CHAPTER 1 – The Interview
The first time Elara Quinn walked into the Blackwood Tower, she felt like a shadow in a world made of glass and steel.
The building rose above the city like a monument to power—thirty floors of reflective glass that mirrored the sky but revealed nothing of what lay inside. The revolving doors swallowed her whole, and suddenly she was standing in a marble lobby where everything felt too quiet, too perfect.
The air was cold. The people were colder.
Men in tailored suits moved with purpose. Women in heels spoke into wireless headsets without ever smiling. No one looked lost. No one looked afraid.
Except her.
Elara tightened her grip on her folder and checked her reflection in one of the glass walls. Her blouse was neatly ironed, her hair tied back simply. She looked… small. Not unprofessional, but invisible. Like someone who did not belong in places like this.
"Miss Quinn?" the receptionist called.
Her heart skipped. "Yes."
"Top floor. Office of Alexander Blackwood."
The name alone made her stomach tighten.
Everyone in the city knew Alexander Blackwood. The youngest CEO in the country. The man who turned failing companies into empires. The man whose employees either worshipped him or feared him.
Some did both.
The elevator ride felt endless. Each floor number climbing higher made her palms sweat more. By the time the doors opened, she had convinced herself she would fail.
The office was vast and minimalistic—dark wood, floor-to-ceiling windows, a massive desk at the center.
And behind it sat him.
Alexander Blackwood.
He didn't look up when she entered.
He was reading something on his tablet, brows slightly furrowed, expression cold and focused. He wore a black suit, perfectly fitted, like it was part of his skin. He looked less like a man and more like a presence—solid, unmovable.
"Good morning, sir," Elara said softly. "I'm Elara Quinn. Here for the—"
"Sit."
One word. Low. Calm. Commanding.
She froze for half a second, then obeyed, lowering herself into the chair opposite him.
He still didn't look at her.
Seconds passed. Then a full minute.
Her heartbeat was loud in her ears.
Finally, he lifted his eyes.
Grey. Sharp. Intense.
When his gaze met hers, it felt like being pinned in place. Not physically—but emotionally. As if he was reading her, measuring her, deciding whether she was worth existing in his space.
For the first time in years, something inside him stirred.
He didn't know why. She wasn't flashy. She wasn't bold. But there was something unsettling about her stillness. About the way she met his eyes without pretending to be confident.
"Why do you want this job?" he asked.
Elara swallowed. "Because I'm good at it. And because I need it."
Most people lied. She didn't.
His lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
"You're underqualified."
"I learn fast."
"You'll fail."
"Maybe," she said honestly. "But I won't quit."
That made him pause.
No one ever spoke to him like that.
Silence filled the room again. Then he stood.
He was taller than she expected. Broader. When he walked around the desk, she had to resist the urge to stand as well. He stopped in front of her, close enough that she could smell his cologne—something dark and expensive.
"You're hired," he said.
Her eyes widened. "I—what?"
"You start today."
"But… you haven't even read my CV."
He finally looked at her properly this time. Really looked.
"I don't hire resumes," he said. "I hire people."
Her heart skipped.
As she stood to leave, still in shock, she felt it.
Something shifting.
For the first time in her life, Elara felt that her heart had just stepped into a battle it was never meant to win.
And for the first time in a very long time, Alexander Blackwood felt something that had nothing to do with power, money, or control.
It terrified him.