Chapter Seven

The afternoon sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Alexander Kent’s office, casting long shadows across the polished floors.

Alex sat behind his desk, one hand resting against the armrest of his chair while the other held an architecture magazine. The latest issue featured a collection of luxury developments in Dubai, including a waterfront project that had recently caught his attention.

He had been reading the same page for nearly ten minutes.

His eyes moved across the photographs, but his thoughts were elsewhere. More specifically, they were about the woman who had once made sure he never had to think about the little things.

Blair Smith.

Months had passed since her resignation, and he still found himself expecting her to walk through the door with his schedule in hand, a cup of black coffee and an update on whatever problem she had already solved before he knew it existed.

It was becoming irritating.

He turned a page, hoping to distract himself, when a knock sounded.

“Come in.”

Maurice stepped inside carrying a thick folder and several loose documents. As Senior HR Officer, he was responsible for staffing matters, recruitment and other personnel issues within the company. Lately, that meant he had been spending more time in Alexander’s office than usual.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

Alexander lowered the magazine slightly. “What is it?”

“The revised staffing reports you requested. I’ve also included the latest recruitment updates and the documents concerning the London office’s personnel changes.”

He placed the folder on the desk.

Alexander glanced at it without opening it. “Thank you.”

Maurice waited briefly, perhaps expecting further instructions, but Alexander had already returned his attention to the magazine.

“Was there anything else?” Alexander asked.

“No, sir. That will be all.”

“Did anyone call?”

Maurice paused. “Anyone in particular, sir?”

Alexander looked up.

“Anyone.”

“Not that I’m aware of. I can check at the front desk if there’s someone you’re expecting.”

“An employee, perhaps?”

Maurice looked mildly confused. “An employee?”

Alexander closed the magazine.

“Has anyone from the company called?”

“Several people have, sir. I believe the procurement department tried reaching you earlier, and the finance director sent—”

“Not current employees, Maurice. Someone who has resigned.”

Maurice’s expression changed slightly as he tried to understand the question.

“No, sir. No former employee has called.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir. I would have been informed if anyone had contacted HR.”

Alexander leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening.

“Very well.”

Maurice nodded and gathered the remaining documents he had brought in. He was halfway to the door when Alexander spoke again.

“If anyone calls, let me know.”

“Of course, sir.”

The door closed behind him.

Alexander stared at it for a moment before turning his attention to his phone. There were several unread messages, two missed calls and a reminder for an upcoming board meeting.

Nothing from Blair.

He placed the phone back on the desk, annoyed with himself for checking. She had resigned. She had made her decision. There was no reason for him to keep expecting a call.

He turned the phone face down and reached for his coffee.

He wasn’t waiting for Blair to call.

At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

Another knock sounded at the door.

Alexander closed his eyes briefly.

“Not again.”

He pushed his chair back and stood.

“Maurice, if you’ve forgotten something, you can leave it with—”

He pulled the door open.

The irritation on his face disappeared.

Standing outside was a familiar figure, dressed in a charcoal suit with the top button of his shirt undone. A wide grin spread across the man’s face as he took in Alexander’s expression.

“Well, that’s a lovely welcome.”

Alexander stared at him for a moment before a genuine smile finally appeared on his face.

“Sam?”

“Unless you’ve replaced me with someone better.”

Alexander let out a short laugh and pulled him into a firm embrace.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“That’s a warm welcome. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten what I looked like.”

“So, how long have you been here?” Alexander asked.

“About an hour. I came straight from the airport.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“That would have defeated the purpose of surprising you.”

“You could have called.”

“And miss the look on your face? Absolutely not.”

Alexander returned to his chair, still wearing a faint smile.

“What brings you to New York?”

“Business. We have a few matters to sort out concerning the UAE branch, and there’s a regional audit coming up. I’ll be here for a while.”

“Why didn’t you mention any of this during our last call?”

“Because the arrangements weren’t finalized then. Besides, I wanted to deal with the surprise first.”

Alexander nodded.

“How is everything over there?”

“Busy. The acquisition has kept everyone occupied, and there are a few operational issues I want to review personally. Nothing we can’t handle.”

“Have you spoken to the team?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t leave them to deal with everything without checking in.” Sam leaned forward slightly. “But enough about work. How are things here?”

“Fine.”

Sam gave him a look.

“Fine?”

“What?”

“I’ve known you for too long to believe that one-word answer.”

Alexander reached for the folder Maurice had left on his desk.

“There’s nothing to discuss.”

“Then you won’t mind if I ask about Blair.”

Alexander’s hand stopped.

Sam noticed.

“That’s interesting.”

“What about her?”

“I haven’t seen her name on any of the recent documents circulated between the offices. I noticed it during the cross-border logistics review. Usually, she’s the one coordinating half the information we receive from New York.”

“She doesn’t work here anymore.”

Sam frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“She resigned.”

“When?”

“A few months back..”

Sam sat back.

“Blair resigned?”

“Yes.”

“And you are telling me this now?”

Alexander gave him a flat look. “I didn’t realize I was required to send you a formal announcement.”

“Don’t be difficult. I’m asking because it’s unexpected. She was practically part of the company’s foundation.”

“She decided she wanted to do something else.”

“Something else?”

“A fashion business. An atelier, apparently.”

Sam studied him.

“And you let her go?”

Alexander’s expression hardened.

“She handed in her resignation. What exactly was I supposed to do? Lock the door?”

Sam almost smiled, but something in Alexander’s tone stopped him.

“That’s not what I meant. Did you ask her why she wanted to leave?”

“She said she wanted to focus on her business.”

“And you accepted that?”

“What else was there to accept?”

Sam shook his head.

“Alexander, that woman managed almost everything around you. She knew your schedule better than you did. She knew which meetings needed your attention, which clients required follow-ups and which problems needed solving before they reached your desk. Are you telling me you didn’t realize how much she was doing?”

“I was aware of her responsibilities.”

“Were you?”

Alexander looked at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ve watched you call her at unreasonable hours because you couldn’t be bothered to check your own schedule. I’ve watched her rearrange meetings, deal with clients and fix problems you didn’t even know existed. And she did it without making a fuss.”

“She was paid to do her job.”

Sam let out a quiet breath.

“There it is.”

“What?”

“That attitude. The one that makes you believe people should be grateful simply because you pay them.”

Alexander placed the magazine back on the desk.

“Blair was good at her job. I never said otherwise.”

“You don’t have to say otherwise. The fact that you only seem to acknowledge it now she’s gone tells me enough.”

For a moment, the office fell quiet.

Sam looked at his friend more carefully.

“Have you spoken to her since she left?”

“Yes.”

“Have you seen her?”

“Yes.”

“Then how is she doing?”

Alexander’s expression changed.

Sam waited, but no answer came.

“Alex.”

“What?”

“I’m asking a simple question.”

“And I’ve answered it.”

Sam leaned back, watching him.

“Something happened, didn’t it?”

Alexander looked towards the windows, then rubbed his jaw.

“She thinks she can walk away from me and start over without consequences.”

Sam’s expression changed.

“What does that mean?”

Alexander looked at him.

“I made a few arrangements.”

Sam waited.

“Arrangements?”

“The textile mill she was working with in Milan. I acquired its production allocation for the next two quarters.”

Sam stared at him.

“You did what?”

“I bought out the allocation.”

“Why?”

Alexander’s expression remained composed.

“Because I could.”

Sam gave a short, disbelieving laugh.

“That’s not an answer.”

Alexander leaned forward, resting his forearms on the desk.

“The mill had already entered into an agreement with her atelier. I made an offer they couldn’t refuse. They invoked the buyout clause, terminated the existing contract and transferred the production allocation to one of our subsidiaries.”

Sam’s face slowly hardened.

“You’re talking about Blair’s supplier?”

“Yes.”

“You’re the reason they canceled her agreement?”

Alexander nodded once.

For several seconds, Sam didn’t speak. He looked at Alexander as though he were trying to determine whether his friend was being serious.

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“Why would you do something like that?”

Alexander’s expression became defensive.

“She needs to understand that starting a business isn’t as simple as handing in a resignation letter and opening a studio.”

Sam stared at him.

“So you decided to teach her a lesson?”

“I wanted her to reconsider.”

“By destroying her business?”

“I didn’t destroy anything.”

“Then what would you call it?”

Alexander looked away.

Sam stood, his expression now entirely serious.

“Alex, do you hear yourself? You deliberately interfered with a business agreement involving someone who trusted you for five years. You used your company’s financial power to take away an opportunity she worked hard to secure.”

Alexander’s jaw tightened.

“There’s more.”

Sam looked at him.

“What more?”

“The retailer.”

“What retailer?”

“Auvessaire House. They had agreed to place an advance order for her Spring Collection.”

Sam slowly shook his head.

“Please don’t tell me you got involved in that too.”

Alexander didn’t respond.

“Alex.”

“I made sure they received information that would make them reconsider the agreement.”

Sam’s expression changed completely.

“What information?”

“Concerns about the materials and their certification.”

“Were those concerns legitimate?”

Alexander looked at him.

“That isn’t the point.”

“Actually, it is.”

Sam took a step closer to the desk.

“Did you give them false information?”

Alexander’s silence was answer enough.

Sam exhaled sharply and ran a hand over his face.

“Jesus Christ, Alex.”

“She was supposed to come back.”

Sam looked at him in disbelief.

“Come back? You thought she would come crawling back to you after you deliberately ruined the business she was trying to build?”

“She has nowhere else to go.”

The words came out before Alexander could reconsider them.

Sam stared at him. For the first time, he looked genuinely disappointed.

“That’s what you wanted?”

Alexander said nothing.

“You wanted her to lose everything so she’d have no choice but to work for you again?”

“She was good at what she did.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to control her life.”

Alexander stood.

“You’re making this sound worse than it is.”

Sam let out a humorless laugh.

“Worse than it is? You used your position and money to interfere with her supplier and her potential buyer. Do you understand what that could mean for her? She could lose her savings, her reputation and the business she’s spent years preparing for.”

“She’ll recover.”

“How do you know?”

Alexander looked at him.

Sam shook his head.

“You know what the worst part is? You don’t even seem to understand that she left because of the way you treated her. And now, instead of giving her a reason to reconsider, you’ve given her another reason to stay as far away from you as possible.”

Alexander’s expression darkened.

“She was my personal assistant.”

“Was.”

A single word hung between them.

Sam continued.

“She was your employee, Alex. Not your property. She had every right to leave, whether you liked it or not.”

Alexander turned away, walking towards the window.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the faint hum of the air-conditioning. He looked down at the city below, his hands resting in his trouser pockets.

He had convinced himself that what he was doing was reasonable. Blair had worked for him for five years. He had provided her with a salary, opportunities and a comfortable position within one of the most successful companies in the country.

He couldn’t understand why she would throw all of that away.

But Sam’s words had forced him to consider something he had deliberately avoided.

Blair hadn’t left because she couldn’t handle the job.

She had left because she no longer wanted it.

And he had taken that personally.

“She hasn’t called once,” Alexander said quietly.

Sam looked at him.

“What?”

“Sam. Not a single call. Not even to ask about her final paperwork.”

Sam sighed.

“Perhaps she’s trying to move on.”

Alexander turned around.

“She could at least have checked in.”

“Why? To make sure you’re coping without her?”

Alexander gave him a cold look.

Sam almost smiled, but it disappeared when he saw his friend’s expression.

“Alex, listen to me. You cannot expect her to miss a place she was desperate to leave.”

Alexander lowered his gaze.

“Things haven’t been the same here.”

“I can imagine.”

“Nothing runs properly. Meetings are constantly being rearranged, reports come in late, and I spend half my day correcting mistakes that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“Then hire someone competent.”

“I’ve been trying.”

Sam raised an eyebrow.

“And perhaps you should stop comparing every candidate to Blair.”

Alexander didn’t respond.

Sam returned to the armchair and sat down.

“Look, I know you. You’ve spent most of your life getting what you want by making things happen. If there’s a problem, you find a solution. If someone stands in your way, you remove the obstacle.”

He paused.

“But Blair isn’t a business obstacle, Alex.”

Alexander looked at him.

“She’s a person. And she’s someone who gave you five years of her life. If you genuinely care about having her in your life again, you need to start treating her like someone whose feelings matter.”

“Care?” Alexander repeated, almost dismissively.

Sam gave him a knowing look.

“Whatever you want to call it.”

Alexander turned back towards his desk.

“I need her back at Kent Corporation.”

“And what does she need?”

He didn’t answer.

“Have you even asked yourself that?”

Sam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“If you want her to consider coming back, you need to give her a reason to want to. Not a threat. Not a financial incentive she can’t refuse. And certainly not by making her life miserable until she has nowhere else to turn to.”

Alexander’s expression remained unreadable.

“You need to be nicer to her, for a start. Apologize for the way you’ve treated her. Give her room to make her own decisions. And if she says she doesn’t want to return, you’ll have to accept that.”

“You’re suggesting I apologize?”

“Yes, Alex. It’s a surprisingly simple concept.”

Alexander gave him an irritated look.

Sam shrugged.

“What? Is it going to hurt you?”

Alexander walked back to his chair and sat down.

He wasn’t accustomed to apologizing. In his world, mistakes were identified, corrected and moved on from. Personal disagreements were usually resolved by people understanding where they stood.

But Blair was different.

He had spent months trying to force a situation he couldn’t control. Now, for the first time, he was beginning to understand that his actions might have made things considerably worse.

“What if she refuses to speak to me?” he asked.

Sam studied him.

“Then you give her time.”

“And if she still refuses?”

“Then you respect her decision.”

Alexander leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

“You’re making this sound easy.”

“I’m not saying it will be easy. I’m saying it’s the only sensible way forward.”

Sam glanced at his watch before getting up.

“Besides, I’ll be around for a while. I’ve got the regional audit and a few meetings to attend, so I’ll be staying in New York for the next couple of weeks.”

Alexander looked at him.

“I thought you were only coming for the acquisition.”

“I was. But the regional directors have been asking for my attention, and I figured I might as well handle everything while I’m here.”

Sam smiled.

“Which means you have someone around to stop you from making any more ridiculous decisions.”

Alexander shook his head.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Looking at the state of your personal life, I’d say you do.”

Despite himself, Alexander let out a quiet laugh.

Sam smiled.

“There’s the man I remember.”

He walked towards the door, then stopped and turned around.

“One more thing, Lex.”

Alexander looked up.

“Whatever you’ve done, you need to make it right. Not because you want her back in the office, but because she doesn’t deserve to suffer for making a decision about her own life.”

Alexander held his gaze.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good. That’s a start.”

Sam opened the door.

“And try not to fire anyone before I see you tomorrow.”

“No promises.”

Sam laughed and disappeared into the corridor.

Alexander remained seated after the door closed.

He glanced at his phone, picked it up and opened his contacts. His thumb moved down the screen until he found her name.

Blair Smith.

He hesitated over the call icon.

He could almost hear her voice answering, calm and professional, as though nothing had happened between them. But he knew that wasn’t how the conversation would go. She would probably ask what he wanted, and he had no satisfactory answer.

He locked the screen and placed the phone back on the desk.

He had expected her to realize how much she needed her old job and eventually return. Sam had made one thing painfully clear: if Alexander wanted Blair back in his life, he would have to stop treating her as though she had no choice.

For once, getting what he wanted might require something he had never been particularly good at.

Putting someone else’s wishes before his own.

He picked up the architecture magazine again, but the photographs no longer held his attention.