The Billionaires Taboo

DELANEY: The Wright Foundation Charity Gala sparkled like something out of a dream, one I didn’t belong to. Crystal chandeliers shimmered above polished marble floors and gowns worth more than my yearly wages swept past me like rivers of silk. Laughter rang like delicate glass, the kind you’ll be afraid to touch in case you broke it. I wasn’t part of that world. Not even close. Balancing a tray of champagne, I reminded myself I was here to be invisible—Nothing more than a shadow moving through the crowd, Serve the glasses, Keep my head down and Collect my paycheck. Still, it was impossible not to look. Impossible not to let my eyes wander over the people I’d only seen in magazines— the power brokers, the celebrities, the heirs and heiresses who looked like they’d been born out of starlight. And then, my gaze landed on him. Derek Wright. Everyone knew the name before they knew the man. Billionaire CEO. Wright Industries—an empire that ran everything from technology to luxury real estate. Ruthless in business. Untouchable in power. He was taller than I expected, his tuxedo cut sharp enough to make everyone else in the room look underdressed. His posture was so relaxed, yet there was an unmistakable air about him, commanding and magnetic. As if the gala revolved around him, whether anyone admitted it or not. And then… his eyes found mine. I froze. My heart skipped a beat as Derek Wright looked straight at me. Not past me. Not through me. At me. His gaze was sharp, assessing, as if he was trying to decide whether I belonged in his line of sight at all. Heat rushed to my cheeks. I dropped my gaze instantly, pretending to rearrange the glasses on my tray. I shouldn’t have been staring in the first place. People like him don’t notice people like me. “Delaney,” Sophie’s voice cut through the buzz of music and chatter. My best friend and fellow server wove through the crowd, balancing her own tray. She gave me the look, the one that said stop daydreaming before you spill something on a billionaire. “Got it,” I mouthed, forcing my legs to move toward a cluster of guests with empty glasses. Still… I just couldn’t shake it. That flicker of connection. His eyes. The way it felt like he had actually seen me, when no one else ever did. And I hated myself for wanting him to look again. DEREK: She thought she was invisible. But she wasn’t. Not to me. At first, I noticed her because she wasn’t trying to be noticed. Everyone else in this ballroom carried an agenda—angled smiles, rehearsed laughter, handshakes meant to draw blood. She, on the other hand, moved like she wanted to disappear. Quiet. Careful. Every step was calculated to keep her from being seen. That’s what made me look. And then I couldn’t stop. Her eyes met mine across the room, wide and startled, like I’d caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to. For a second, it felt like the air shifted. Then she broke the connection, bowing her head, and I should’ve let her go. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Because in a sea of people I’d spent my life learning to read, she was the only one I couldn’t figure out. “Derek.” My mother’s voice cut sharp against the hum of conversation. She stood a few feet away, pearls at her throat, her smile polished like a blade. “The chairman of the investment committee is waiting to speak with you. Don’t keep him waiting.” Of course. Business first, as Always. I gave her the kind of smile I’d perfected years ago and excused myself. But as I moved toward the crowd, I found myself glancing back. Searching. And there she was, slightly hidden behind a pillar, slipping through the crowd with a tray of champagne flutes. Trying not to exist. The problem was… she did. DELANEY: By the time I reached the table, my palms were damp against the tray. I hated this part of me, the one that noticed men like Derek Wright. The one that dreamed, even for a second, of being seen in a place like this. “Champagne, miss?” A man in a white jacket reached for a glass, snapping me back into the present. I offered it with a polite smile, careful not to meet his eyes. That was the trick: no eye contact, no attention. “Delaney.” Sophie appeared at my side, balancing her tray like it weighed nothing. Her blonde curls framed a face too pretty for a uniform. “You okay? You look like you saw a ghost.” “Not a ghost.” My voice was lower than I intended. I shifted the tray to my other hand. “A… distraction.” Her eyes lit with curiosity. “Spill.” I shook my head quickly. “Nothing. Just… it’s nothing.” She leaned closer, following my gaze across the ballroom. When her eyes landed on Derek Wright, her jaw dropped. “No way. Don’t tell me that’s your distraction.” “Shh!” I hissed, heat rushing up my neck. “Keep your voice down.” Sophie smirked, with a teasing whisper. “Delaney, you have better chances of marrying a prince than getting noticed by Derek freaking Wright.” I forced a laugh, trying to ignore the sting in her words. She wasn’t wrong. But what she didn’t know was that he had already noticed me. And I didn’t know what scared me more- how much I wanted it to happen again… or what would happen if it did. DEREK: I lasted exactly twenty minutes before I found myself searching for her again. It was reckless, even by my standards. I had deals to finalize, investors to impress, a legacy to uphold. My mother’s eyes followed me wherever I moved, reminding me with every glance what tonight was really about: proving the Wright name was still untouchable. But none of it mattered. Not when I caught sight of her again near the back of the ballroom, offering drinks to a table of guests who barely acknowledged her. She smiled politely, but it wasn’t real. Not like the genuine kind of smile I hadn’t seen in years. I excused myself from yet another conversation, ignoring the raised eyebrows as I crossed the room. When I reached her, she looked up and for a heartbeat, we were alone in a crowd of hundreds. “May I?” I asked, nodding toward her tray. My voice came out lower than I intended, rougher. Her hand trembled slightly as she offered me a glass. “Of course, sir.” Sir. The word cut through me. Distance wrapped in respect. She wanted this to be nothing. But I wanted more. “Thank you,” I said, holding her gaze longer than appropriate. Long enough for her to shift uncomfortably. Long enough for me to know I’d just made a mistake. Because I wasn’t going to be able to let her disappear. Not tonight. Not ever. DELANEY: The weight of his eyes lingered even after he stepped away. I exhaled slowly, trying to steady my hands before I spilled champagne on someone’s diamond necklace. What was wrong with me? I was nobody. A server. An orphan who had scraped her way through life with nothing but determination and quiet strength. He was Derek Wright. The man who could walk into a room and own it without saying a word. And yet… for one impossible moment, it felt like we weren’t from different worlds. I shook the thought from my head and moved toward another cluster of guests, forcing myself back into reality. Smile. Offer. Step away. Invisible. That was who I had to be. And yet deep down, I knew I’d already failed. Because Derek Wright had seen me. And I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover from it.