BOUND BY HIS BILLION-DOLLAR VOWS

Chapter Three: An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

(Ariana POV)

Four days had passed since I was fired, and I was out of tears.

Instant noodles and despair filled the air in my small apartment. The stack of overdue bills on the kitchen counter glared at me like a quiet judgment. I had been applying for jobs non-stop, but each rejection email stung like another blow.

I’d spent years working myself to exhaustion, only to lose everything because of one arrogant man in a suit.

Alexander Knight

I Googled his name out of spite two nights ago, thinking I’d find nothing, maybe a local businessman or a trust-fund snob. Instead, the screen had filled with headlines about Alexander Knight:

“Knight Enterprises Expands into Renewable Energy.”

“Billionaire Alexander Knight Engaged to Socialite Vanessa Pierces.”

The more that I read, the more furious I became. I had drenched a billionaire in coffee. No surprise at all, then, that Dale had fired me for standing up for myself.

I set my phone on the couch and rubbed my temples. "You're finished dwelling on him, Ariana. He's no longer your concern. Stand up and face the reality."

But that was a lie. Because he had already become one, the kind of problem that continued to bug in the back of my mind when I was meant to be worrying about how to make it through the week.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my daze.

I halted. Nobody visited me here.

Who could it be?

When I swung open the door, the last person I wanted to see was standing there in another pricey suit, his hands in his pockets, his eyes infuriatingly serene.

"Hello, Ariana."

My heart is racing. "You're kidding me."

Alexander Knight. In my doorway.

"Are you following me now?" I snapped.

He didn't blink. "May I enter?"

"No."

How did you get to know this place, are you…?

He exhaled, looking almost human for a moment. "Please.

Something in his voice, deep and level, not arrogant made me hesitate. Against all my better judgment, I let him in.

He walked in like he didn't belong in such a small space which, I guess, he didn't. His presence made my living room look even smaller.

"Do you want something, Mr. Knight?" I folded my arms.

"I've come to apologize."

I blinked. "Excuse me, what…?"

"I reacted too much at the diner," he grumbled. "I shouldn't have spoken to you that way. Or cost you your job."

But you did, I said to myself.

I gazed at him, waiting for the punchline. "You think the apology is going to fix what you did?"

"No. But it's a start."

He stood there uncomfortably, as if he had no idea what to do with himself. I could see for the first time how tired he looked, circles under his eyes, tension in his jaw.

"Why are you really here?" I said. "You don't strike me as the type of person who looks up to fired waitresses to salve his conscience."

He smiled weakly. "You're right. I normally just send a check."

“Typical,” I said to myself.

Then why didn't you?

"Because you're different."

I was taken aback. "Different?"

"You didn't care who I was," he said flatly. "You stood up to me. You didn't pretend, you looked into my eyes and called me out when everybody else would've turned away and pretended that I was right."

I had no response to that.

Then he reached into his coat pocket and thrust a folded envelope at me.

I frowned. "What's that?"

"A job offer."

I stared at him like he had lost his mind. "You're joking."

“I’m not. My company’s organizing a charity gala next month, and my personal assistant resigned. Ethan, my best friend and COO suggested hiring someone temporary. Someone honest.”

I let out a sharp laugh. “Honest? You met me yelling at you over coffee.”

“Exactly,” he said, his tone unreadable. “You weren’t afraid to speak the truth.”

I shook my head. “You think I’m going to work for you after what happened?”

He shrugged slightly. “It’s your choice. But it pays ten times what you made at the diner.”

I opened the envelope and nearly choked when I saw the salary.

“Why me?” I whispered.

“Because,” he said, his voice softening, “something tells me you’re not the kind of person who runs away from a challenge.”

I swallowed hard, torn between anger and disbelief.

Working for him would be insane. Dangerous. The man had humiliated me publicly and now he wanted me close to him? But the thought of paying my mom’s medical bills without begging another bank for an extension… that was tempting.

“I’ll think about it,” I said finally.

He nodded, slipping his hands back into his pockets. “Take your time. But not too much. I'll need an answer by tomorrow.”

When he turned to leave, I blurted, “Why are you doing this?”

He paused at the door. “Maybe because I owe you something.” His gaze met mine steady, sincere. “Or maybe because I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that day.”

My heart stuttered.

And then he was gone.

I closed the door slowly, leaning against it as my thoughts spun out of control.

The man who’d ruined my life had just offered me a new job and a very good pay.

And deep down, I already knew the answer even if I wasn’t ready to admit it yet.