Stupidly, I spent all week expecting a call or a text from an unknown number. Nothing much, just to let me know that I was getting my bracelet back. I knew I told him I wasn't keeping any hopes, but damn. He was pretty close to being a billionaire. I'd like to think he could afford a bracelet he broke in the first place.

Like clockwork, I would come home from work and the first thing I'd do was ask the neighbour if there was any package delivered for me. He'd shake his head, and I would go drown my disappointment in soup and crackers. I knew I could eat better, but lately, motivation had all but tanked, and I had been slowly dwindling in despair. It may have something to do with a monthly visit from Mother Nature, draining my will to live slowly and steadily for the past two days. Day three and things hadn't gotten much better. Heating pad, loose pyjamas and greasy hair, I sat down at the small table to finish my meal, the crappy show on YouTube keeping me occupied.

Sure, my house wasn't much, but if I had to fulfil my dreams one day, a small home with smaller rent was the way to go. Especially considering how I didn't have rent money to keep this one-bedroom space, I would definitely not have the capability to keep a larger house. I'd done what I could to make it feel homely, though. The bed was a bunk of sorts, so I made the space below it my studying area, and a frame on the wall that held everything dear to me. To the opposite end was the kitchen stove and the sink, close enough that it should have been criminal, to be honest. There was space for a mini-fridge, and I did my laundry at the store downstairs. Nobody had space to fit a washing machine in this place.

Not much, but just enough.

I had just finished washing my utensils, hoping to sleep early when the doorbell rang. It must be Kyle. The guy who lived upstairs would always fucking forget his keys at home and had left a spare with me. He'd come in occasionally to ask me for the keys or to return the extra set. Today, I guessed the latter.

Shock coloured me blue as Aiden Steele stood outside my small shoebox of an apartment, looking every bit expensive and bougie as could be, a look of disdain fallen on his face. His beard was doing wonders for his face, and the navy of his suit really brought out his eyes. And here I was, smelling of dish soap and tomatoes, not wearing a bra under the baggy tee shirt and shorts that definitely had holes in them. If one could draw a contrast between us, they'd have pages to write. A whole volume.

I checked the time on my phone. Three minutes till it would be Tuesday, and he would have been too late.

"It took a while to be shipped from Romania." He extended a black box to me. With almost shaking fingers, I took the box, undoing the blue ribbon and opening it. My bracelet!

The beads were shining and glittery, as they had been when I first received them. I couldn't help the whimper that came from my lips as I picked it from the casing delicately, putting it over my wrist. A perfect fit and I was close to tears seeing my bracelet collection complete. One from her, and one from my nephews and one from my mother. The holy trinity of things that kept me afloat.

"Thank-" I was about to say something but I found his eyes fixated on the wall behind me.

"Is that- dad?"

Sure enough, there was a photograph of me in my business formals, I'd stolen the red shirt from my roommate, standing next to the legendary Ronald Steele. Aiden took the liberty to walk in, taking the photo off the wall and running a hand over the picture, as one does with items of sentimentality. "This must have been a few years ago."

"Four years. It was taken at the Steele Grants Proposal Dinner before-"

"Before dad stepped down and I shut the program."

The Steele Grants Proposal Dinner was possibly the hardest room to get into, needing a business proposal, which was frankly the easier part, but also the interest of Ronald Steele to invest in the business someday. That was the challenge. Every year, entrepreneurs from across some of the top B-Schools would apply for the program, getting rejected for the smallest things such as one bad calculation. At the end of the first year, you could receive mentorship for three months, and at the end of your graduation, Steele Enterprises would provide the seed fund for the business in exchange for equity in the business.

"You had a- you had a proposal to present?" He tilted his head, still not fully understanding the situation that would bring someone from the Proposal Dinner to a shoebox apartment.

"I was third in place that year, due to receiving seed funds after graduation from Northwestern the next year. I dropped out, so I had to give up the dream."

"You were at Northwestern?"

"What, like it's hard?" My inner Elle Woods channelled itself, but the reference seemed to be lost on Mr Steele.

"Why did you drop out?"

"I had my reasons." I quipped, not wanting to divulge more information to a stranger.

"Do you have this written out somewhere still?" he said finally, moving back from the desk, accidentally hitting the small table.

I sidestepped him, pulling a drawer open and finding the cute purple folder I'd recorded my proposal in. I had fully intended to put it in a black, professional-looking folder... someday again. Aiden Steele just marched in out of nowhere.

"Mind you, I made it four years ago," I motioned him to sit, putting the folder in front of him, "A lot of shit is updated here," I pointed to my head, "but not the folder."

In this small apartment, Aiden looked so out of place, it was comical. He struggled to sit with his feet constricted by my small coffee/dinner table, and he took quite a while to figure out that no possible method would make this sitting arrangement easier. Having enjoyed enough of his misery, I slid out the chair from my study desk, turning it for him, "I guess this would be better for you."

He was visibly uncomfortable as he stood out of the small chair and took the other one, folder following him. I pulled a pillow from my bed above, sitting cross-legged on the table, pillow on my lap. With his suit unbuttoned, tie loosened, Aiden read through the proposal with deep interest. He asked me questions whenever there was something that concerned him and I corrected him when there was some stuff I thought of differently.

We went over the basic revenue model to the marketing, and the distribution problem that used to keep me up at night back then. Aiden took interest in what plans I was showing him, and how I had looked at all possible opportunities in this space, the only place in the entire folder that wasn't currently looking for some major revamp. At some point, I'd become tired and stiff, and my bum was sore sitting on the hard table. I'd paced around a bit before climbing up on my bed, leaning over the edge to talk to Aiden. He'd taken a liking to the table soon after, sitting on it quite elegantly, unlike me.

The conversation was... thrilling. Each idea was met with a counterargument and each question got my gears in action. In places where I was stuck, I asked what he would do, and every time he answered, my mind was blown. From where he stood, Aiden had a very good understanding of business and its inner workings. It was tragic that all this while I had been thinking his business was handed to him on a silver platter, it was obvious that he was very passionate about his business.

Sure, he may have been handed the role, but dear lord he was acing it. I could see why and just how he'd worked to scale his business to the heights it had reached today, and I could tell that he took pride in his work. Aiden's seeming arrogance was not misplaced.

I was the first to crack. It was 6.34 according to my wall clock when I yawned, making Aiden yawn as well. Terribly contagious yawning broke us down eventually, and I got out of bed to make myself some coffee.

"You want some?"

"Ah, no thank you. I should get going, I've clearly overstayed my welcome." He said politely, while his eyes dubiously looked at the coffee blend I was using. I'm sure he had some form of liquid gold coffee at home, but well. Somehow, I had to make peace with the fact that Aiden and I were two different worlds that had very few possibilities of colliding.

"Go home and rest," I said as the water boiled, hands awkwardly placed on the counter. I watched him watch me for a minute like he had something in mind. Then I saw his cold demeanour sink in, the smile on his face disappeared. It was like a time-lapse of a child growing up, all signs of innocence and free spirit dissolving behind responsibility and solemnity. Such a disgrace to such a beautiful face.

"I should go." He said finally, talking more to himself than to me. I nodded along with him, both of us not moving. We knew that the moment Aiden was out of this door, that would be the end of this extraordinary night. I mean, it surely was marvellous for me. Aiden seemed reluctant enough to step out of the door too as if the magic enveloping us would break as soon as his foot crossed the threshold. And it didn't seem like he was happy about it.

"I'll be going now." He said finally with a sigh, turning on his heel and collecting his blazer. The place had gotten too suffocating for him, perhaps, he'd taken the blazer, tie and shoes off as the night progressed, making himself comfortable on the floor too. He'd still looked very much out of place though. And that had been a sharp and distinctive reminder that Aiden was from a whole different league. This was a one-time opportunity. And I would never feel the same again.

I turned the heat off, pouring the water into my coffee mug, letting it steam and rest for a minute.

"I'll walk you out," I said finally, taking my slippers off the small rack.

Aiden nodded and we walked out of the house, I pressed the button to call the lift.

"You don't want to lock it?" He asked, surprised someone would leave their door wide open like I did.

"Did you find anything worth stealing?" He had no response, "It's just three floors down. And I'm not stepping out of the building. It'll be fine." I shook my head. It seemed that everything in this universe was just reminding me to stop before I went too far, to catch myself before I ran too fast. Just stop.

I watched as Aiden Steele walked away from my shabby self towards his black Jaguar, and I watched him get into the driver's seat. I watched as Aiden drove past me without a second glance, and I watched my daydreams shatter in front of me.

I always did this. Literally always. Someone would shower me with two seconds of attention, and I'd be dreaming of building a future with them. I needed to get a grip on myself, and I needed to do it quick. Quick before I built a glorified version of Aiden Steele in my head, the one that wanted nothing more than to marry and to settle down with a million kids and a large house with a swimming pool and a flower garden.

I had to remind myself who I was.

And that started with the fact that I had a job to get to, and I would be drowsy the whole day, thanks to someone who would forget about me in barely seconds. With a heavy breath, I walked back upstairs, cleaning up the mess we had created with the scattered sheets. My coffee was barely lukewarm, but it did the trick and I headed to take a shower before getting ready for work.

Back to daily life.

***

To say my shift was a disaster would be an understatement. I had never been this lost, dazed and confused in all my life, and I couldn't tell my head from my arse if I had to. My shift manager, Bryan was so fed up with me, that he eventually told me to go check the inventory, except I knew Kylie had already done that for the day. I headed inside the stock room and sat on the floor, setting an alarm for twenty minutes.

Waking up in twenty minutes should do the trick. I will be refreshed and my brain would be powered up to work through the rest of the day.

... I woke up two hours later. Kylie informed me that Bryan was about to leave, so he couldn't cover for me anymore. I left with him, not having the strength to survive another waking minute. I was on high alert the whole way home, lethargy taking over me as soon as I set foot in the building. Finally, I could let my guard down and get some damn sleep.

While it was great discussing business plans and strategies in theory with someone all night, and no matter how exhilarating the whole experience has been, I needed desperately to come off my high horse and face the reality. The business plan needed to get back on my shelf, and I needed to ensure such terrible days never came again to haunt me at work.

I was only cementing this in my mind as the lift wobbled three floors up, opening the doors and finding the strangest surprise waiting at my doorstep.

"Hi," Aiden Steele was standing at my doorstep for the second time this week, and it was only Tuesday.

"Hi," I replied, although it came out more like a question. He leaned against the door as I battled with the rusty lock, eventually pushing the door open with my shoulder. I turned the lights and fan on before inviting Aiden in, and he took less than a minute to make himself home after yesterday. Shoes off, chair pulled, tie off.

"How long have you been waiting outside?" I asked, taking off my shoes and socks. I tucked my ID into my purse, throwing it up on the bed. I could deal with that mess later on.

"Not long. I didn't realize you'd be at work."

"I don't have enough sick leaves left," I shrugged. I'd wanted nothing more than to dive straight into bed and fall asleep, and a strong cup of coffee was desperately needed if I wanted to survive even the next hour. So, I turned the water to a boil, asking Aiden if he wanted anything while I waited for my coffee.

"Water would be fine." I grabbed a cup, rinsing it first before pouring water for him. He stared at the cup with suspicion, as he did for everything around my house. Jesus, just believe that some of us aren't born in the lap of luxury, how hard is that?

"Well, I had an idea in mind, and I wanted to run it by you," he said.

What does Aiden Steele need to run by me? I was sure he could see the unreal expression on my face, because he started explaining further, "So I was thinking about your idea, right? And I feel like there is a good space in the market for this, but only if we launch this in like, six months. And you did tell me that you need an initial investment of $400,000 to kick this off the ground, right?"

I nodded.

"Here's the deal. I like profits, I really do. And I think your idea has merit."

Oh, if he thinks he can buy this idea off me, he's so dead fucking wrong. I would fight him to the fucking ground-

"So, I have a proposal for you. I'll give you the $400,000 to start and I'll give you the office space you need to set everything up. In exchange, I want 40% of your business and control over your financial audit. You can start working on it in three months."

My jaw was practically on the floor. Aiden Steele was basically throwing $400,000 on a sales associate at GAP with an outdated business plan and no experience running a business.

"In these three months, I want you to sort of follow me at work. Figure out how we do things in real life and how businesses function. I'll introduce you to the right people and the works. Exactly what you were promised. How's that sound?"

I had no words. I truly had lost all form of diction, only hollow air coming out of my mouth.

"It seems like a lot to take in, I know, I hope I didn't shock you too far."

Shock me too far? Did the man even know what he was saying? Keeping my hands hidden from his view, I pinched my skin. Fuck, I wasn't hallucinating, was I?

"Did you just pinch yourself?"

I nodded, making a boyish smile appear on his face.

"It's all real, I promise."

"But... What? Sorry, I need a minute." I sat down on the coffee table in front of him, just taking it all in. "$400,000."

"For 40% of your company, I think it's a fair bargain." He looked at me, almost daring me to say no. And I couldn't. Heck, he could have asked for the whole idea in exchange for peanuts and arm-twisted me to give it away, but here he was, giving me more than what I thought was fair to a business that was practically only on paper.

Outdated paper, even.

"It just seems too good to be true," I finally found my words, voice still shaky.

He nodded, "You're overwhelmed, it's alright. Take your time and figure it out. You can come to my office tomorrow to let me know." Aiden stood up from his chair, putting his shoes on.

He was leaving, a storm brewing in my head and a million thoughts racing around me. It shouldn't be a hard decision to make, really.

"I'll do it," I blurted, just as he was reaching for the door.

"Really?" He asked, turning around.

"Yeah, it has been my dream since forever, I don't know why I would turn it down."

Aiden stared at me like he was sure I would change my mind in seconds. Well, I wasn't going to back down. Not now when I have the whole fucking world at my disposal. With Aiden's help, this business could reach places that I would have never been able to achieve. Simply having the Steele name join over the business valued our business over everyone else, and I couldn't imagine a better opportunity anyone would have.

"Alright, that's great. I'll start with your first business tip: Never settle for the offer on the table."

I scrunched my brows.

"I was willing to go as low as 10% equity in your company if you had asked me for any kind of negotiation. But you didn't, so now you're giving me 30% of your company that you could have kept for yourself."

"You'd value my business at 4 million while it's on paper?"

He nodded.

"How generous," I quipped, "Truly, you should take 1% and just give me the money. You don't know what I'm capable of."

Aiden pretended to think about it, and then shrugged, "Done. You have my word."

My jaw dropped on the floor a third time for the night.

"You know what valuation that is?!"

He grinned, chipper at my reaction of course. Laugh all you want, Aiden Steele. You could not take this incredulous moment away from me.

"I'm not betting on the business anyway," he said finally, opening the door with some difficulty, "I'm always betting on the person. I'm betting on you."

I have no control over my emotions sorry. 

Happy Reading!