Chapter 2 - The Billionaire Behind the Wheel
The sound of the shattered champagne glass carried farther than Victoria wanted it to.
For one painful second, no one in the ballroom spoke.
Then the whispers began.
“Wasn’t she just talking to him outside?”
“She called him a driver.”
“I heard she threatened to fire him.”
Victoria stared at the broken crystal at her feet. A server rushed forward with a towel, but Alejandro raised one hand.
“Leave it,” he said.
The server stopped.
Alejandro stepped through the circle of guests and approached her.
He moved without hurry, forcing the room to wait.
Victoria lifted her chin.
She refused to look frightened.
“You deceived me,” she said.
A few guests gasped at her boldness.
Alejandro stopped several feet away.
“I drove you here.”
“You pretended to be an employee.”
“I wore a uniform.”
“You allowed me to believe you were beneath me.”
His expression hardened slightly.
“Beneath you?”
Victoria immediately realized the mistake.
Cynthia touched her arm.
“Victoria, perhaps this isn’t the time.”
Victoria pulled away.
“No. He arranged this.”
Alejandro looked around the ballroom.
“Did I arrange your words?”
“You asked me out knowing I didn’t know who you were.”
“Yes.”
“So this was a trap.”
“No.”
His voice remained calm.
“It was a question.”
“You wanted to embarrass me.”
“I asked whether you would have coffee with a man you believed had nothing to offer you.”
“And when I said no, you humiliated me in front of everyone.”
Alejandro’s eyes held hers.
“You did not simply say no.”
The ballroom fell silent again.
Victoria remembered every word.
You open doors.
You wait outside.
That is your position.
Alejandro continued.
“You explained my value to me based on a jacket.”
She glanced at the guests watching her.
Some appeared amused.
Others looked uncomfortable.
A few were clearly enjoying every second.
Victoria lowered her voice.
“You could have corrected me.”
“Would that have changed your behavior?”
She said nothing.
“That is why I didn’t.”
Cynthia stepped between them with a nervous smile.
“Alejandro, I’m sure this has been an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
He looked at her.
“Did you misunderstand her?”
Cynthia’s smile vanished.
Alejandro turned back to Victoria.
“I do this every year.”
“You pretend to be a servant?”
“I spend one evening seeing how my guests treat people they believe cannot help them.”
Murmurs passed through the room.
Senator Ballard frowned.
“You tested all of us?”
Alejandro looked at him.
“You thanked the valet who carried your wife’s coat.”
The senator relaxed.
Alejandro glanced toward a shipping executive nearby.
“Mr. Nolan demanded that one of my employees be fired because his luggage was placed in the wrong vehicle.”
The executive went pale.
“This is inappropriate,” Nolan said.
“Then leave.”
The man stared at him.
Alejandro pointed toward the ballroom doors.
“No one is being held here.”
Nolan muttered something under his breath and walked away.
The orchestra remained silent.
Victoria crossed her arms.
“So this gala is nothing but a game to you?”
“No. The charity is real. The guests are real. The choices are real.”
“And what happens to the people who fail your little test?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether they learn anything.”
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“You think because you’re rich, you can judge everyone.”
Alejandro stepped closer.
“No. I think because I employ thousands of people, support hospitals, fund schools, and choose business partners who influence entire communities, I have a responsibility to know who I’m dealing with.”
“That doesn’t make you morally superior.”
“I never said it did.”
“But you believe it.”
“No.”
His answer came quickly.
“I believe power reveals character. Tonight, I gave everyone a small amount of power over a man they thought could not fight back.”
He paused.
“You showed me what you would do with it.”
Victoria’s face burned.
Behind Alejandro, photographers near the ballroom entrance were raising their cameras.
She noticed them too late.
A flash lit the room.
“Stop taking pictures,” she snapped.
Another flash followed.
Alejandro turned toward the press.
“This conversation is over.”
The photographers reluctantly lowered their cameras.
Victoria stared at him.
“Now you protect me?”
“I protect my guests.”
“I thought I failed.”
“You did.”
The blunt answer struck harder than an insult.
Alejandro gestured toward a quieter hallway.
“If you want to continue this discussion, we will do it privately.”
Victoria hesitated.
Every instinct told her to leave.
But walking out would look like defeat.
She followed him.
They entered a library lined with dark wooden shelves and old leather-bound books. Julián closed the doors behind them.
Victoria spun around.
“You planned that toast.”
“Yes.”
“At least you admit it.”
“I wanted you to recognize me.”
“You wanted everyone else to recognize what happened.”
Alejandro poured water into two glasses.
She did not take the one he offered.
“Why me?” she demanded.
“You were not the only person tested.”
“I was the only person publicly exposed.”
“You approached me in the ballroom.”
“I didn’t know it was you.”
“That was the point.”
Victoria walked toward the fireplace.
Her reflection stared back from a gold-framed mirror.
The white dress still looked perfect.
She no longer did.
“You know nothing about me,” she said.
“I know you rented the car.”
Her head snapped toward him.
“I know the necklace came from Bellamy Jewelers on Fifth Avenue.”
“That is none of your business.”
“I know your family’s company has been losing money for eighteen months.”
Victoria froze.
Alejandro continued.
“I know you came here hoping to meet me because Montgomery Design Group needs an investor.”
She turned fully.
“You investigated me.”
“You requested access to a private gala attended by people whose decisions affect my companies.”
“So you investigate everyone?”
“Yes.”
“That’s paranoid.”
“That’s responsible.”
Her voice shook with anger.
“You let me walk into this room knowing I needed your help.”
“No. I let you walk into this room so I could decide whether you deserved it.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“And now?”
“Now I know you care more about status than honesty.”
“You don’t know what I care about.”
“Then tell me.”
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Alejandro waited.
Victoria looked away.
“My father built that company from nothing,” she said finally. “He worked twenty-hour days. My mother sold her jewelry to make payroll. When he died, he left it to me.”
“And it is failing.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because our largest client left. Then the bank reduced our credit line. Then two senior designers resigned.”
“Why did they resign?”
She did not answer.
Alejandro watched her carefully.
“Why?”
“They said I cared more about appearances than the work.”
“Were they wrong?”
Her eyes flashed.
“You enjoy this.”
“No.”
“You enjoy watching me admit failure.”
“I enjoy honesty. I see very little of it.”
Victoria took a slow breath.
“I made mistakes.”
“That is not the same as admitting what they were.”
“I spent money we did not have.”
“On what?”
“Marketing. Events. Image consultants.”
“To make the company look successful.”
“Yes.”
“When it wasn’t.”
“Yes.”
Alejandro leaned against the desk.
“That is the first honest thing you’ve said tonight.”
She glared at him.
“Don’t sound so pleased.”
“I’m not pleased.”
“What are you, then?”
“Interested.”
Victoria gave a humorless laugh.
“In investing?”
“In whether you can change.”
“I don’t need your approval.”
“You need my capital.”
The sentence landed cleanly.
She looked toward the door.
“I should leave.”
“You probably should.”
Her hand reached the handle.
Then Alejandro spoke again.
“Monday morning. Nine o’clock.”
She looked back.
“What?”
“My office.”
“Why?”
“You will present your company’s financials.”
Victoria stared at him.
“After tonight?”
“Especially after tonight.”
“Is this another test?”
“Everything is a test when something important is at stake.”
“And if I pass?”
“I may invest.”
“And if I fail?”
“You lose your company.”
Her jaw tightened.
“You really think you can frighten me.”
“No.”
Alejandro picked up his glass.
“I think reality already has.”
Victoria opened the door.
Julián waited outside.
As she passed him, he spoke quietly.
“Miss Montgomery.”
She stopped.
“The car is ready.”
She looked at him, expecting mockery.
There was none.
Only professionalism.
That somehow made it worse.
She walked through the ballroom without looking at anyone.
Behind her, the orchestra started again.
Alejandro stood in the library doorway and watched her leave.
Julián approached him.
“You are giving her another chance.”
“I’m giving the company a chance.”
“You don’t believe that.”
Alejandro looked toward the shattered glass still lying on the marble.
“No,” he said. “I don’t.”
Outside, Victoria climbed into the rented sedan.
A different chauffeur sat behind the wheel.
He glanced at her through the mirror.
“Where to, ma’am?”
Victoria looked back at the glowing mansion.
Then she removed the diamond necklace and placed it in her purse.
“The office.”
“It’s nearly midnight.”
“I know.”
She sat straighter.
“And please don’t call me ma’am.”
The chauffeur nodded.
“Yes, Miss Montgomery.”
May you like
The car pulled away.
For the first time that night, Victoria did not look at her reflection.
