CHAPTER 8 — A Different Approach
721 Words
Rafael didn’t wait.
The revised proposal had barely been completed before he stood and reached for his coat.
“Cancel my afternoon schedule.”
Daniel frowned. “Sir, you have a board meeting—”
“Reschedule it.”
Flat. Final.
Daniel lowered his head. “Yes, sir.”
For once, Alexander didn’t hesitate. This wasn’t about timing or leverage.
Not anymore.
At Hayes Group, the reception area quieted the moment he walked in.
“Do you have an appointment, sir?” the receptionist asked carefully.
Rafael didn’t slow down. “Tell her I’m here.”
“Miss Evelyn doesn’t accept unscheduled—”
“Tell her.”
His tone didn’t rise, but it carried enough weight.
A moment later, she made the call. Her expression shifted.
“She’ll see you.”
Of course, she would.
But not for the reason he wanted.
Inside the office, Evelyn didn’t look up when the door opened.
She already knew.
“Mr. Knight,” she said calmly, eyes still on the document in front of her. “Showing up unannounced doesn’t suit you.”
The door closed behind him.
“I didn’t come for a meeting.”
That made her pause.
Then she lifted her gaze, and their eyes met.
He didn’t look away.
“Then you’re in the wrong place,” she replied.
He stepped closer, stopping at her desk. “This isn’t about the deal.”
A brief silence.
“I want to talk.”
Evelyn leaned back slightly, studying him. This version of Alexander was unfamiliar. He didn’t explain. He didn’t chase.
Yet here he was.
“About what?”
“Us.”
The word felt out of place.
“There is no ‘us,’ Mr. Knight.”
His jaw tightened. “You know what I mean.”
“I don’t,” she said evenly. “We’re business partners. Nothing more.”
“That’s not what we were.”
She held his gaze. “That’s exactly what we were.”
The truth landed without softness.
“You’re avoiding the point.”
“And you’re wasting my time.”
Her tone cooled. “Say what you came here to say. Or leave.”
For a moment, he didn’t move.
Then he reached into his pocket and placed something on the desk.
A ring.
Simple. Familiar.
Evelyn’s eyes flickered to it, then back to him.
“You left it,” he said.
“I didn’t forget it.”
A pause.
“I left it.”
Deliberately.
Silence settled.
“Why?” he asked, quieter now.
Evelyn glanced at the ring. “Because it never meant anything.”
The words were calm. Clean.
Rafael stilled. “That’s not true.”
“It should have been,” she replied. “But it wasn’t.”
No anger. Just a fact.
“You stayed for three years,” he said. “That was nothing.”
Evelyn tilted her head. “No. It wasn’t.”
A brief pause.
“It was a mistake.”
The word landed hard.
Irreversible.
Rafael looked at her, really looked, as if trying to find the person he once ignored.
“…Evelyn.”
Her name sounded unfamiliar in his voice.
She didn’t respond.
He stepped closer. “Then let me fix it.”
No calculation. No strategy.
Just intent.
Evelyn watched him, then smiled faintly.
“You don’t fix something you threw away.”
“If I didn’t want to lose it?”
She stood, creating distance again.
“You already did.”
She walked past him, close enough to feel his presence but never slowing.
“Nothing is waiting for you anymore.”
At the window, the city stretched below, bright and indifferent.
“If you want the deal,” she said, returning to business, “revise your terms.”
“And if I want more than that?”
She didn’t turn.
“Then you want something you can’t have.”
Silence followed.
Behind her, Rafael didn’t argue.
Because for the first time, he understood.
This wasn’t a negotiation.
This wasn’t controlled.
This was a line—
And she had already stepped beyond it.
His hand clenched at his side as the realization settled in.
He hadn’t come here to negotiate.
He had come to take something back.
But the moment he reached for it—
He understood.
It was already gone.
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