Alpha CEO

Please notice me.

“Autumn, what the hell are you wearing?” Christian asked, his tone clipped.

“Oh my God. Leave her alone,” Kinley reprimanded him like she often did. “Babe, she’ll be seventeen in two weeks. You’ve met Daniel, so have your parents. Let her be.” She winked at me, and I smiled.

She was always on my side, knowing how overprotective my brother was. My gaze shifted toward Julian, praying he’d heard Christian commenting about my outfit.

He didn’t.

He was too busy sucking face with the blonde he’d brought with him. I rolled my eyes again; he was the king of oblivion.

“Daniel, let’s sit over here.” I popped a squat near Julian, closest to him—not the girl he was with. Enough to where he could see me and Daniel.

For the next hour, I fawned over Daniel, desperately trying to make Julian jealous, and not once he did bat an eye.

Not one ounce of emotion.

Reaction.

What do I need to do to get his attention?

Nothing ever worked.

Not my cute outfits.

Not my makeup.

Not my bikinis.

Not even the guy I’d brought around him for the first time.

It was as if he was immune to anything related to me and the more I thought about it, the further it pissed me off.

“There’s Rob and Dave,” Daniel murmured in my ear, bringing my attention back to him. “They have booze. Let’s go over there with them.”

“My brother… You know what? Fuck it. Let’s go.” I called out Christian’s name. “We’re going to hang out with some friends who just got here, okay?”

“No—”

Kinley covered his mouth. “Okay. Have fun.”

I mouthed, “Thank you,” to her.

“Don’t go too far,” Christian called out behind us as we walked away.

“Babe! Just leave her alone. She’s a big girl.”

My eyes wandered toward Julian’s direction.

Did you hear what Kinley said? I’m a big girl!

Nope. He was still sucking face with the blonde.

Why even come to the rodeo if you’re not going to watch the show?

We made our way to Daniel’s friends, and I didn’t think twice about it, when he handed me the bottle of Jack, taking it down like a fucking champ. It burned all the way down my chest, warming my body in the process.

I wasn’t much of a drinker, but tonight would fix that.

One chug, three chugs, five chugs … shit, I’d lost count.

Giggling up a storm, I swayed my hips to the music Daniel was playing off his cell phone. Bringing the bottle up to my lips, I drank way more than I should have. Wanting to numb my thoughts of Julian and his indifference was the only remedy that seemed worthwhile.

I saw Daniel eyeing me over the rim of his bottle, staring at me with nothing but mischief in his eyes.

I wanted to forget.

And he was the perfect guy I could do that with. He was trouble in the best possible way.

My lips tingled, my face was on fire, and my body was numb.

Good.

It was the first time in forever I’d felt so carefree, throwing my head back and laughing, enjoying the way he made me feel. We exchanged flirty banter, dancing close together to the music. My head was spinning with thoughts of Julian, and I stumbled a little, catching myself in Daniel’s arms.

He caressed the side of my cheek, rubbing his thumb over my lips in a back and forth motion. “You’re beautiful, Autumn.”

Why can’t Julian think I’m beautiful?

I pushed off of him, dancing all around while he leaned against a tree.

Were we in the woods? I guess we went for a walk.

Seductively, I worked my hands up the sides of my body, bringing my skirt up with it. Peeking over at him, I moved my hips to the beat of the music, provocatively looking into his eyes as the song continued to blare into the night. I spun around with my back now facing him, closing my eyes. Wanting to get lost in the moment, I lifted my hair off the nook of my neck.

I was sweating.

It was scorching outside.

Texas heat was no joke, and tonight was proving to be one of the hottest nights of the summer.

Slowly, I continued to move my hips in a slow, steady rhythm until I felt a strong arm grab around my waist, tugging me back against his hard chest.

It was super aggressive.

“Daniel?” I was about to spin around when I heard the voice of the man I least expected.

Angrily spewing, “You wanted my attention. Now what are you going to do with it, kid?”

Chapter TEN

—Autumn—

My wide eyes snapped open, and I swear my heart stopped beating.

Was I hallucinating? Was this actually happening? How drunk am I?

Question after question tore through my mind. I couldn’t move, I was frozen to the spot. I was standing with Julian’s steady arm wrapped around my stomach, holding me firm against his torso. My body aligned perfectly with his like it was made for only him.