LOGINAlexanderMadison stared at me, her mouth a tight line. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. For a long moment, she simply observed me, the way she used to study complicated contracts before finding their fatal flaws. "You drove all the way from New York," she finally said, her voice cool and measured, "wasting your precious CEO time, just to ask why I left the job five years ago?" She shook her head. "Go home, Mr. Knight. Go back to your wife. I'm sure Katherine is wondering where you are." I flinched at her assumption. "Wife? I'm not married." "Fiancée, wife, whatever." She waved dismissively. "The point is, I'm just an ex-employee. You've wasted your time coming here." "I'm not married," I repeated, leaning forward. "Katherine and I never went through with it." "Still engaged after five years? How modern of you." Her tone was dry as desert sand. "Regardless, it doesn't change anything. I don't want to talk about why I left." "Why not?" "To be precise, I don't ev
AlexanderMadison tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, laughing at something the man said. She looked radiant. Happy. Free. Then her eyes met mine. The laughter died on her lips. She froze, one hand still hovering near her hair, the other clutching her purse. Even from this distance, I could see the color drain from her face. Five years melted away in that single moment. Madison said something to the man, her eyes never leaving mine. He glanced in my direction, frowned slightly, then nodded and headed into the café. We stood there, twenty feet apart, staring at each other like gunslingers at high noon. Cars passed. People walked by. The world continued turning while we remained locked in our private standoff. She blinked first, breaking the spell. Without a word, she turned toward the café door. "Madison," I called, closing the distance between us in a few quick strides. She paused, hand on the door, jaw tight. Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath before she turne
AlexanderThe highway stretched before me, concrete and asphalt blurring beneath my tires as I pushed the Aston Martin to uncomfortable speeds. My knuckles whitened around the steering wheel while my mind raced faster than the car. What the hell was I doing? Chasing after a woman who'd walked away without so much as a goodbye? "This is beneath you, Alexander," I muttered, easing off the accelerator slightly as I passed a state trooper. The last thing I needed was to explain to some cop why New York's most eligible bachelor was speeding to Connecticut like a teenager late for prom. The GPS informed me I was thirty minutes from my destination. My stomach clenched in a way it hadn't since my first major acquisition meeting. Alexander Knight, nervous about seeing a former employee. Pathetic. I flipped through radio stations, unable to settle on anything. Classical. Pop. Talk radio. Nothing could distract me from the ridiculous errand I'd embarked upon. "Harper's Haven," I said aloud,
AlexanderI ended the call and tossed the phone onto my desk. Madison Harper. Running a café in Connecticut. Five years without a word. No calls, no emails, not even a damn text. Just gone, like she'd never existed except in my memories and the occasional dreams I refused to acknowledge. "Harper's Haven," I muttered. What kind of name was that for a café? Too cutesy. Too small-town. Too... Madison, actually. I could almost see her, standing behind a counter, serving coffee with that small smile she used to reserve for moments when she thought I wasn't looking. I shook my head, trying to clear the image. This was ridiculous. I was Alexander Knight, CEO of Knight Industries. I had an empire to run, deals to close, a fiancée to... Ah, yes, Katherine. My eternally patient fiancée. Patient wasn't exactly the right word. Distracted was more accurate. We both were. Our engagement had become a comfortable arrangement. She had access to the Knight name for her fashion line, and I had a s
Alexander5 Years Later I stood in the conference room, watching as the last board member filed out. The acquisition of Oakridge Holdings had been contentious, but I'd managed to secure the votes I needed. Another win for Knight Industries. "Excellent work, Mr. Knight," said our CFO, pausing at the door. "We'll finalize the paperwork by the end of the week." "Make it tomorrow," I replied, gathering my notes. "I want this locked down before their shareholders get cold feet." He hesitated, then nodded. "Of course, sir." The room emptied, leaving me alone with the smell of coffee and expensive cologne. I checked my watch: 2:17 PM. I'd been in meetings since 7 AM, barely stopping for lunch. My phone vibrated in my pocket. Katherine. Again. I silenced it without looking at the screen and headed back to my office. She'd called three times this morning, each time more persistent than the last. Whatever she wanted would have to wait. I glanced at the desk outside my office, now occupi
AlexanderI strode through the lobby of Knight Industries, nodding briskly at the security guard. The news of my engagement to Katherine Sinclair had spread like wildfire, and everyone seemed determined to congratulate me. Even the elevator operator gave me a knowing smile. "Congratulations on your engagement, Mr. Knight." "Thank you," I replied automatically, already scrolling through emails on my phone. The doors opened to the executive floor, and I stepped out, expecting to see Madison at her desk. Instead, I found an empty chair, her computer screen dark. The pristine surface of her desk looked wrong without her stack of color-coded folders. I checked my watch: 8:45 AM. Madison was never late. In fact, she typically arrived before me. Strange. I walked to my office. Perhaps she was in the project manager's office downstairs, preparing for the morning meeting. That would explain her absence. A knock interrupted my thoughts. "Come in," I called, loosening my tie slightly. L







