country I couldn't

apartment was too small, too quiet, too full of the things I couldn't afford to fix-the dripping fau

that matte

I could see w

s there, imprinted on the inside of my eyelids like a photograph I couldn't delete. The way he'd crouched

irmly. *He was just being

he linen was impossibly soft, the monogram elegant and precise: A.B. in dark navy thread. I'd held it for a long

nder B

CEO. The biggest deal in New York. A man who ne

absurdity of it all and gone to sleep. But curiosity

brightly in the darkness, making me squi

der B

nstantly. And my wor

r" Black: CEO of B

30: The Youngest B

ll Street: Inside th

s Net Worth Sho

er article, photo after photo. Him at galas, looking bored. Him at board meetings, looking sever

xander Black Sr. in 1985, has grown under the younger Black's leadership into

en billio

held exactly $243 until my next paycheck. The difference wasn't just vast. It

t rea

eagues and competitors alike. He rarely gives interviews, never attends social events unless required, and has been

unette with sharp cheekbones and sharper eyes, draped in designer gowns, hanging off

nt that made headlines, and then... the scandal. Isabella had allegedly been caught with another man

etely closed off," an anonymous insider revealed. "Whateve

my chest. So that was it. That was the reason for the ice in

interest, but with something almost like recognition. Like

. You shared exactly thirty seconds of interaction. He

The way he'd pressed it to my palm. Th

arity events, him at product launches, him walking through airports with a face like thunde

treacherous v

a life full of love if not money. He had forty-seven b

ith exhaustion. Tomorrow-today-I had to be at the hospi

to live in his world. To never worry about money. To have people bow and scrape at your feet. To

a billionaire. You're a waitress and a nurse.

sh that I could stop thinking about green eyes and cold s

-

my door cam

read 7:47 AM. I'd had less than three hours of sleep.

irror was alarming-dark circles, wild hair, the imprint of my pillow creased in

ying anything, and if you're colle

ed the

stop

niform, but a courier from a service so exclusive I'd only ever seen the

ed with a silver ribbon, stamped with a logo I didn't rec

nolds?" the c

... tha

erence of someone handling ancie

t order

tions were very speci

he box. My name. My apartment. Delivered to me at 7:47 AM

ign

ared down the stairs before I could ask any of

silk was cool against my fingers. The ribbon felt expensive. My hear

yself. *No way

nd stared at it for a full minute. Then, with trembling

n-a scarf in shades of deep blue and silver, printed with a pattern that looked hand-pain

dn't b

scarf. Cream-colored. Thick.

up with sh

gly brief. Just a few words that

ht's tray. I hope your ha

.

nder

Ice

re who never

nt me

embered

ied abou

a scarf worth more than my monthly rent, and I laughed. A wild,

an? Why would a man like him

The warmth of his fingers. The flicker in h

adn't ima

had happened last night t

e note. At the elegant initials th

.B

nder

werful name

st knocked