Alexander Draven

She just needed a job. After weeks of searching, she'd lost count of how many resumes she'd sent. Most went unanswered, some were rejected. Nothing out of the ordinary. Without much hope, she sent one more—this time to a company too big for someone like her to seriously consider. A multinational luxury cosmetics company, known for its influence and power in the market.

She wasn't expecting to be called. But she was.

The process was quick. Strangely quick. Few questions, attentive glances… and, days later, the answer. She had been hired. Not for an ordinary position, but as the CEO's personal secretary.

At first, he thought it was a mistake. But it wasn't.

On the first day, everything seemed overwhelming. The building, the people, the pace. Everything functioned with precision, as if every detail had been planned. And then, she saw him.

The CEO.

A discreet presence, but impossible to ignore. He didn't need to draw attention—she simply came. They barely exchanged words. But it was enough.

Weeks later, she was already adapted. Or almost. Working with him meant always being around—organizing schedules, attending meetings, dealing with important decisions.

He remained the same: reserved, direct, always focused.

But there were details.

subtle… but apparent

Like calling her by name without looking. Or anticipating what she needed before she even asked. Nothing clear. But not normal either.

One late afternoon, with the office empty, she entered his room to confirm the schedule for the following day. He listened in silence.

Before she left, she simply said:

"You adapt quickly."

It didn't sound like a compliment.

But it wasn't just an observation either.

And for some reason, that stuck in her mind longer than it should have.

(Good story, enjoy!)

Alexander Draven didn't get where he is by luck. He inherited the company at a young age, after the sudden death of his father, and in just a few years transformed everything around him. What was once just a big brand, in his hands became an empire.

But this growth did not come clean.

Early in his career, someone he trusted nearly destroyed everything—a partner, someone too close, who tried to wrest control of the company from him. It was there that Alexander learned, the hard way, that trust is a weakness when misplaced.

Since then, he has changed.

He became colder, more calculating, more distant. He stopped forming bonds, stopped trusting, and began controlling every detail of his own life with almost obsessive precision.

Her routine is rigid, her habits are controlled, and her image... impeccable.

But what almost no one knows is that, long before all of this — before the power, before the name Draven carried so much weight — there was a phase of his life that he simply erased.

And that's exactly where she comes in.

He didn't hire her by chance.

When her resume reached him, it wasn't the position or the experience that caught his attention.

That was the name.

He remembered.

Not completely, not immediately... but I remembered.

She was part of a period of his life that he left behind—a time when he wasn't yet who he is today. Maybe someone from the same school. Maybe someone who crossed his path when everything was still… simpler.

He didn't investigate thoroughly.

Not at that moment.

But it was enough to make an unusual decision.

He wanted her close by.

Not on impulse.

But because, in some way, she represented something he could no longer access.

And that bothered him.

And at the same time… it held him captive.