New beginning: Billionaire love story

Alexander dropped into his office chair with a sigh, still feeling the weight of his conversation with Claire hanging over him like an overcast sky. He wasn't entirely thrilled about the situation, but duty called. Claire wanted him to reach out to Claudia again, and like it or not, he'd have to comply. With a quick glance at the clock, he picked up the phone and dialed Claudia's number. To his surprise, it only rang once before her voice came through.

"Finally!" Claudia's voice snapped over the line before he could even get a greeting out. "I've been waiting for you to call. Delete it, Alexander. Delete that damn recording from last night."

Alexander leaned back in his chair, unable to stop the amused smirk that tugged at the corners of his lips. There it was-deja vu. Every conversation with Claudia somehow circled back to demands and accusations, but there was something almost charming about her fiery nature. Almost.

"Nice to hear from you too, Claudia," he drawled, leaning back a little more. "But I can't just delete it, not yet anyway."

"Why not?" Claudia barked, her impatience coming through loud and clear. "You have no right to keep it, and you know it."

"I'll delete it," Alexander replied smoothly, "but you've got to do something for me first."

There was a beat of silence, followed by a disbelieving scoff. "You've got to be kidding me," Claudia spat. "Clarify it to the media? What for? People will forget about it in a few days anyway. It's not a big deal."

Alexander's smirk faded, and his expression grew serious. "It is a big deal, Claudia. That press release? It's not just on some obscure website that'll vanish in a week. It's on YouTube, and on social media. People can re-watch it over and over. Not to mention, your cryptic talk during that Q&A session has already stirred the pot. The journalists are curious. They're asking questions. It's only a matter of time before things spiral."

Claudia rolled her eyes so hard that Alexander could practically hear it through the phone. "Oh, so now you care about what the media thinks?" she shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You've barely paid attention to the Wright family in years. Why start now?" Alexander's brows furrowed, and his tone hardened. "That matter was resolved, Claudia," he said, irritation seeping into his voice. "You have no right to drag it up again."

right," Claudia cut in, waving him off even though he couldn't see it. "You're the one who started this whole thing in the first

his nose and sighed. "Look, are you going to clarify things or not? Because if not,

simmering on the other end of the line. She knew Alexander was right, but that didn't mean she had to like it. The last thing she wanted was to face the public again, especially not now. For reasons she wasn't about to share, the idea of being in the spotlight made her skin crawl. But this punk, Alexander, was pushing her into a

her voice tight with anger. "Fine. I'll do it. But don't think for

to expect resistance, but he also knew she

passed since Alexander's tense call with Claudia the previous night, and now he found himself sitting in his office, tapping a pen on the edge of his desk. He had just gotten off another call-this time, Claire was on the other end of the line. "Claudia has agreed to clarify her words during the Q&A session," Alexander said, his tone business-like, hoping this would ease some of the tension from their last conversation. He had barely finished the sentence before Claire sighed loudly on the other end. "That's something," Claire responded, but there

asked, "What if we skip the video and go with a letter instead? I mean, have her write a formal apology. We can post it on the website, and maybe put it out as

tapping her fingers on the desk, probably deep in thought-or maybe she was

Claire finally replied, her voice dripping with skepticism. "No, no, Alexander. Claudia needs to make a video apology, face-to-face with the public. Then, sure, she can add a handwritten note if she wants something personal, but not as a réplacement. We need both. We can't just brush

"But what if she changes her mind again? You know how Claudia

you make when someone asks you the same thing for the fifth time in a row. "Alexander, seriously? You don't need to run every single decision by me. You're a grown man! You can handle it." He blinked, surprised by her sudden outburst. "What's that supposed to mean?" he

mean, you're the CEO,

like you're just a spectator

But everything that's happening this chaos with Claudia? It's on you. It's your business, your responsibility," Claire

here was

pure frustration. "You should've had a better handle on this from the start. I don't get how