THE PROBLEM WITH ELIAS BLACK

CHAPTER ONE — FIRST MISTAKE Regina promised herself three things before stepping into Blackwood Holdings. One: focus on work. Two: avoid drama. Three: absolutely no attractive men. The third promise died almost immediately. The lobby of Blackwood Holdings looked less like an office and more like the type of place rich people built to remind everyone else they were rich. Marble floors polished so perfectly she could practically see her future mistakes reflected in them. Massive glass walls. Employees moving around quickly with coffee cups and expensive-looking stress. Regina adjusted the sleeve of her blazer and inhaled slowly. New city. New job. New life. No distractions. She could absolutely do this. Probably. “Miss?” The receptionist smiled politely from behind the desk. “You’ll need to sign in.” Right. Professionalism. Regina stepped forward quickly— And immediately walked straight into a man carrying an entire mountain of files. “Oh my God—” Papers exploded everywhere. The poor man stumbled backward while Regina nearly dropped her bag trying to save at least some of the documents before her dignity completely evaporated on her first day. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Nothing screamed competent independent woman like assaulting a coworker before nine in the morning. “I’m so sorry,” Regina blurted, crouching quickly to help gather papers. “I swear I’m usually more coordinated than this.” “That’s usually what uncoordinated people say,” the man muttered while grabbing folders from the floor. Fair enough. Regina reached for another file— Then paused. The atmosphere had changed. Not loudly. Just enough to feel it. Conversations lowered slightly. Employees straightened instinctively. Attention shifted toward the elevator doors opening across the lobby. Regina looked up. And instantly regretted having functioning eyesight. A man stepped out of the elevator surrounded by people talking to him all at once, yet somehow he still looked completely calm. Completely unbothered. Black suit. Dark hair pushed carelessly back. Sharp jawline. Expensive watch. The kind of face women probably wrote poetry about before ruining their own emotional stability. Regina narrowed her eyes immediately. Oh, brother. He looked arrogant. Not the loud annoying type either. Worse. The quiet kind. The kind of man who knew exactly how attractive he was and had accepted it as a personality trait. Still… Unfortunately… He was beautiful enough to be irritating about it. Actually no. Irritating enough to be beautiful. Which somehow felt worse. As he walked past, Regina caught the scent of his cologne—clean, dark, warm in a way that should honestly be illegal before breakfast. Seriously. Why did rich men always smell like expensive bad decisions? Regina was still staring when the employee beside her dropped another file loudly. The sound snapped her back to reality. She bent quickly to help again— And nearly lost balance when someone stepped around her at the same time. A hand caught her arm before she could fall sideways. Warm fingers. Firm grip. Steady. “You okay?” The voice was low. Smooth. Calm in the most annoying possible way. Regina looked up— And there he was. Close now. Way too close. His eyes were darker up close. Sharp enough to make her feel weirdly observed. Regina straightened immediately, pulling her arm back. “I’m fine.” He glanced briefly at the papers scattered around her feet. “You don’t look fine.” Excuse him? Regina narrowed her eyes instantly. “Well thank you for that deeply comforting observation.” One corner of his mouth lifted slightly. Like he found her entertaining. God. She already disliked him. The employee beside her suddenly looked nervous. “S-Sir, we were just cleaning it up—” Sir? Oh. Important important. The stranger ignored the apology completely. “That your first day?” he asked Regina. “What gave it away?” she replied dryly. “The public humiliation?” Again—that tiny almost-smile. “It gets easier,” he said. “Does it?” “No.” At least he was honest. A woman hurried over nervously. “Mr. Black, the board meeting starts in ten minutes.” Mr. Black. Of course his last name sounded rich too. He adjusted the sleeve of his watch calmly before stepping back slightly. “Well,” he said smoothly, “try not to destroy the building before lunch.” Regina stared at him. Actually stared. Who the hell did he think he was? Arrogant. Smug. Probably emotionally unavailable. And somehow still annoyingly attractive. “I’ll do my best,” she replied sweetly. “Though I can’t promise anything if the floor keeps attacking me.” For the first time, he laughed softly. Not loudly. Just enough to make something irritatingly warm flicker in Regina’s stomach. Which she immediately hated. Then he looked at her one last time before walking away with the others following behind him like stressed little ducklings in business suits. Regina watched him disappear down the hallway. Then immediately caught herself doing it. No. Absolutely not. She had moved here for peace, financial independence, and emotional stability—not to become distracted by some arrogant corporate menace with expensive cheekbones. “Who,” Regina asked slowly, “was that?” The receptionist blinked. “That’s Elias Black.” Regina frowned slightly. “The Elias Black?” “There’s only one.” Wonderful. Even his introduction sounded dramatic. By lunchtime Regina had learned three important things about Blackwood Holdings. One: nobody relaxed here. Two: the coffee was suspiciously overpriced. And three: Elias Black apparently terrified everyone. People straightened when he walked past. Meetings became quieter. Even confident employees suddenly started acting like nervous schoolchildren whenever he appeared nearby. Regina found it ridiculous. Also slightly fascinating. Which was unfortunate. Twice that afternoon she caught herself thinking about him. Not romantically. More in an: I wonder if he’s naturally irritating or if he practices beforehand kind of way. Still counts though. Unfortunately. By the end of the day Regina was mentally exhausted. Her feet hurt, her head hurt, and she was beginning to suspect corporate jobs slowly drained people’s souls for decoration. She stepped outside the building with a tired sigh— Then froze immediately. “Regina.” No. Absolutely not. Marcus stood near the front steps with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets. Her ex-boyfriend. Wonderful. “You’ve been ignoring my calls,” he said. Regina sighed sharply. “Marcus, not now.” “I just want to talk.” “There’s nothing left to talk about.” Marcus stepped closer anyway. “You really left everything just like that?” Regina laughed once without humor. “You mean after the constant fighting? Yeah.” “You’re exaggerating.” “And you’re standing outside my workplace like a stalker.” That clearly annoyed him. “I came because I miss you.” “No,” Regina replied calmly. “You came because you hate being ignored.” Marcus grabbed her wrist before she could walk past him. Not painfully. But enough to make her tense instantly. “Marcus,” she said carefully, “let go.” “You don’t mean any of this.” “I absolutely do.” People walked past nearby without paying attention. Regina tried pulling away again, irritation quickly becoming unease. Then another voice cut through the tension. “Take your hand off her.” Cold. Calm. Dangerously controlled. Regina turned— And internally groaned. Oh no. It’s him again. The same man. Elias Black stood a few feet away, expression unreadable. Marcus frowned immediately. “This doesn’t concern you.” Elias stepped closer anyway. “It concerned me the second she told you to let go.” Something about the calmness in his voice made the air feel heavier. Marcus released her wrist slowly. “She’s my girlfriend,” he muttered defensively. “Ex,” Regina corrected instantly. Elias’ eyes flicked briefly toward her wrist before returning to Marcus. “You should leave,” he said simply. Not loud. Not threatening. Which somehow felt worse. Marcus scoffed awkwardly before stepping back. “This isn’t over.” Then he left. Silence followed. Regina crossed her arms immediately, defensive heat rising into her face. “I had it under control.” Elias looked at her for a long second. “No, you didn’t.” “I said I did.” “And I said you didn’t.” God. Why was he always so irritatingly calm? “You do this often?” she muttered. “Do what?” “Appear dramatically.” A faint smile touched his mouth. “Only when necessary.” That stupid smile did something deeply unfortunate to her heartbeat. Regina hated that. Especially because part of her was already wondering if seeing him again tomorrow would somehow make everything worse. Elias looked at her quietly for another second before speaking again. “You always this stubborn?” Regina blinked. “Excuse me?” “You nearly started an argument while someone was helping you.” “I didn’t ask for help.” “No,” Elias agreed calmly. “You just clearly needed it.” Regina opened her mouth immediately. Then stopped. Because annoyingly— he wasn’t entirely wrong. Which made him even more unbearable. “You think you know people very quickly,” she muttered. Elias tilted his head slightly. “No,” he said softly. “I just think you spend a lot of time pretending you’re unaffected.” That shut her up faster than she liked. For one weird second neither of them spoke. The city moved around them loudly—cars passing, people talking, distant traffic humming through the evening air—but the silence between them still somehow felt heavier than all of it. Then Elias stepped back slightly. “Try not to trip over anything tomorrow,” he said smoothly. Regina narrowed her eyes instantly. “I hate that you think you’re funny.” “But you smiled twice.” “I absolutely did not.” “You did.” “You imagined it.” That tiny almost-smile appeared again. God. Someone needed to humble this man immediately. Unfortunately Regina was beginning to suspect she might not be emotionally strong enough for the job. And somehow— that thought scared her a little more than it should have.