Chapter 3

A month had passed since that encounter, yet the memory of that mysterious woman had never entirely left his mind.

Now, fate had placed her right in front of him again.

And this time, he wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away so easily.

A question from the man sitting across from me abruptly pulled me out of my memories.

"Are you here alone?"

"Yes," I answered with a faint smile.

"Do you work around here? I don't think I've seen you in this area before."

"Not yet. I just moved to New York."

"I see." He nodded slightly. "Then what brings you here?"

"I was attending a job interview nearby."

His eyebrows rose.

"A job interview? At which company?"

I pointed toward the building across the street.

"At Haulette Corporation. That building over there."

Victor followed the direction of my finger.

For a brief moment, he fell silent.

That's my company.

Of course, I had no idea what was going through his mind.

"Did the interview go well?" he asked.

I let out a sigh.

"Unfortunately, no. The HR manager made things incredibly difficult for me."

His brows drew together slightly.

"Really?"

I nodded, completely unaware that the man sitting across from me had a far closer connection to that company than I could ever have imagined.

“What's the HR Manager name?”

“Anne.”

He went silent.

For the first time since he'd approached my table, the smile disappeared from his face.

“Anne,” he repeated, his voice suddenly colder.

I tilted my head. “Yes. Do you know her?”

Victor leaned back in his chair, studying me with an expression I couldn't quite decipher.

Then he smiled again.

But this time, there was something unsettling about it.

“Perhaps I can help you, Sevra.”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Unless you happen to own the company, I doubt there's much you can do.”

His eyes held mine.

“Interesting.”

He glanced once more at the building across the street.

“Because I do.”

My smile vanished.

I stared at him.

Then at the skyscraper.

Then back at him.

Wait… if I remember correctly, his name had something to do with Haulette, I thought, frowning as I tried to recall the exact name printed on his passport.

The man I'd been secretly admiring for the past twenty minutes wasn't just some handsome executive.

He was Victor Haulette.

The owner of the company that had just rejected me.

And judging by the look in his eyes, my disastrous interview might have been the least of my problems. 

And now, a month after our first encounter, the same man was sitting right in front of me in a small café across the street from the building where I'd just failed to secure a job.

Victor Haulette.

The man I remembered only as the stranger whose lost passport I'd returned.

The man who, unbeknownst to me, belonged to a world far more complicated than his handsome face suggested.

He studied me for a few moments before finally speaking.

"So, you just came out of that building?"

I nodded miserably.

"Yes. And I don't think I'll ever set foot in there again."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Is that so?"

Something in his tone made me narrow my eyes.

For some reason, I had the feeling that this man had just discovered something interesting.

And my instincts told me that I was that something.

And judging by the look in his eyes, my disastrous interview might have been the least of my problems.

“Oh, no, that's really not necessary.” I quickly shook my head, offering him an awkward smile. “It's a minor setback. I'll just look for another job somewhere else.”

I didn't want his help.

Not because I was too proud to accept it, but because I refused to be someone's charity case.

If I got a job, I wanted it to be because I deserved it. Because I had the skills, the qualifications, and the ability to do it well.

Not because a handsome billionaire felt sorry for a struggling woman he'd happened to meet in a cafe.

Victor studied me for a moment, then smiled as though my refusal had amused him.

“Relax, Sevra. I happen to have an opening.”

I blinked.

“You do?”

“Yes.” He folded his hands on the table, his expression perfectly composed. “How would you like to become my secretary?”

I stared at him.

What?

His secretary?

Did I hear that correctly, or has the stress finally damaged my brain?

I had spent the morning being humiliated by his HR manager, and now the owner of the entire company was offering me a job over a cup of coffee.

Just like that.

Something about it felt suspiciously convenient.

“Your secretary?” I repeated, hoping I'd misunderstood him.

“That's right.”

“But... you barely know me.”

“True.”

“And you don't even know whether I'm qualified for the position.”

“Then I'll give you an opportunity to prove yourself.” He said it so casually, as though offering a stranger a job were an ordinary part of his afternoon routine.

I studied his face, searching for a hint of mockery or pity.

There was none.

Only that calm, unreadable expression.

What am I supposed to do now?

I had never worked as a secretary before. Administrative work had been my backup plan, something I was willing to learn while I figured out how to rebuild my life.

But working directly for Victor Haulette?

The man practically radiated power. Even sitting in a quiet cafe, he carried himself like someone who was accustomed to giving orders and having them obeyed.

I couldn't imagine what it would be like to work for him.

Then again, I couldn't afford to be picky.

Not anymore.

Because the truth was, the woman sitting across from Victor Haulette was not the woman I had been a few months ago.

And if he knew who I really was, I doubted he would be offering me a secretarial position.

He might not even allow me within a hundred feet of his company.