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Chapter 27: Ambition and Attraction
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 28; Uncharted territory
Bella’s PerspectiveThe next morning, I woke up with a mixture of nerves and excitement swirling in my chest. My phone lit up with a message from Grace, confirming our meeting later that day. I couldn’t stop thinking about what she had said last night, her sudden ambition to break into the tech world, and the fact that Monica Tate was somehow involved.As I sat at my vanity, getting ready for the day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Grace had always been smart, driven even, but tech? It wasn’t her world, not really. She was a people person, the kind of girl who could charm her way into any room and make everyone love her. Technology seemed like a strange pivot for her, and the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.I finished brushing out my hair, opting for soft waves that cascaded down my shoulders, and grabbed my favorite navy dress. It was simple but professional, with a cinched waist and a boat neckline that made me feel both confident and comfort
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 29; Lines blurred
Bella’s PerspectiveIt was late afternoon, and I was still reeling from the conversation I’d had with Grace earlier. The fact that she was meeting Monica tonight didn’t sit right with me. The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became. Monica wasn’t someone to be trusted — especially not with my sister’s future.As I sat at my desk, staring at my laptop screen, I heard a soft knock at the door. I looked up, expecting Adrian or Diana, but instead, it was Oliver. His familiar smirk greeted me as he leaned against the doorframe, looking as effortless as ever in his casual-but-chic attire. He wore a grey button-down with the sleeves rolled up, revealing toned forearms, paired with dark jeans that were just the right amount of tailored to show off his lean frame.“Got a minute?” he asked, his voice low and smooth, like he already knew I’d say yes.I nodded, gesturing for him to come in. “Of course. What’s up?”He crossed the room in a few long strides, his tall figure casting a shad
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 30; Unraveled threads
I leaned back in my office chair, staring at the photograph I’d found in the archives with Oliver the other day. The edges were worn, and the black-and-white image was faded with time, but there was no mistaking it — my father and Adrian’s father standing side by side. I had stared at it for hours, trying to make sense of it all. Why hadn’t my father ever mentioned this connection? Why had he kept something like this hidden from me? The questions gnawed at me, making it impossible to focus on anything else. My fingers traced the outline of my father’s face in the photograph. His expression was serious, almost grim, and I wondered what had been going through his mind when the picture was taken.“Dad, what were you hiding?” I whispered to the empty room.A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. I quickly slid the photograph into my drawer, composing myself before calling out. “Come in.”The door opened, and Adrian stepped inside, looking every bit as commanding as ever. He wore
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 31; Tension Unleashed
Chapter 31: **Tension Unleashed**The city skyline blurred as I stared out the window of the car. My thoughts spun as quickly as the streets passed by. Grace’s ambitions, Monica’s manipulations, and now Lucas—everything was beginning to overlap and unravel in ways I hadn’t expected.I sighed, pulling my phone from my bag. Adrian had texted me, asking me to come by the office after hours. He didn’t say why, but I knew it had something to do with Lucas. Since the Monica incident, things had been tense between them. It felt like Adrian was waiting for something to snap—and I was scared tonight might be that night.When I stepped into Adrian’s office, I was hit with a wave of tension that was almost suffocating. The massive glass walls that usually gave the space an open, airy feel seemed smaller, the air crackling with unresolved energy. Adrian was standing by the window, his back to me, his entire body rigid. Lucas was seated in one of the chairs, looking far too casual, like none of th
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 32; Lines Blurred
I woke up the next morning, replaying the events of last night over and over in my head. The feel of Adrian’s lips against mine, the intensity of his touch—it was all too real, too raw to be a dream. But the reality of the situation hit me just as hard as the memory.I was still standing in the middle of a storm, and I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to weather it.Adrian hadn’t said anything when we finally pulled apart, but the look in his eyes—dark, conflicted—told me everything. There was something between us, something neither of us wanted to name, but it was there. And the lines between business and personal had officially blurred.As I got ready for the day, my phone buzzed with a message from Adrian. *We need to talk.*My heart skipped a beat as I read it. There was no context, no explanation, just those four words that sent my mind spiraling. What did he want to talk about? Was he going to pretend last night didn’t happen? Or was he going to make things even more complicate
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 33; I WANT YOU SAFE
The drive to Adrian’s penthouse was suffocatingly quiet. The usual hum of city life outside the window didn’t register, and neither did the streetlights passing by in blurs of white. My mind was fixated on Lucas and Monica, their betrayal lingering like an unwelcome shadow.Adrian sat beside me, his jaw clenched, fingers drumming impatiently against his thigh. His anger wasn’t just about Lucas anymore; it was something deeper. A betrayal that went beyond business. And I could feel it radiating off him, sharp and unrelenting."You know this is more than just about the company, right?" I ventured softly, unsure if I should push him further.He didn’t immediately respond, but his eyes flicked toward me, dark and unreadable. "It's personal now. He's not just coming after me, Bella. He's going after everything I’ve built, my family’s legacy."I could hear the raw frustration in his voice, but beneath that, something more vulnerable—a need to protect what was his. And maybe, somewhere deep
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 34; TRUTH IN A FIRE
The cool evening air wrapped around me as Adrian and I left his penthouse, but I could still feel the heat from the kiss we had shared earlier. It lingered on my lips, in my mind, making it hard to focus on anything else. We walked down the streets, side by side, yet the tension between us was palpable. I tried to push thoughts of Lucas and Monica out of my head, but it was impossible. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of storm was brewing behind the scenes, and how much of it was going to hit Adrian, and inevitably, me.The city buzzed with life as we walked, the sidewalks still alive with people enjoying the late hours. Every now and then, I could feel Adrian’s gaze on me, but he kept his thoughts to himself, as if still lost in his own mind, battling with whatever demons had been unleashed tonight.I wanted to say something to him, to break the silence that was thickening with every step we took. But what could I say? The lines between us were blurring faster than I had anticipa
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 35; I tried but couldn’t
I barely had time to settle in after Adrian had left. My apartment, usually a sanctuary of peace, felt too quiet tonight. The echoes of our conversations—both spoken and unspoken—were loud in the stillness. I sank onto the couch, staring at the door, half expecting…no, hoping…he would come back.It was foolish, of course. Adrian had left. He had said goodnight. But something in his eyes, in the way he had touched my face so tenderly, had hinted that he wasn’t ready to let this night end any more than I was.I had barely started to convince myself that I was imagining things when there was a knock on the door.My heart jumped into my throat. I stood up slowly, as if rushing would break the fragile reality that was now in front of me. Could it really be him?When I opened the door, there he was—Adrian Langston, standing in the hallway of my modest apartment building, looking like he had wrestled with every reason to stay away and had lost.His dark eyes met mine, and there was a flicker
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Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 48; The Deal
The boardroom was filled with a heavy silence as Ethan set up his presentation. The air felt thick with tension, as if everyone was waiting for the moment when his polished facade would slip. Adrian sat at the head of the table, his eyes sharp and unreadable, while Lucas and Diana took their seats beside him. I settled into my chair, steeling myself for whatever Ethan had planned. The lights dimmed, and Ethan began, clicking to the first slide of a crisp, visually sleek presentation titled *A New Future: Synergy Between Innovation and Tradition.* “Thank you all for taking the time,” Ethan said, casting a wide smile across the room, his gaze landing on me just a moment too long. “Today, I’ll outline the ways our companies can benefit from a partnership.” His voice was smooth, rehearsed; each word polished to convey a blend of opportunity and respect. But something about his tone felt off—a bit too insistent, a bit too eager to convince.He shifted to the next slide, filled with a dia
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 47; one step at a time
The next morning, I arrived at the office early, feeling a strange mixture of excitement and caution. The memory of last night lingered—Adrian’s kiss, the way he held me, the feeling that maybe, just maybe, he saw me as more than just a business partner. But I had no time to savor the memory; I was here early for a reason. Something wasn’t adding up with Ethan’s sudden reappearance, and I wanted to get a step ahead before Adrian found out I was looking into it.I made my way to the archives, where files from the early days of Langston Enterprises were kept. A dim light illuminated the room, casting long shadows across the shelves. I pulled up some of the older files on Adrian’s father’s partnerships and contracts, searching for any record of Ethan’s involvement—or, more significantly, his family’s ties to Langston Enterprises. As I scrolled through digital records and skimmed pages of dusty folders, a name kept coming up that made my stomach twist: *Harold Langston.*Harold Langston,
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 46: An unwelcome return
I was reviewing final edits on a presentation when my phone buzzed with a message from Grace: *"Guess who I ran into? Ethan!"* I blinked at the name. It had been years since we’d last spoken, and honestly, I’d thought he was well out of my life. But that familiar unease crept in; I remembered all too well the way things had ended, and the reminder was enough to unsettle me. Then came the knock at my door. My pulse quickened as I turned, expecting Diana or maybe even Adrian with an unexpected update. Instead, standing there in a sharply tailored suit, dark hair styled in that effortlessly arrogant way, was Ethan, smiling as if the past didn’t matter.“Bella,” he said, voice smooth as ever, like we were just picking up where we’d left off. “Ethan.” I felt my spine straighten, every professional instinct kicking in. “What are you doing here?”“I’m here on business, believe it or not,” he replied, his gaze drifting around the room before landing back on me with that same cocky glint. “L
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 45: The truth we bury
The unexpected knock sliced through the tension between us, snapping us both out of the intimate, fragile moment we’d been sharing. Adrian’s expression shifted from vulnerability to guardedness, his brows knitting as he pulled away. “Excuse me,” he muttered, getting up and heading toward the door with an air of wariness. I watched him go, a thousand thoughts tangled in my mind, a hundred emotions lingering in the space between us.As he opened the door, the sound of a familiar voice drifted in. “Hey, I just wanted to drop off these files for tomorrow's meeting—”Lucas stood there, papers in hand, his gaze shifting from Adrian to me in a flash. A beat of silence stretched uncomfortably. I couldn’t read Lucas’s expression, but there was something in his eyes—a flicker of something I couldn’t quite place, like he was hiding a secret of his own.“Lucas,” Adrian greeted him with a forced calm. “Thanks. Leave them on the desk, I’ll look them over later.”“Of course,” Lucas replied, his gaz
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 44; Unmasked intentions
The room felt both intimate and heavy with tension. The evening's silence was broken only by the distant hum of city traffic and the soft tick of the wall clock. Adrian’s eyes, softened just moments before, were now watchful, as if bracing himself.“Adrian, I need to know something,” I began, my voice more unsteady than I’d anticipated. I let go of his hand, pulling back slightly to see him more clearly. “Did you… did you know who I was before you hired me?”He seemed taken aback, his brow furrowing slightly. “Bella, I—” His gaze shifted, the truth simmering beneath the surface.“Just tell me, please,” I pressed, feeling the weight of every encounter, every moment shared, hanging in the balance. “Did you hire me because of my father?”He exhaled, running a hand through his hair, and his hesitation told me more than any words could have. “No, not exactly,” he finally admitted. “When I first met you, I didn’t know you were *that* Martinez. But… there are protocols for hiring. We do a bac
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 43; Unveiling
The days that followed were a whirlwind of damage control and calculated moves on Adrian's part. The storm Monica had tried to create was quieting, yet the questions still lingered, gnawing at the edges of my mind. The text I had sent Adrian back in the thick of things weighed heavily on me, a delicate balance between trust and suspicion.One evening, after the buzz of work had faded and I found myself alone in my apartment, I finally allowed myself to review everything I’d uncovered. The image I’d found in the archives, buried beneath decades of dust and silence, had shifted everything. My father and Adrian’s father, standing together in what looked like a boardroom, their expressions serious, as though they were on the verge of something monumental. They were once business partners, possibly even friends—an alliance that, somehow, had been completely erased from our family’s history.My thoughts wandered back to Adrian’s reaction when I’d hinted at this discovery. He’d dismissed it
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 42; A fragile alliance
Bella entered Adrian’s office early, the silence of the space giving her a chance to gather her thoughts. The past week had left her with questions she couldn’t shake, pieces of a puzzle that didn’t quite fit, and an odd tension she sensed every time she was around Adrian and his brother, Oliver. She’d even felt a trace of that tension in Oliver’s hesitant smile, a look that made her wonder what he wasn’t saying. As she arranged her notes on the sleek table in front of her, she looked up to see Adrian walk in. He wore a perfectly tailored charcoal suit, a shade darker than his usual choice, and his expression was as intense as ever, but there was something different—an exhaustion clinging to the edges of his otherwise steady demeanor.“Good morning,” Bella greeted, trying to hide the nerves she felt every time she saw him lately. She knew her feelings were getting tangled in a way that was dangerous, in a way that felt irreversible. “Morning.” Adrian’s voice was softer than usual, a
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 41; The price of secrets
Oliver waited until the hallways of the building were quiet, shadows stretching long across the floor as most of the team filtered out for the evening. He’d decided to find Adrian in his office, knowing this was a conversation that couldn’t wait any longer. After learning the truth from Lucas, Oliver felt a simmering mix of anger, urgency, and an unexpected protective instinct toward both his brother and Lucas.He found Adrian standing near his floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the city, his usual strong stance softened by the dim light filtering in from the buildings beyond. Adrian looked like a man who carried the weight of the world, and in a way, he did.Adrian didn’t turn when Oliver entered, but his voice was steady. “You’ve been quiet lately,” he said, as if sensing Oliver’s presence. “Everything all right?”Oliver clenched his jaw, trying to figure out the best way to start. He knew that pushing Adrian too hard could backfire, but there was no easy way to explain this.
Hold on, Mr billionaire. Chapter 40; You’ve got a child?!
(Third person pov)The weight of betrayal lingered in the air like a suffocating fog. Oliver stood in his apartment, staring at his phone. The unexpected message from Lucas had been gnawing at him for hours now, but he couldn’t shake the need to know what was truly going on. After all the years of bitterness and distance between him and Adrian, was this just another layer of deception? Another crack in the foundation of their relationship?Lucas had reached out to *him*—not Adrian. And that in itself was unusual.He replayed the message over in his head: “I need to explain everything. Meet me at our old spot. It’s not what you think.”It was vague, cryptic, and reeked of desperation. Oliver couldn’t help but wonder what was driving Lucas to reach out now. What had he been hiding all this time? The Lucas Oliver had known growing up had been loyal to Adrian—a confidante, his right-hand man. That was until Monica Tate had come into the picture.Oliver had never liked Monica. She was manip
