Chapter Seven
654 Words
Alexander
Alexander leaned back in his sleek leather chair, the phone still warm in his palm as the call ended. He has just gotten of the phone with the engineer in charge of the building project where sugar and bloom is located. He had assured him everything was on schedule—the demolition would begin in a few weeks, and the high-rise project would move forward without delay. That should have been good news. Yet, as he stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, looking down at the sprawling city below, satisfaction eluded him. It was that bakery. It was her.
Sophie Albright.
She had been on his mind far too often since the night of the gala, invading his thoughts when he least expected it. He told himself it was nothing—just an annoyance, a passing distraction. But no other woman had ever unsettled him like this.
Not even Victoria.
Alexander exhaled sharply and swiveled his chair to face his desk. Victoria had been in his life for years—beautiful, intelligent, and well-bred. The kind of woman society expected him to marry. The perfect match. At least, that was what everyone kept saying. And he had played along.
They attended the same high-end charity events, sat side by side in exclusive business meetings, and occasionally ended up in bed together. But that was the extent of their relationship—business and physical chemistry. Nothing else but Victoria wanted more.
She had dropped hints, waiting for a proposal that would never come. Alexander had ignored it, acted oblivious, pretended not to notice the sharp edge in her voice whenever marriage was brought up. He didn’t love her. He never had.
But now, as he found himself thinking of Sophie Albright—of the fire in her eyes when she argued with him, of the way she clung to Sugar & Bloom like it was a part of her soul—he wondered what it was about her that kept pulling him in.
Could it be…?
No.
He pushed the ridiculous thought away. Love? That was laughable. He barely knew Sophie. Scratch that. He didn’t know her at all. Yet, here he was, fixated on her, on her stubborn defiance, on the way her presence lingered long after their conversations ended. Damn it. Alexander rubbed his temples. He needed to get a grip. A sharp knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.
"Sir, you have a meeting in five minutes," his secretary, Jenna, announced as she stepped inside, holding a sleek tablet.
Alexander straightened, nodding as he stood. "Right. What’s on the agenda?"
Jenna handed him the tablet, detailing key points about the upcoming meeting, but his mind was elsewhere. As he adjusted his cufflinks and prepared to face another day of high-stakes negotiations, he shoved all thoughts of Sophie aside.
At least, he tried to.
"Also sir, I have the latest list of applicants for the marketing executive position,” she said, setting it in front of him.
“Go ahead,” Alexander replied, readjusting his cufflinks.
Jenna swiped through the names, summarizing their backgrounds. “We have several strong candidates. There’s a former director from Evergreen Marketing, a senior strategist from Lively Brands, and Sophie Albright.”
Alexander froze.
For a moment, he thought he had misheard. “Who?”
Naomi turned the tablet toward him, showing her résumé. “Sophie Albright. She owned a bakery, Sugar & Bloom. It seems she has a degree in marketing and experience in brand management.”
His chest tightened. What is she playing at?
After weeks of defiance, after telling him she wouldn’t go down without a fight… she applied for a job here? Why? She had promised to get back at him for sealing of her bakery. What this part of her plans?
Alexander smirked slightly, intrigued despite himself.
“Schedule an interview,” he said. "I'd like to interview her myself".
- Writer
