Alexander kicked the eighth-floor stairwell door open and burst into the plush corporate hallway with his breath coming in ragged desperate gasps.

A few yards ahead the redhead was calmly marching toward a pair of frosted glass executive doors while behind him the heavy footsteps of the security team thundered up the stairs with radios screeching.

With no time left to think Alexander reached under his left arm to grip the cold handle of the 9mm and yanked it free from the holster "Keep going, I’ll hold them off!" roared Alexander at the woman’s back.

He racked the slide with a sharp mechanical clack to chamber a live round as he spun around to face the hallway while his mind was an absolute hurricane of panic.

The first two guards rounded the corner with weapons raised so Alexander’s knuckle began to whiten against the trigger to spray the hallway in pure terror when the heavy frosted doors suddenly swung wide open "Stand down all of you and get the hell out of here, cause they are my guests!" a booming voice echoed through the corridor.

A tall heavily built man in a tailored silver suit stepped out of the office to command the entire floor making the guards freeze instantly to lower their barrels and holster their guns.

But Alexander’s nervous system was still redlining on pure adrenaline so as the tension snapped his trembling finger gave an involuntary jerk.

BANG!

The 9mm fired with the recoil jolting up his arm as a live bullet blasted straight into the expensive acoustic ceiling tile to shower the pristine carpet with white plaster dust "Holy Christ so put that damn thing away before you actually kill someone!" the tall man shouted while flinching slightly as he glared at Alexander.

Alexander stood there with his chest heaving and smoking gun still pointed at the ceiling "Are you kidding me, I was the one about to get turned into Swiss cheese since how the hell did I become the bad guy here!" Alexander yelled with a voice cracking from the leftover panic.

The redhead turned around with an amused smirk playing on her lips as she looked at Alexander’s wild bloodshot eyes "Relax cowboy, you did great so now put the toy away" said the woman.

Alexander slowly eased his finger off the trigger and carefully slipped the handgun back into its chest holster while his body shook from the explosive tension.

The redhead pouted stepping right up to the tall man and hit him hard on the chest with her fist "Dad why did you do that!" she said with a whiny frustrated voice.

Alexander froze in the middle of the hallway with a jaw practically dropping to the floor because he realized this man was her father.

The redhead turned her head around to flash Alexander a wicked smile before blowing him a kiss "Did you think he was my husband so please since no one is man enough to be even a tiny fraction of my father" she said while giggling. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The older man smiled warmly and gave her a sharp smack on her assets "You are an incredibly spoiled brat and you are about to see exactly how I discipline you" said her father.

She spun around with a playful teasing smirk and leaned in close "Yes daddy so punish me more" she said.

The older man let out a long frustrated sigh and shook his head "Just come inside because we have a lot of things to discuss" said her father while gesturing toward the open executive suite.

"Of course daddy so just let me say goodbye to my escort for today" said the woman.

She pulled her phone out of her fur coat to tap the screen a few times and looked up at Alexander with a mischievous glint in her eyes "I just sent you a massive extra tip for the scare" she said while stepping into his personal space to playfully pinch his nose and gave it a little wiggle.

"Maybe I’ll call you again 815" she whispered before blowing one last kiss into the air to turn on her heels and skip down the hallway into her father’s office.

The heavy glass doors clicked shut behind them leaving the corridor dead silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioning while Alexander stood there completely paralyzed staring at the empty space in absolute shock.