THE CEO WHO COULDN'T LET ME GO

ELENA'S POV "You're fired." I froze. Two words. Just two f*****g words—and my entire world nearly collapsed. I stood in front of the enormous mahogany desk, clutching my résumé with sweaty hands. Across from me sat Alexander Blackwood, the most feared billionaire in the country. Thirty years old. CEO of Blackwood International. Owner of hotels, luxury condominiums, and businesses that could make an ordinary person's lifetime earnings look like pocket money. And, apparently, the most arrogant man I had ever met. "Excuse me, sir?" I asked, forcing myself to smile. Alexander didn't even look up from his documents. "You heard me, Miss Reyes." "But I haven't even started working yet!" "Exactly. You're already wasting my time." What the hell is wrong with this man? I had spent three hours preparing for this interview. I had borrowed my best friend's blazer, skipped breakfast to save money for transportation, and practically run through the lobby because I was two minutes late. And now this handsome devil wanted to throw me out before I could even prove myself? I took a deep breath. "With all due respect, Mr. Blackwood, you haven't even looked at my qualifications." That finally made him lift his head. His eyes were dark, sharp, and terrifyingly beautiful. He had the kind of face that belonged on the cover of a luxury magazine, but his expression could freeze an entire ocean. "Are you telling me how to run my company?" "No, sir. I'm telling you that judging someone without giving them a chance is unfair." Silence. His assistant, who stood near the door, looked at me as though I had just signed my own death certificate. Alexander slowly leaned back in his chair. "What's your name again?" "Elena Reyes." "Miss Reyes." He spoke my name as if he were testing how it sounded on his tongue. "Do you always talk this much?" "Only when someone refuses to listen." His assistant coughed, desperately trying to hide a laugh. Alexander's jaw tightened. For a moment, I thought he would call security. Instead, he stood. He was taller than I expected. His perfectly tailored black suit emphasized his broad shoulders, and the expensive watch on his wrist probably cost more than everything I owned. He walked around the desk and stopped directly in front of me. "Look at me." I raised my chin. "I am looking at you, sir." "Do you know who I am?" "Unfortunately, yes." His eyebrow lifted. "Unfortunately?" "Your reputation arrived before you did." The room went deathly quiet. Oh, God. Elena, you stupid woman. You're going to die unemployed. But Alexander did something I never expected. He smiled. Not warmly. Not kindly. It was the dangerous smile of a man who had just discovered an interesting new problem. "You're either very brave or very stupid." "Maybe I'm just desperate for a job." That wiped the amusement from his face. For the first time, I allowed my exhaustion to show. "My father died two years ago. My mother is sick, and I have bills waiting at home. I didn't come here to impress you with a fake smile, Mr. Blackwood. I came here because I need work, and I know I can do it." I hated how my voice trembled at the end. I hated that I had revealed so much to a stranger. Most of all, I hated the sudden silence that followed. Alexander studied me. His gaze moved from my worn handbag to my résumé, then back to my face. "Can you type one hundred words per minute?" "Yes." "Speak three languages?" "Four." "Manage an executive schedule, negotiate with difficult clients, and handle confidential documents without asking unnecessary questions?" "Yes, sir." He paused. "Can you tolerate an unpleasant boss?" I almost laughed. "That depends. Does the unpleasant boss come with a salary?" His assistant turned away. I could have sworn he was laughing. Alexander stared at me for several seconds before returning to his desk. "Monday. Seven in the morning." I blinked. "What?" "You start Monday. Personal assistant. Probationary period, three months." My mouth fell open. "Are you serious?" "Do I look like a man who enjoys repeating himself?" "No, sir." "Good. Don't make me regret this." He handed me a contract. I accepted it with both hands, barely containing my excitement. "Thank you, Mr. Blackwood. I promise I won't disappoint you." He looked directly into my eyes. "Everyone disappoints me eventually, Miss Reyes." The words should have sounded ordinary. But something in his voice made them feel like a confession. I left his office smiling for the first time that day. I had a job. A real job. I could finally help my mother and stop worrying about how we would pay the bills next month. What I didn't know was that accepting that contract would change my life in ways I could never imagine. Because Alexander Blackwood wasn't simply a cold-hearted billionaire. He was a man with a past. And somehow, without either of us knowing it, my family was already connected to his. ### CHAPTER 2: SEVEN IN THE MORNING ELENA'S POV Monday arrived far too quickly. At exactly 6:45 a.m., I stood outside Alexander Blackwood's office wearing a cream blouse, a black pencil skirt, and the cheapest heels I could find that didn't look completely terrible. I checked my reflection on my phone. "Professional. Confident. Beautiful enough to survive the day," I whispered. The office door opened. Alexander stepped out, already wearing his signature black suit. His eyes traveled over my outfit. "You're late." I looked at the clock. "It's 6:45, sir. My schedule says seven." "My schedule says you should be prepared before seven." I smiled tightly. "Of course, sir. I'll remember that next time." "There won't be a next time if you fail." Good morning to you, too, Your Majesty. He handed me a tablet. "Coffee. Black. No sugar. My meetings for the day, a summary of the Henderson contract, and the revised financial report. I want everything on my desk in twenty minutes." I stared at the tablet. "All of it?" "Would you prefer thirty?" "No, sir." "Then stop asking questions." He walked away. I looked down at the screen. Five meetings. A financial report longer than my university thesis. A contract full of legal terms that looked like they had been written by Satan himself. And coffee. Of course, coffee. I rushed toward the pantry. Twenty minutes later, I entered his office carrying a cup of coffee and a stack of documents. "Your coffee, sir. Your meeting schedule. The revised report is on your tablet, and I've highlighted three inconsistencies in the Henderson contract." Alexander stopped typing. He looked at me. "What inconsistencies?" I opened the document and pointed to the figures. "These projected costs don't match the figures in the previous report. Also, this clause gives the other party the right to renegotiate the delivery schedule without financial penalties." His expression changed. It was subtle, but I noticed. He took the documents and read them carefully. "Who told you to check the contract?" "No one. I thought it was part of my job to make sure you weren't signing something that could cost the company money." He looked up. For the first time since I had met him, he seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. "Sit down." I sat. He called his legal department and asked them to verify the discrepancies. Five minutes later, his expression turned colder. The figures were wrong. The contract contained a clause that could have cost the company millions. Alexander ended the call and stared at me. "How did you notice this so quickly?" "I read everything before I submit it." "Most people don't." "Then perhaps most people shouldn't be personal assistants to billionaires." The words escaped before I could stop them. His eyes narrowed. "You're getting comfortable, Miss Reyes." "Sorry, sir." "Don't apologize." I looked up, confused. He returned to his computer. "Just make sure you're right before you challenge me." A strange warmth spread through my chest. It wasn't kindness. It wasn't affection. But it was the first time he had acknowledged that I might actually be good at something. And embarrassingly enough, that small acknowledgment made me want to work even harder. I was beginning to understand why people feared Alexander Blackwood. He demanded perfection because he expected everyone to fail. But I was determined to be the one person who proved him wrong. Unfortunately, I was about to discover that earning his respect would be much easier than protecting my heart. ### CHAPTER 3: THE PHOTOGRAPH ALEXANDER'S POV I hated surprises. I hated incompetence. And I especially hated people who believed they could enter my life and change the rules. Yet Elena Reyes had managed to irritate me, challenge me, and impress me before lunchtime on her first day. She was reckless with her words. Too honest. Too stubborn. And entirely too willing to look me in the eye when everyone else lowered theirs. I should have dismissed her. Instead, I found myself watching the reflection of her silhouette through the glass wall of my office. She was speaking to a client on the phone, taking notes with one hand while organizing documents with the other. Efficient. Intelligent. Unexpectedly charming. I turned away. Focus, Alexander. She was an employee. Nothing more. I opened the drawer beside my desk, searching for a document I needed for the afternoon meeting. My fingers brushed against an old photograph. I stopped. The picture showed my father standing beside a woman I had spent years trying to forget. A woman whose face had haunted our family for as long as I could remember. I stared at the photograph. Then I noticed something I had never paid attention to before. The young girl standing beside the woman wore a silver necklace shaped like a crescent moon. My breath caught. I remembered that necklace. I had seen it before. Recently. My mind flashed to Elena standing in front of my desk that morning, her worn handbag resting against her side. A silver crescent moon had been hanging from its zipper. I stood so abruptly that my chair rolled backward. "No," I whispered. It couldn't be possible. Elena Reyes couldn't be connected to that woman. I grabbed my phone and called my head of security. "I want a background investigation on Elena Reyes. Her family, her father, her mother. Everything." "Is there a particular reason, sir?" I looked at the photograph again. "Find out who her father was." I ended the call. Outside my office, Elena laughed at something one of my employees said. The sound was light and warm. Completely unaware. I watched her through the glass. For the first time in years, I felt something dangerously close to fear. Because if my suspicions were correct, the woman I had just hired wasn't simply another employee. She was the daughter of the man my father had accused of destroying our family. And if Elena discovered what my family had done to hers, she would never look at me the same way again. I slipped the photograph back into the drawer and locked it. Too late, I realized one terrible thing. I had hired the one woman I should have stayed away from. And I had no idea how I would let her go.