she be giving in exchange for such a proposition for him to be with her?
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, clenching his teeth to keep his voice neutral.
Her smile brightened. "I want you to help me get rid of Marco," she explained. "He is a heartless opponent and very clever. But I think working together on this one, we can actually destroy him."
He gazed at her in disbelief; so shocked was he that he could hardly blink. He would have expected anything but Francesca asking him for help in getting rid of Marco.
""Why do you want me to help you?" he asked.
Francesca's smile grew. "Because, Alex, you have something that I need," she said. "You have a certain... reputation. A reputation for being ruthless and cunning. And I need that reputation to help me take down Marco."
Alex comprehended Francesca's intention of using him as a pawn in her game, yet he could not ignore the glaring advantages he would gain.
"What do I get in return for this?" he managed to ask with an empty tone.
'The grin on Francesca's face only grew wider with this.' 'You get the one thing that you have wanted more than anything else in this world,' she replied.
Francesca's grin widened even more. "You get the one thing that you want more than anything else in the world," she said. "You get to take down the man who killed your brother."
A shock went through Alex; how could she know about his brother?
But before the thought of asking her crossed his mind, she turned away and left him alone to contemplate his options.