Olivia’s POV


    The morning air still clung to the quiet of dawn. I dragged my suitcase into the living room, the wheels humming low against the floorboards. Ava was already waiting there, barefoot, holding two mugs-one for each of us. She put hers down and wrapped me in a tight hug.


    “Don’t worry about anything, okay?” she murmured against my shoulder. “Let me handle the rest. Just go, breathe,e back when you’re ready. And by then, your divorce papers will be ready too.”


    I didn’t answer. I just nodded against her. There wasn’t much left to say.


    I was doing it-I was finally leaving. Escaping, even if temporarily. After the disaster at the charity event and the emotional wreckage that followed, I needed to be anywhere else. A window seat, some cheap airport coffee, silence. I didn’t care where the flightnded. The destination didn’t matter. It was the leaving that I needed.


    Ava was supposed to drive me to the airport, but as I zipped up thest corner of my suitcase, she sighed and nced at her phone. “Something urgent just came up,” she said. “I have to handle it, but you can grab a cab, right?”


    “Of course,” I said, slinging my small backpack over my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve already done too much.”


    Ava gave me onest tight hug at the door. “Have a safe flight. Text me when yound, alright?”


    I stepped out of the apartment building, tugging my luggage behind me. The streets were still quiet, the sunlight bare- ly stretching across the pavement. I stood at the curb outside the gated entrance, checking my phone for a cab. That’s when it buzzed.


    A strange number.


    I stared at it, frowning. My instincts whispered-don’t answer that. I didn’t recognize the digits, but something about them felt… strange. Cold.


    Just as I hit the decline button, a sleek silver Maybach turned the corner and rolled up slowly from within the neigh- borhood. I recognized the car almost instantly. The window rolled down halfway, and there he was-Mike.


    “Miss Olivia?” His smile was polite, warm, like he’d been expecting me. “Where are you headed so early in the morn- ing?”


    I hesitated. “Airport.”


    “What a coincidence,” he said, resting an elbow on the edge of the window. “We’re going the same way. Come on, let us give you a ride.”


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    13:31


    “I actually just booked a cab… ” I started, unsure.


    Before I could finish my sentence, Mike was already stepping out of the car. “Nonsense. No need to wait for a taxi out here with luggage like that.”


    He reached for the handle of my suitcase before I could even protest, lifting it like it weighed nothing and popping it into the trunk. His movements were efficient, smooth, practiced. It was hard to refuse someone so direct and well-


    mannered.


    If he hadn’t been wearing such a clean, high-end suit-or hadn’t driven a Maybach-any passerby might’ve mistaken this whole interaction for a snatching attempt.


    Mike opened the back door for me and gave a small bow. “After you.”


    I blinked at him, a bit overwhelmed by the hospitality. But I was also exhausted. And it was hard to turn down some- one being this kind without sounding rude.


    “Thank you,” I said softly, and slid into the backseat.


    The moment I sat down, my breath caught in my throat.


    Alexander was already there, sitting on the far side of the seat. In the driver’s seat, Fin adjusted the rearview mirror and nced back briefly with a grin.


    Alexander was wearing casuals today- charcoal linen shirt, sleeves rolled up, a rxed fit. He smelled faintly of cedar and something colder. Yve was thrilled.


    I greeted him politely. “Good morning, Alpha Alexander.”


    He gave me a short nod, nothing more. Not even a smile. Like a king responding to a distant pack member. The chill in his gaze could’ve frozenva, and yet… somehow, it didn’t feel offensive. That was just how he was.


    I pursed my lips, silently epting the hierarchy. Charm and humility were his tools for dealing with outsiders. His real self-indifference wrapped in restraint-was saved for those who got closer. Not that I was close. I just happened to know he wasn’t as warm as he pretended to be in public.


    But he was still the man who had saved me.


    Because of that, I could tolerate his coldness. Maybe even his arrogance. He had the right to carry both.


    Alexander finally spoke. “Going on a trip?”


    I nodded. “Yes.”


    “Where?”


    “Maldives.”


    His gaze didn’t change. “nned or spontaneous?”.


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    13:31


    I answered instinctively. “nned…” But I hesitated halfway. My voice stalled.


    A sh of embarrassment hit me as a memory surfaced. Not that long ago, I had asked this very man for a job. I had been desperate, serious, and probably not very impressive.


    Now here I was, hopping on a ne for a beach vacation?


    It looked ridiculous in hindsight.


    Before I could exin myself, Alexander smiled faintly-too faint to be kind, too precise to be casual. I realized he had asked on purpose.


    Mike nced at me in the rearview mirror and chuckled. “Thought you were job hunting, Miss Olivia. Gave up al- ready?”


    I tugged awkwardly at the hem of my sleeve. “If my application had been epted,” I murmured, “I would’ve can- celed the trip. But Alpha Alexander said I wasn’t hired.”


    Alexander leaned slightly against the door, resting an elbow near the ss. “What if I change my mind?”


    I blinked. “Now?”


    He didn’t answer. Just looked at me.


    Mike grinned again. “You’re not going on a trip anymore?”


    “I” I straightened up, trying to sound less desperate. “If the position’s still open, I’d cancel immediately. I mean… it would be stupid to pass that up.


    ”


    Alexander tilted his head. “Immediately?”


    “Yes,” I said firmly. “Immediately!”


    Fin’s voice came from the driver’s seat, calm and clear. “Perfect. You can start today. We’re flying for a short busi- ness trip. Once we board, I’ll brief you on the schedule.”


    I stared at him. Then at Alexander. Then back at Mike.


    This had to be a joke.


    But no oneughed.


    I leaned back against the seat, stunned.


    Did I just… get hired?


    I was on my way to the airport,pletely unprepared, riding in a luxury car I didn’t call, next to a man I couldn’t read, with a suitcase packed for swimming, not for business-and somehow, this was now my first day of work?


    I nced down at my hands, resting neatly in myp.


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    13:31


    How did I even end up here?


    I looked out the window, silently processing it all.


    I got a job while hitchhiking.