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Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Billion-Dollar Mistake : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

69 Kabanata

"You are not supposed to be here"

CHAPTER 1 “Don’t panic.” That’s literally the first thing I told myself as I pushed through the glass doors of Cole & Reign Global, even though my heart was doing full gymnastics in my chest. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I knew it. Everyone here knew it. But when you accidentally send your résumé to the wrong email–specifically to the private inbox of a billionaire CEO–what else do you do? You show up, apparently. The lobby swallowed me. Tall ceilings. Colder than my landlord’s heart. Workers in sleek suits moving like they were late for a royal coronation. I clutched my bag tighter. “Okay, Maya. Smile. Pretend you belong.” I smiled. A guard gave me a look that said, 'No, you don’t.' Great. I reached the marble counter. The receptionist didn’t even look up. Her nails were long and red and expensive. Her voice was flat. “Name? ” “Maya Brooks. I–uh–I have a meeting with Mr Reign.” That made her look up. “Mr. Reign doesn’t have meetings with appli

"I don't fit here"

CHAPTER 2 I should’ve been excited. New job. New chance. New… billionaire boss who looked like he stepped out of a luxury advert. But honestly? I was terrified. “You start tomorrow. Eight sharp,” Mr Reign had said before dismissing me like I was at a meeting he didn’t schedule. So here I was the next morning. Standing in the lobby again. Wearing my only decent outfit–black pants that fit weird around the hips and a blouse that kept slipping off one shoulder like it had its own drama. People stared. Not in a mean way. It's more like I was a misplaced cat wandering into a wolf pack. Great. Exactly the confidence boost I needed. The receptionist from yesterday blinked when she saw me. “You’re… back?” “Yeah.” I lifted my ID badge. “Mr Reign hired me.” Her mouth fell open a little. “Hired?” “Temporary,” I added fast. “Very temporary.” Something like respect flashed in her eyes. Or suspicion. It's hard to tell. “Top floor,” she said, softer this time. The elevator ride f

"You’re crossing a line"

CHAPTER 3 I didn’t sleep much that night. Every time I closed my eyes, my brain replayed the same scene… Mr Reign leaned back in his chair. That unreadable look. That calm, cool voice says, ‘There is no ‘us’. God. Why did that bother me so much? I barely knew the man. I’d worked there one day. One. Still, something felt off in my chest. Tight. Annoying. I tried ignoring it. That didn’t help. By morning, I looked like I had fought a hurricane and lost. The elevator doors opened to the top floor, and I stepped out. Coffee in hand. Heart weirdly jumpy. He was already there. Of course he was. The man probably slept three hours total in his life and called that “rest”. He didn’t look up when I entered. Just said, “You’re five minutes early.” “Thank you? ” I wasn’t sure if that was praise or a warning. He scribbled something on a document. “Not praise. Observation.” “Right.” I sat at my desk. “Well, I’ll try to be earlier next time.” He paused his writing. “Earlier? ”

"Don't get too comfortable "

CHAPTER 4 I expected the day after Ivy’s visit to be… weird. It was worse. Tension sat in the air like the building had swallowed a storm and didn’t know how to let it out. Mr. Reign wasn’t speaking much. Not to me. Not to anyone. He moved around his office with sharp, controlled steps, as if one wrong breath would crack something inside him. And me? I kept dropping things. First, the tablet. Then my pen. Then my dignity when I tripped over absolutely nothing. “Are you alright?” he asked at one point. “I’m fine,” I said as I tried to hide the fact that I’d spilt water on my own shoe. He watched me. Not judging. Just… watching. “Take a moment,” he said. “I’m good. Totally stable,” I lied, almost slipping again. His lips twitched like he wanted to smile but refused to. The silence stretched. Finally, he cleared his throat. “I apologize for yesterday.” I blinked. “For what part? Ivy insulting me or me insulting her back?” “You didn’t insult her.” “I kind of did.”

"The Line I shouldn’t have crossed"

CHAPTER 5 I came in early the next morning. Mostly because I couldn’t sleep. My brain kept replaying the moment from yesterday...the way he’d asked, 'Who looks out for you?' like it wasn’t just a question but something heavier. Something he shouldn’t have said. Something I shouldn’t have felt. I tried to shake it off as I walked into the office, but the moment I stepped inside, I knew something was wrong. The lights were on. The blinds were half-open. And Reign was already there. He never arrived before eight. But it was barely 7:30am. He stood by his desk, jacket off, sleeves rolled, staring at a stack of documents like they’d personally offended him. “Good morning,” I said. He didn’t look up. “Morning.” His voice was low. Flat. Tired. I set my bag down carefully. “You’re… early.” “Couldn’t sleep.” Oh. Same. He finally looked at me. And he looked exhausted. Not physically. Emotionally. Like whatever he’d been holding together was starting to

Shadows in the office

CHAPTER 6The office felt colder than usual that morning.Not physically. The air conditioner was set to normal.No, it was Reign.He moved around like he was a storm trapped in a suit. Sharp angles. Controlled steps. Every motion precise, but the energy around him… heavy.I kept my distance. Tried not to spill anything this time. Tried to act invisible.It didn’t work.He noticed anyway.“You’re early,” he said, voice flat.“I wanted to make sure everything was ready for the morning briefing,” I replied, clutching the files a little too tight.He didn’t answer. Just stared at me.The silence was thick.I chewed on my lip. “Do you want coffee?”He shook his head. “No. Sit.”I sat. Carefully. Like the chair might judge me.“You handled yesterday well,” he said suddenly.I blinked. “Yesterday? With Ivy?”“Yes.”“I wasn’t sure if I… did the right thing.”He studied me, eyes sharp. “You did.”I felt my cheeks heat. Praise from him wasn’t common. Not casual. Not like this.“Thanks,” I murm

The unexpected visitor

CHAPTER 7The office was quieter than usual that afternoon.Too quiet.I kept glancing at the door, half-expecting someone to burst in with bad news or worse.And then the elevator dinged.I looked up.Ivy.Of course.She didn’t knock. Just stepped in like she owned the place.High heels clicking, hair perfect, smile sharp enough to cut glass.“Reign,” she said. Her voice was smooth but not friendly.He didn’t stand. Didn’t move. Just… watched her.I shrank back, clutching my tablet like a shield.“Good afternoon, Ivy,” he said finally. Controlled. Calm. But I could see the tension in his jaw.“I hope I’m not interrupting anything… important?” she said, glancing at me. Her eyes flicked past me, but I felt every second of her gaze.I swallowed. My palms felt sweaty.“You’re not interrupting,” Reign said. His voice was even, but the warning behind it was clear.She smiled. That dangerous, knowing smile.“You have a new assistant,” she said, turning to me. Her eyes scanned me like a judg

Storm Warnings

CHAPTER 8I didn’t sleep much that night.The office felt like a different world after Ivy’s visit. Her presence lingered, sharp and cold, like a shadow I couldn’t shake. My mind kept replaying her words: loyalty is everything.I arrived early, hoping the quiet morning would calm me. It didn’t. The elevator ride up felt slower than usual. My fingers tapped nervously against the handrail. Every little noise—the hum of the AC, the faint click of shoes in the hall—made my heart jump.At my desk, I stared at the Henderson merger files. Numbers blurred. Charts overlapped in my mind. I realised I’d been holding my breath for the past ten minutes.A soft knock broke the silence.“Maya,” Reign’s voice said from the doorway. His expression was calm, but I could see it: the tension in his shoulders, the tight line of his jaw. “Are you ready for the day?”I blinked. “I… I think so.”He stepped inside, eyes scanning the office like a predator assessing his territory. Then he focused on me. Just me.

Close Calls and Missteps.

CHAPTER 9The morning started with a coffee spill.I shouldn’t have been surprised. Everything lately seemed to go wrong the second I set foot in the office. My hands were shaking slightly from nerves—and maybe lack of sleep—and the cup tipped before I could even react. Coffee splashed across the edge of my desk. My heart sank.“Not again,” I muttered, grabbing paper towels like my life depended on it.A shadow fell over my desk. I looked up. Reign. His brow was slightly raised, lips pressed together in that infuriatingly calm way. His arms were crossed. “You okay?” he asked.I nodded, though my voice came out too high-pitched. “I… yes, just a little clumsy.”He stepped closer, tilting his head slightly. “Clumsy or distracted?”I swallowed. How could I explain? That Ivy’s words still echoed in my head? That my pulse spiked every time he stood near me? That every task felt like walking a tightrope over a pit full of sharks?“Distracted,” I admitted. My cheeks warmed.His lips twitched—

The First Test

CHAPTER 10The morning hit me like a freight train.Not literally, of course. But it might as well have. Emails stacked in my inbox like little piles of doom. Phones buzzing. Slack messages pinging. The Henderson project? Already on fire before the day even started.I stared at my screen. Blinked. Blinked again. The numbers blurred. My chest tightened.“Deep breath,” I muttered to myself. “You’ve got this. You can fix it.”And I hoped.Reign appeared behind me. Leaned over, silent, studying my screen. I felt that familiar flutter in my stomach—part nervous, part… something else. Protective? Encouraging? Dangerous.“You’ll manage,” he said quietly. “I’ll be in the conference room if you need me.”I nodded. My hands shook slightly. I wanted to believe him. Really. But the fear of failing, of making another mistake in front of Ivy—or worse, the board—made my fingers tremble.The first email was a disaster. Henderson’s finance team had sent corrections. Major corrections. The kind that ma

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