New beginning: Billionaire love story

Claire sat at her desk, eyes glued to the screen, fingers tapping away on the keyboard. The press release from two days ago had done its job-companies were buzzing to get a piece of Metacortex now. Claire's inbox was flooded with emails from companies she never thought would even give her a second glance.

As she scrolled through another email offering a lucrative partnership, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. The offer was too good to be real. "Huh, well, didn't see that one coming," she muttered to herself, scanning the details again to make sure she wasn't imagining it. She was about to hit reply when a soft knock on her door interrupted her.

"Come in," she called out, still focused on the email.

The door creaked open, and she finally glanced up, expecting to see Matthew or Sandra. But instead, her eyes met someone else someone she hadn't expected to see standing in her office again. Mr. Rodriguez, an old client of hers, the very one who had jumped ship to Venus AMD. Claire's eyebrow arched in silent curiosity. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Well, this is a surprise," she said, her voice polite but her expression icy. "What brings you back here?"

Rodriguez stepped into the room, and there was something off about him. He looked almost... ashamed. Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Oh, now he feels bad? she thought.

"I, uh... I wanted to apologize, Claire," Rodriguez said, looking everywhere but at her. "I know I made a mistake. I shouldn't have left Metacortex like that, especially after everything we worked on together."

Claire's face remained cold and unreadable. She stared at him, saying nothing, just waiting to see how far his apology would go. The memory of their last conversation flashed in her mind-how he'd casually dropped the news that HP had kicked her off the project, and how he'd switched distributors to Venus AMD. At the time, he hadn't even batted an eye. Now, here he was, looking all kinds of guilty.

Rodriguez cleared his throat and continued, "I also want to apologize for choosing Venus over Metacortex. It was... a bad decision. If I could go back, I wouldn't have done it."

Claire's gaze didn't waver. Her expression stayed as cool as ever. She wasn't in the mood for long-winded apologies, especially not from someone who had bailed on her so easily. Rodriguez shifted awkwardly under her piercing stare. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. She just kept looking at him, cold and silent.

Rodriguez fumbled with his words. "I-I know I messed up. And if HP... if we could work together again—"

Claire cut him off, her voice calm but firm. "I'll consider working with HP again, but not if you're involved. You're not the person I want to deal with." Her words hit him like a slap in the face, but she didn't care. She was done playing nice.

Rodriguez looked stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected that. "But... but Claire, I've changed! I can be better. We can do great things together. Venus doesn't have the same vision that we had "

"I said no," Claire snapped, her patience thinning. "I have more important things to do than rehash old mistakes. You made your choice, now live with it."

Rodriguez opened his mouth to speak again, but Claire shot him a sharp look that made him think twice. He mumbled another apology, though it sounded weaker this time, and shuffled toward the door like a scolded puppy. "Thank you for stopping by," Claire said, her voice laced with sarcasm as she watched him leave. The door closed behind him, and she finally let out a long, frustrated sigh.

The tension in her shoulders wouldn't go away. Not even her last shopping spree had been enough to relieve the stress that had built up over the past few weeks. Ever since that press release, everything had been a whirlwind. She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. "Why do they always come crawling back after they mess everything up?" she muttered to herself. Rodriguez's visit had been the cherry on top of an already chaotic week.

Adrian had no idea what had gotten into him that evening. He had been passing by Claire's office, thinking about heading home, when an idea popped into his head. Why not do something impulsive for once? After all, he'd been feeling connected to Claire for quite some time now. He wasn't one to act on a whim, but tonight felt different. Plus, he had bought dinner on a hunch, hoping she'd be up for it.

The warm scent of roasted chicken and garlic bread filled his car, making his stomach rumble as he parked outside her office building. "Alright, Adrian," he muttered to himself, gripping the paper bags in his hands. "It's just dinner... nothing crazy. Just dinner with Claire. No big deal."

But his heart didn't agree. It hammered in his chest like a jackhammer. Adrian had liked Claire for a while now, but telling her? No way. That felt terrifying. What if she said no? Rejection wasn't something he was ready for. But then again, weren't all men scared of that at some point?

He stepped out of the car, balancing the bags of food as he shut the door with his elbow. The evening air was cool, and he felt the tiniest bit of nervous sweat on his palms.

As he rode up to her floor in the elevator, the nerves kicked into overdrive. His mind raced with a thousand different thoughts, none of them good. What if she was busy? What if she didn't want company? Or worse-what if she was with

someone else? The last thought

made his stomach sink.

But when the elevator doors opened, Adrian steeled himself. He knocked on her office door softly, just enough to let her know someone was there. When there was no answer, he hesitated for a second, then pushed the door open gently and peeked inside. "Claire?" he called softly, stepping into her office.

What he saw made him stop in his tracks. There was Claire, slumped over her desk, fast asleep. Her face was half-buried in her arms, with strands of her hair spilling messily across her cheeks. She looked е

exhausted, like she'd had a long, hard day, and Adrian found himself smiling without even meaning to.

Carefully, he placed the paper bags on the coffee table in the corner, trying not to make any noise. He didn't want to wake her-she looked like she needed the rest. But his feet moved on their own, guiding him toward her desk. Her hair was all over her face, and without thinking, Adrian gently brushed it to the side, tucking a few strands behind her

ear.

She stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open, still hazy from sleep. At first, she didn't seem to register what was going on. Her gaze drifted lazily across the room before landing on him. "Adrian?" she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

Adrian smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Hey, sorry, didn't mean to wake you."noveldrama

Claire blinked a few times, and then her eyes widened in surprise as reality hit her. She shot up straight in her chair. "Adrian! What are you doing here? Is this a dream?"

"Nope, not a dream," he said, chuckling. "Just thought I'd drop by with some food. You looked like you could use a break."

Claire looked at him, clearly confused but starting to piece it together. "Food? You brought food?"

"Yeah," Adrian nodded toward the bags on the coffee table. "I figured you might be working late and maybe didn't have time to eat."

Her eyes softened, and she smiled, though a little shyly. "That's really sweet of you. I didn't expect anyone to show up with dinner."

Adrian shrugged, trying to act casual, though inside, he was a ball of nerves. "You know, just thought I'd do something nice for a change. I've been meaning to hang out with you more anyway." Claire raised an eyebrow, her smile turning into a smirk. "Oh? Meaning to hang out with me more? Since when?"

Adrian chuckled nervously, shifting on his feet. "Uh, you know, just... in general. You've been working hard, thought you could use a friend."

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and giving him a curious look. "A friend, huh? So, what's in the bags, "friend"?"

Adrian grinned, relieved to see her teasing him. "I got roasted chicken, garlic bread, and some salad. Figured we could eat something decent." Claire's stomach growled loudly at the mention of food, and she covered her face with her hands, laughing. "Oh my God, that's embarrassing." He laughed too. "Hey, it just proves my point-you're hungry. Let's eat."