New beginning: Billionaire love story

The next morning, Alexander Harris was on a mission. He didn't want to risk giving Claire Peterson a heads-up, thinking she might avoid him if she knew he was coming. So, he headed straight to her office, walking with purpose like a man on a secret quest. When henoveldrama

arrived, Sandra, Claire's friendly but sharp-eyed secretary, gave him a polite smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Harris. Are you here to see Ms. Peterson?"

Alexander nodded, and Sandra clicked a few keys on her computer. "Ms. Peterson hasn't arrived yet. She's usually having breakfast around this time."

Alexander glanced at his wristwatch. It was 9 a.m. sharp. "She's not here yet?"

Sandra smiled, almost knowingly. "Oh, Ms. Peterson likes to start her mornings with a nice long breakfast."

Of course, she does, Alexander thought.

"I'll wait," he said with a nod, trying to keep his cool.

Sandra gestured toward Claire's office door, giving him permission to head inside. Alexander walked in, taking a seat on the leather couch in the corner. Claire's office was pristine, just like the woman herself-everything in its place, not a single paper out of line. It was the kind of room that almost dared you to make a mess.

But snooping around wasn't his style-well, not when it came to Claire. So, after a few minutes of awkwardly looking around the room, he pulled out his phone and started playing a game to kill time. Thirty minutes passed. Claire still hadn't shown up, and Alexander was getting restless, bouncing between frustration and wondering if this entire visit was a bad idea.

Finally, the door swung open with a soft click, and in walked Claire Peterson, looking surprised to see him lounging on her couch like he owned the place. She paused mid-step, her perfectly manicured hand still on the door handle. "Alexander?" she asked, frowning. "What are you doing here?"

She wasn't pleased, but Alexander had expected that. He stood up, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and smoothed down his suit. "I need to talk to you."

Claire raised a perfectly arched brow, her curiosity piqued. "Oh? And you couldn't have just called?"

"Let's just say it's not a conversation over the phone."

Claire crossed her arms, tapping her foot as if she had somewhere better to be. "Well, you've got my attention. What is it?"

Without wasting any time, Alexander reached for his phone, scrolling through his recent recordings. He found the one from last night and hit play. A voice-feminine, smooth, and eerily familiar-came through the speaker.

Claire's frown deepened. She cocked her head, listening carefully. "Who is that?" she asked, her tone sharp, but there was a hint of unease creeping in.

Alexander paused the recording and looked at her, waiting for the moment to hit. "That," he said slowly, "is Claudia Wright."

For a second, Claire's expression was unreadable, like she was trying to put the pieces together. Then, her eyes narrowed. "Claudia? As in the Claudia Wright?"

"The one and only."

Claire scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, this has to be some kind of joke. Why are you playing me a recording of her?"

Alexander sighed, putting the phone down but keeping it in his hand. "I know you wanted the whole Claudia situation to be over with, and trust me, so do I. You wanted her to clarify what happened during that disastrous press release—" "Disastrous is an understatement," Claire muttered, folding her arms.

"—and I tried. But last night, Claudia wasn't exactly... cooperative. Instead of helping, she started asking me to do things I'm definitely not comfortable with. This was the only thing could think of, Claire." He gestured toward the phone, giving her a look that said he was just as frustrated as she was. "I recorded the conversation."

Claire frowned and motioned to his phone. "Play it again."

Alexander did as she asked, and once again, Claudia's voice rang through the room. This time, Claire listened more intently, her brow furrowing at the mention of a 40% profit. As the recording went on, she straightened up, her eyes widening slightly at Claudia's comment about having no business with Claire, but with Alexander himself.

The recording ended, and Claire crossed her arms over her chest, her face twisting into a thoughtful scowl.

"So, Claudia's had a beef with you from the start, huh?" Claire asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow at Alexander. "And what's this about 40%? What are you two talking about?"

Alexander shifted awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, avoiding her gaze. "Uh... well, it's not really important."

"Not important?" Claire shot him a narrow-eyed glare. "You just played me a recording where she's talking about some deal with you, and suddenly 40% of something is very much a thing. Spill it, Alexander."

He shifted again, clearing his throat. "Look, it's complicated, alright? But let's not focus on that. The point is, Claudia doesn't want to clarify anything, so we might as well upload this instead."

Claire stared at him, her lips pursed. She let his deflection slide for now. She had bigger things to worry about. Uploading a voice recording of Claudia without her consent was risky, but Claire had to admit, her patience was wearing thin. They needed damage control, and fast.

"Why wouldn't she just clear the air?" Claire asked, more to herself than to Alexander, but he answered anyway.

"Because she's stubborn. Claudia never does anything unless there's something in it for her. That's just who she is."

Claire's eyes narrowed even further, her brain working overtime as she tried to piece together the situation. "What does she want in return?"

Alexander shrugged. "Who knows? It could be anything. Probably something ridiculous and over the top. She's also... well, needy."

"Needy?" Claire raised an eyebrow, amused for a split second. "You make her sound like a puppy."

Alexander scoffed. "Trust me, she's no puppy."

Claire sat there, chewing on the inside of her cheek, clearly mulling something over. She then stood up and moved to the couch, sitting down with a sigh as she rested her elbows on her thighs. "Okay, so what business are you two involved in?" "Wine," Alexander said with a half-hearted wave of his hand.

Claire blinked. "Wine? You and Claudia are in the wine business together? That's what this is about?"

"Not exactly wine business. My

father was the one who invested in

her family business. Long story short, I took over the company and

had no idea about her wine and Claudia also took over her parent's business. But I have solved her

request, so you don't need to worry

about it."

"Okay, so what are our options here?"

Alexander looked at her, his expression resigned. "We could just use the recording. It's not ideal, but if she refuses to cooperate, this is our best shot at showing the public what's really going on."

Claire thought about it for a moment, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the arm of the couch. "We could use it, but it could also blow up in our faces if Claudia gets wind of it. She's not the kind of person who lets things slide." Alexander nodded, fidgeting slightly. "True, but we don't have much else to work with.

Claire bit her lip, deep in thought. After a long pause, she let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright, we'll use the voice recording... for now. But I want you to try talking to Claudia again. See if you can get her to change her mind."