"Of all the places to be stranded, it had to be here, with him—the one man who made breathing feel like a battle I was destined to lose."
Anna Carter had spent three blissful years after high school pretending Alexander Steele(her rival)didn't exist. Ever since high school, where he made it his mission to be her nemesis, their paths had mercifully never crossed. She went on to study marketing at a modest college, while he, born to a billionaire family with a silver spoon and the charm of the devil, stepped up as the heir to Steele Enterprises. Life, however, had its twisted sense of humor for both of them.
It had been three months since Anna started working in the marketing department at Steele Enterprises. Three months of working diligently and proving herself worthy of the position in a competitive environment without anyone realizing who she was. She had been proud of the life she was building until now—until the elevator doors had trapped her with the very man she'd hoped never to see again.
Alexander Steele stood before her, dressed in a tailored suit that screamed wealth and power. His piercing blue eyes locked onto hers with a flicker of surprise. Then came the smirk, that infuriating smirk she remembered all too well. She could feel the rise of emotions in her.
"Anna Carter," he called, leaning against the elevator wall like he owned the world and everyone in it—and in a way, he did. "Well, this is unexpected."
Her heart raced, beating so fast with a mixture of anger and something she couldn't name. "Alexander? What a... coincidence."
She was shocked, she couldn't believe her eyes and never thought the universe would betray her in such a way.
"Hardly," he said, his smirk deepening. "This is my company, after all." he smiled.
Her eyes widened, stomach sank. His company? She'd known Steele Enterprises was owned by some elusive billionaire, but she hadn't connected the dots. She hadn't wanted to. She was hoping it was not.
"You're the CEO?" she managed to ask, her voice flat.
He shrugged, the motion effortless. "And you're working here, in my company, for me. Funny how life works, isn't it?"
The elevator dinged, saving Anna from having to reply. She rushed out without a backward glance, her mind reeling, her heart racing vigorously. The past was supposed to stay buried. High school, with its humiliations and rivalries, was supposed to be a chapter she'd closed. But now it was back, wrapped in a designer suit and carrying the power to destroy her hard-won stability, and not only was it back, but he came with her rival, and she was here, in his company, working for him.
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For the next few days, Anna and Alexander's interactions grew unavoidable. Meetings turned into battlegrounds, with stolen glances, annoying smirks, and simmering tension. But beneath the surface lay something neither could admit—a magnetic pull that neither rivalry nor logic could quell, something different from the usual.