Alex’s POV
The morning air inside the ultra-exclusive private lounge at The Regency was thick, smelling faintly of expensive roasted espresso beans, fresh orchids, and old Manhattan money. It was barely nine o'clock, but the heavy mahogany panels and dim, recessed lighting made the space feel entirely sealed off from the rest of the world.
I sat back in the deep leather armchair, my dark navy suit pristine, my fingers lightly tapping a slow, ruthless rhythm against the polished surface of the table. I looked every bit the unyielding, multi-billion-dollar CEO. But beneath the cold, corporate mask, my chest felt like an absolute furnace. My mind kept violently splitting—one half trapped in the lingering, intoxicating memory of Ruby’s fiery ginger hair splayed across my silk pillows just
