The wrong billionaire

ChapterOne

Harper’s POV

On the day it all ended, I was in his office.

We had just finished a meeting with the rest of the board, and as his Executive Assistant, it was my job to ensure that everything was put in its rightful place before calling it a night.

The blinking lights of Seattle found their way into the building through the floor-to-ceiling windows etched in every corner. Still, it wasn’t hard to stare at my reflection as I moved from the conference room to Christian’s office.

Mr. Knight. His name was written in gold cursive boldly on the door, an announcement to everyone who stepped into this part of the building. It was meant to intimidate and instil fear.

But it was different to me.

Christian was mine.

Or at least, so I thought.

With numerous files balanced on one hand, I pushed his door open, an easy smile on my lips. He looked up from his computer, the lines of exhaustion on his face.

“Hey, babe,” he grins, stretching his arms wide like a kid. “Oh my God! You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

“Don’t be such a big baby,” I laughed, closing the door behind me and walking further into his glass office. I pushed the files onto the table and sat in the chair at the other end of the desk. His grin faltered slowly, reducing into a pout.

“Come on, Harper,” he whined.

“What?” It was easy to laugh with him, to act like there wasn’t a huge gulf between us. He loved me as much as I loved him, and I guessed that was all that mattered. The fact that my name was unknown and his family was old money was inconsequential.

Or at least, that was what he told me.

“I was with you in the conference room mere minutes ago,” I continued, shaking my head at him. “You practically saw me throughout the day.”

“But that is different,” he insisted, pushing his chair back and getting on his feet. “You were so far from me. I couldn’t even touch you.”

“Christian…”

“Who invented the rule that the Executive Assistant of the CEO must sit across the CEO at board meetings?” he groaned, coming around me. I leaned into him when his arms wrapped around my shoulders, his warm woody scent teasing me.

“Your father,” I laughed, our bodies bobbing.

“Oh!” He stopped for a second before pulling me suddenly out of the chair and into his arms. My yelp filled the office, followed by my giggles as he brought me with him to his seat.

“Christian!” I laughed, sitting on his thighs, my arms wrapped around his neck.

“What?” he whispered, his eyes dropping to my lips. Each time he did that, it was hard not to feel so drunk.

“Christian…” I breathed, moving into him. Our lips met. He tasted of coffee, the numerous cups he had during the meeting, while he threw me glances at intervals. I drank him in, sighing into his mouth, allowing myself to feel, just as I had done for the past year with him.

A door opened in the distance, but it sounded so far away.

Too far away to pull me out of that moment.

Another door opened, and I would have ignored it, too, as Christian deepened the kiss, our tongues meeting. But the door slammed hard, and someone cleared their throat in the room.

The same as us.

Shit.

I pushed away from Christian immediately, looking away and tucking a stray strand behind my ears. Nerve-racked through every inch of my body, along with something that felt like guilt. I didn’t look at who it was. I couldn’t bear to turn around.

“It’s fine, babe,” Christian breathed, getting on his feet. His hand grazed my waist, pulling me flush against him. “It’s just Marcus.”

I swallowed and looked up at Christian. Nothing about his smile made me feel better. My heart still thudded hard against my chest when I brought my gaze to the COO of Knight Industries.

“Hello, Harper,” he greeted, a knowing smile on his face. “Em… I didn’t mean to interrupt, but Christian and I are supposed to head out now.”

I nodded, patches of red on both sides of my face. There was no hair on my face. Still, I pushed back something, needing to get my fingers to work. “It’s … Of course,” I stammered, pulling away from Christian. “Have fun.”

I tried to laugh, but it came out as an awkward chuckle. Marcus lifted a hand and waved at me as I all but ran out of the office, closing the door behind me. I heard someone laugh, but I knew it had to be Marcus.

Christian would never laugh at me.

***

I was in the shower when my phone rang. With shampoo in my hair and soap suds at odd parts of my body, I rushed out, almost slipping just to reach the phone on time.

“Hey,” I murmured, standing on my toes to reduce how much water dropped on the floorboards. “Home now?”

“No, baby,” Christian laughed. I could hear the sound of music in the background. “I’m on my way home. I just dropped Marcus off.”

“Have you been drinking?”

He laughed again, and I could imagine those blue eyes twinkling in the dark, and his tousled hair falling over his face. The mere thought brought a smile to me. God! I was so smitten.

“Christian?”

“Only a little,” he drawled. “I wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel if I were drunk, babe.”

“Good.”

“About earlier,” he started, clearing his throat. “I know no one in the office knows we are dating, but I told Marcus a few days ago. I should have talked to you first. I’m…”

“No,” I say a little too loudly. “It’s fine. I mean, Marcus is your friend, so I guess he deserves to know, too.”

But Christian’s response never came.

“Christian?”

I heard a screeching sound in the background and then his voice, almost unidentifiable, piercing through the chaos.

“f**k!” He screamed. “f**k! f**k! f**k!”

The screech became louder, almost deafening. My pulse raced under my skin, and I forgot all about my wet body.

“Christian!” I yelled, clutching onto my phone until my knuckles whitened. “Christian, what is going on?”

“s**t! Harper, I…”

I heard a loud clang, a scream.

And then, nothing.