ATLAS GRANT

SEVEN YEARS AGO

“ I am here to visit, Elena Carlson,” I muttered to the guard in the black and white striped uniform. My voice was shaky. This would be the first time I stepped into a prison.

Elena is a stranger to me, I mean, she doesn't know me. But I know her.

“And who are you?” the Guard with the unlinked goatee had asked. I hesitated, not sure if I should give my real name.

“Atlas, Atlas Jasper,” I responded, Jasper was my middle name.

He buzzed me in and I made my way to the visitor area. I sat down, gently tapping the table nervously as I waited for Elena, she had not been convicted yet. Her trial would be in a few days, and I was here to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life.

She strode in with handcuffs in her hands, her eyes were dim and her eye patches faded in pale yellow. Her hair was messy and it looked like she had lost a few pounds. I adjusted my sunshades and fake mustache.

I had worn a disguise because I didn't want her to know who I was.

She approached the table and sat down, staring at me, she didn't say a word.

Gosh, she is so beautiful, despite being in prison Orange she radiated like the sun, her essence gently being accentuated by her aura, her calm presence breathing a soothing stillness to the air.

“How… How are you doing?” I stuttered, not really sure what to say. She glanced at me. Her eyes scrutinized me.

“Do I know you?” she asked, clenching her fist to the table as her gaze pierced through mine, she was trying to make out my face.

“No but I know you, I know you are Elena and you are married to Luke Grant,” I responded, adjusting my glasses.

“Congratulations you can google,” she muttered, her tone laced with sarcasm.

“I know that you are innocent, I saw you that night, you were not the one driving, Luke was, you are taking the fall for him, Elena,” I spoke in a low tone, her gaze widened, her hands clasped onto the table firmer.

“You know nothing,” she simply responded.

“Elena, don't go to prison for a douchebag like Luke, he is not worth it,”

“How dare you, come here to tell me what I should do and not do,” she snapped, “I don't know who the fuck you are but it is none of your business,” she stood up from the chair.

“Elena, I just want to help, Luke Grant is evil,”

“And you are a saint?” she asked and I hesitated before responding. I stood up from the seat and tried to reach to her, my hands gently grazing hers. I expected her to shove my hands away but she didn't.

She froze at my touch, my eyes piercing hers.

“Elena, don't do this, you will regret this,” I spoke in a low tone. She glanced at me, I could feel her heaving breath on my skin.

“Who are you?” she asked.

I wished I could respond to tell her everything. But I couldn't.

PRESENT DAY

The name Atlas Grant was plastered on the door.

Being a Grant had always gotten me through doors.

But I had never felt like a Grant.

I was the illegitimate son of Richard Grant, the son people called a mistake. My mum, who was the maid, had an affair with Richard Grant.

It didn't also help that he had two sons before me.

Braden Grant, the first and probably the only Grant who liked me. He was painfully stolen from us by the cruel arms of cancer.

Then there was Luke, Luke Grant is a fortunate son of a bitch. He had always wiggled his way to the top in the shadiest way.

I am no saint either, don't get me wrong. I can't even say I am, but Luke had no moral scruples whatsoever.

You are just a bastard son, birthed from our father’s inability to keep his dick in his pants,” Luke had once said to me. We were just teenagers then.

Of course that earned him a punch, we got into a fight and my father grounded me. Just me.

That had fueled my hatred for Luke.

“I know what they did to you, and I am here to help you bring them down, I am here to help you make Luke pay and get back all he had stolen away from you.”

I had gotten her attention. She glanced at me, the same way she had glanced at me seven years ago when I was a stranger to her. The same way she had glanced at me two weeks ago when I made love to her.

Gosh, those eyes, they were breathtaking.

“You don't know anything about me, you are just some twisted sociopath,” she snarled, trying to squeal away but unable to do so.

“I know that you went to prison because of Luke, I know that you sacrificed your life for him and he stole the inheritance Braden left for you,” I explained, trying not to divulge too much, so she wouldn't think I was a stalker.

“Of course you would know that, you are part of that monstrous family,” she snapped. “Look here mister, I don't know what kind of twisted game you are playing, I want none of it. I just want to be left the fuck alone,” she tries to wiggle her way again out of my grip but my grasp was firm, I didn't want to lose her, not this time again.

“Elena, can you stop being so stubborn and listen to me, I am on your side here and I want to help you gain back all you lost,”

“Oh no, I am stubborn?” she scoffed, “I don't need your help, I don't want anything to do with you Grants, how many times do I have to say it,” she snarled and paused, I exhaled hoping she would calm down but she didn't.

“You slept with me knowing perfectly well who I was,”

“Don’t put it like that,”

“Oh sorry, I mean, you fucked me, knowing I was your brother’s ex-convict wife,”

I couldn't help but chuckle, there was this humor and beauty to the way she spoke, the way she smiled and gazed at me, it made me want to protect her, to help her, to be there for her… my thoughts trailed off for a moment. “My step-brother,” I corrected.

It made me want to WANT her.

“Let go,” she pushed, this time so hard, and I let her go, “Go fuck yourself,” she snapped and was storming towards the door when I called out.

“I will pay you 10 million dollars if you help me bring down Luke,”

She stopped abruptly, veering around to gaze at me, she didn't say a word for a moment, “You think you can buy me with money?” she glared at me.

“I am not buying you, I need a service and you can render that service, so why shouldn't I pay you for that service.”

She remained silent, scrutinizing me, I could tell her thoughts trailed off, and then she finally broke the silence, “Why are you doing this?”

“I already told you, we want the same thing. I want to bring down Luke and you want the same thing too, so why can't we work together,” I replied in a calm tone, tucking my hands in my pockets while leaning on my desk, she took a few steps close to me.

“How can I trust you?” she asked, skepticism etched all over her face.

“It is a risk you would have to take for the greater good,” I paused and stood up from the desk, tilting my head towards her. “And what do you have to lose, you already lost everything,”

She gazed at me, “I have nothing to lose,” she muttered. “Why does it feel like I am about to make a deal with the son of the devil,”

I chuckled. “Don’t be modest Elena, if we make this deal, you would be making it with the Devil himself,”

ELENA CARLSON

Who is Atlas Grant?

This man standing here offering me 10 million dollars to take down Luke Grant was a complete stranger to me.

“What do I have to lose?” I had said earlier on but now that I stare into his eyes, there was this darkness in it that I could not place my hands on. If he had ten million dollars to give away, why didn't the Grants go after him and not me.

Braden was rich, he had two successful businesses, one in the clothing line and one as an investor in a firm. But he wasn't “Give away 10 fucking Millon dollar” kind of rich.

“Elena, I would need you to give me an answer, so that I can have my Lawyers draw up a contract,” his voice was calm again, almost too calm and his expression unreadable. I hate when people’s face don't give off their intentions.

Mostly you can tell the intent from their expression but with Atlas, there was nothing. Point blank. “A contract with the devil, I see,” I muttered, the words playing on my lips a little bit long.

“Don't see it that way Elena,” he smirked, it was infuriating how good he looked when he grinned devilishly. how his lips carved out my name in a way that made my legs tremble at those words.

“How am I to see it Atlas? Because from where I am standing you knew who I was, you fucked me knowing who I was, and now you are proposing a deal and I have no idea who you are,” I snarled, the more the words came out of my lips the more I tilted towards refusal.

“You know things about me, you know about my sick family, you know I am the illegitimate son of an asshole dad and you know what it looks like when I am butt naked, from where I am standing, I might as well just hand you over my social security number,”

My cheeks flustered pink in embarrassment and I prayed to whatever deity roamed the universe to split it into two and swallow me, but I didn't want to show him the effect his words have on me, I crossed my hands under my breast pushing them up, my chest up slightly and giving myself a posture that would make me appear more confident than I felt. Atlas leaned against his desk, his hands and butts on it as his eyes stared at me, he was in his zone, this was his world and he ruled it effortlessly.

“How comforting,” I finally spoke after moment of silence and wallowing in the shame that came with my situation.

“What do you need to know, tell me, I would answer?”

He just gave me a get to know him free card and I was going to use him.

A smile curved on my face, I had a lot of questions floating through my mind. I could ask him questions about his background and motive but I wanted the questions that was lingering on my mind the ones I wanted to know.

“Why did you have sex with me knowing fully well who I was?”

He didn't answer immediately, he studied me, his gaze still on me, his eyebrows raise a bit to hint at discomfort, it was a faint shift in his expression but I caught it.

“Hmmm,” he sighed, then continued, “I was at the engagement party when you showed up unexpectedly,”

That single statement opened a flood of a dozen questions but I bit my lips slightly, preventing myself from interrupting him now that he was talking.

“I wanted to approach you but you fainted, then I asked my bodyguard to keep an eye on you, to make sure you were fine, you left for your friends place and then I was informed you were at the bar so I came there,”

My jaw dropped in complete awe, I struggled to find the word to describe him, to express how I had interpreted all he had just said, “What in the fucking name of Joe Goldberg is wrong with you,”

Joe Goldberg is the name of an actor in one of my favorite books about a stalker.

“I just wanted to make sure that you were safe,” he responded unrepentant, his voice showing no hint of remorse.

“By stalking me, you creep,” I snapped, I have had enough of this, there was no way I was going to go ahead with any form of deal with a man who stalked me and has Grant as his last name, that was already a red flag enough.

“If you are not ready for the truth Elena, why ask?” He muttered.

“The….the …. I didn't expect you to say that you were stalking me that night,”

He stood up and all of a sudden I shrunk, all the courage I had gathered snarling at him with my words crumbled at the sight of this six foot tall man towering over me.

He walked towards me and I swallowed hard, my mind involuntarily replaying every single detail of that night, from when he had held me, the way he kissed me, the way he handled me like I was made for him. When he said “You are mine,”

“This is no fairytale Elena,” his words cut through my thoughts. I could feel his breath ever so slightly on my skin, he was standing close to me, the space between us almost non-existent. “I knew you were going to be there, I wanted to talk to you about this offer but you walked up to me, you came up to me, Elena,”

“I was drunk,” I snapped, no way I was going to take up the blame for all this.

“I tried to resist you, but I couldn't, do you have any fucking idea how gorgeous you are, I don't do romance or relationships Elena, I see them as weaknesses, and that night you proved me right, against my better judgement, I couldn't resist you and that is why we are here now,’’

I stared at him, I had not expected those words to come from his lips.

“What do you mean by you don't do relationship?” I asked, a stupid question my mind had come up with before my brain could think.

He stepped forward. closed the distance between us,and then tilted his head down to meet mine.

“Because Elena, relationships are for the weak, I have seen love screw people over and over again, my mother, you. I won't be a victim of that feeling,”

His words stirred up more emotion in me than I wanted to admit, my eyes began to well up in tears but I shifted my gaze. He was right, I had been a victim of the heart but not now.

“I will get back to you in three days time,” I spoke, my tone final. “And Atlas, if I chose not to go ahead with it, kindly stay the fuck away from me” I didn't wait for his response before I stormed out leaving his eyes trailing after me till I slammed the door.

ATLAS

I was just on my way to my office when the call came in.

Sighing, I slid my fist off my jaw and tapped the answer button on the screen.

“Yes,” I grumbled out, keeping my eyes on the highway.

“Why do you sound so snappy this early?”My father’s voice filtered through the car speaker, grating on my nerves.

“This early?” I bit back. “It’s past ten, father.”

What did he want? He rarely called.

“I see,” he paused, an uncomfortable silence stretching for the next few seconds. “Well,” he added after a while, “we’ll be having this.. brunch thing in thirty minutes, and I’d like for you to be here.”

“Why do you want me there?” I demanded, my tone even colder. “I mean, this is new.”

“It’s important that you’re here, Atlas,” my father retorted in an equally cold tone, the playfulness vanishing into thin air. “We’ll be discussing business and sorts.”

Sighing heavily, I lifted one hand and raked it through my hair, highly displeased at the sudden disruption of my plans.

“Well, informing me thirty-minutes-before is a little too short notice, don’t you think?”

“I know you can make it here in less time, Atlas. Don’t be difficult.”

“Fine,” I conceded moments later, “I’ll be there.”

Before he could say another word, I leaned forward and ended the call abruptly.

In the same breath, I swerved the car onto the left route and sped towards his penthouse, my mind swirling all the while with thoughts of what this supposed business talk would possibly be about.

An appreciated distraction from the thoughts of a certain woman.

************

He was already waiting with Luke at the large table on the rooftop when I arrived, glancing impatiently at his wristwatch.

Apparently, I’d arrived more than forty minutes later.

“What took you so long, Atlas?” My father asked as I strode towards the table, adjusting my suit, all the while feeling Luke’s hot, malicious stare on my face, “I encountered some delay at the gas station.”

Silent for a moment, my father picked up his napkin and spread it in front of him. Then he glanced up at me, his eyes hard-set. “It’s always one tale for every time, isn’t it?”

I said nothing in response, unwilling to get into an argument without settling in.

“So,” I cleared my throat, picking up my napkin, “what is this about? It’s not everyday we have brunch together.”

“Like I said,” he replied, stabbing a fork into his tortilla and wrapping it round, “we’re here to discuss business.” One thing I admired about him, he wasted no time getting to the point.

“And as you both know,” he continued, grabbing a maple syrup off the table and squeezing it over his plate, “I’ve been working for years. So I think it’s high time I stepped back and let one of you continue the ride.”

From my corner of my eye, I noticed Luke tense in his seat, his plate untouched. Well, so was mine.

“What are you saying, father?” Luke demanded, his terse voice slicing through the silence as he couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I’ll be stepping down from my position as CEO of the empire soon,” he announced, then lifted his head to pull his gaze between Luke and I, “and when that happens, one of you will be replacing me, as my successor.”

“What?!” Luke snapped almost immediately, bolting to his feet. “You’ll be ‘choosing’? But I'm the COO, father!”

“That doesn’t matter, Luke,” he replied, pinning him with a hard glare. “I’m trying as much as possible to be fair and square here, so this will be a healthy competition between my sons. The best man wins. It’s simple.”

“You can’t be serious, dad,” Luke scoffed, his features taut with disbelief. He whipped his gaze to me, filled with spite and malice. “How is Atlas even an option? I’ve been the one working tirelessly, all my life! Sacrificing my time and my life, dedicating it all to this company! Even after we almost lost it to Braden’s bitch of a wife after his passing!”

He paused, breathing heavily, and my knuckles tightened underneath the table.

Bitch of a wife?

Elena?!

For goodness sake, I would leap out of this fucking chair in the twinkle of an eye and punch the living daylights in this bastard, for calling her a bitch. But I refrained from acting out my thoughts.

How could he dare speak about her in that manner? A bitch? The same woman he’d taken advantage of immediately after Braden’s passing, seducing her and eventually getting into her pants, deceiving her, all to steal Braden’s inheritance?

What black-hearted asshole did that?

My father’s fork clattered onto his plate, and he picked up his napkin, wiping the corners of his lips and fixing a hard gaze on Luke. “Well, I hope you ride on the coattails of the same ambition that drove you to marry your late brother’s wife, because I’m not joking, Luke. This is a fucking competition.”

He paused, his gaze straying to where I sat.

“Atlas here,” he continued, “has some experience running a company, but my choice would be strictly based on merit. So you both have to work hard to impress me.”

Of course. You mean kissing your ass, right?

I really didn’t have the time and energy to kiss anyone’s ass, so this would surely be a long shot.

Grunting in displeasure, Luke scraped his chair backwards and threw his napkin down on the table. “Well, I guess we’re done here.”

As he stormed off, I let out a small sigh under my breath and pushed to my feet, raking a finger through my hair.

“I can go now, right?” I asked quietly, staring down at my father.

“You didn’t touch your food,” he observed, his palms intertwined on the desk as his gaze slid over to Luke’s plate. “None of you did.”

Saying nothing in response, I turned around headed towards the exit, eager to leave here so I could focus fully on worrying about why I hadn’t heard from Elena in over three days now.

“Work hard to impress me, Atlas,” my father’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I paused in my tracks, my jaw working. “I need to see your best.”

Was that a strain I heard in his voice?

When nothing else seemed to be forthcoming from him, I strode out the exit door, reaching into my pocket for my phone.

I was almost going crazy, expecting a text or even a call from her, and I’d spent a greater part of my time staring at my screen these past few days. Waiting for something. Anything.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my palm, and as my eyes flicked over the name on the screen, my breath caught in my throat, my heartbeat accelerating.

>• Meet me at the Hives, the text read, In ten, preferably.

Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I took the stairs two at a time, striding quickly towards the garage.

I jumped into my car and punched in the address of the restaurant, speeding off.

I arrived in less than ten minutes, panting heavily, my heart racing excitedly.

Calm the fuck down, Atlas. What has she done to you?

I spotted her as I stepped into the restaurant, seated at the far end of the left wing, her gaze locked on her phone.

Even from a distance, she looked breathtaking, her hair beautifully pulled up in a half-messy bun, her skin glowing radiantly.

“Elena,” I called as I walked up to the table, my voice a little thick, and she instantly whipped her head up, her eyes widening slightly, a blush creeping into her cheek as our gazes locked.

“Oh,” she licked her lower lip, “you’re here.”

I nodded, pulling out a chair and sinking in.

“That was fast,” she muttered under her breath, and a small smile crept into my lips.

“So,” I cleared my throat, impatient as it was, “have you decided?”

She sat up straighter, pulling her palms up and intertwining them. “I’ll do what you want,” she announced finally, and my heart leapt with joy and relief.

Thank goodness… I’d feared she wouldn’t bite.

“That’s great, then,” I replied, watching as she picked up her bag and pulled out a brown, medium-size envelope, sliding it towards me on the table.

“What is this?” I demanded, eyeing the envelope suspiciously, and she leaned into her seat, folding her arms across her chest.

“A contract of my conditions, Atlas Grant. That’s what.”