Love wasn't part of the plan

"You want scandal?" Arya Snow raised an eyebrow, setting her coffee down with a soft *clink* on her editor's desk.

Leonard Marks, the editor-in-chief of *Reel World*, leaned back in his worn leather chair, the same one he'd been sitting in the day he told her she was "too soft" for the real stuff. But this morning, he looked far too pleased with himself.

"I want gold," he said. "Not recycled gossip. Not Instagram headlines. Something raw. Private. Untouchable."

Arya frowned. "Then maybe you should ask Marcie. She lives for this."

"She's out," Leonard replied.

Arya blinked. "Out? But she's your go-to."

"She's planning a wedding and says this kind of assignment would 'ruin her romantic glow,'" he said with a dramatic eye roll. "She'll be on half-speed for the next two months."

Arya's heart pounded. This was it - the kind of assignment she'd been quietly wishing for. She'd spent years writing about color trends, designer knockoffs, and why glossy boots were back in season. But this? This was something big.

"I'll do it," she said, quickly, maybe too quickly.

Leonard looked at her for a long second, amused. "You?" "Yes. I know I've never done something like this, but I can. Give me the subject. I'll prove it."

He leaned forward, hands folded, skeptical. "This isn't a dress review, Arya. If you screw this up, we get sued. Or worse - we look basic."

"I won't screw it up," she insisted. "I can handle it. Just give me the chance."

A pause.

Then he slid a thin black folder across the desk.

"Don't say I never gave you anything."

Arya picked it up, opened it - and froze.

*Kian Grey.*

CEO of GreyTech. Billionaire. Reclusive genius. Publicly charming, privately unknown. No scandals, no exes, no weaknesses - at least none that anyone had ever gotten close enough to find.

Arya stared at his photo. The man didn't even smile in pictures, yet there was something electric about him. Sharp jaw. Cold storm-colored eyes. Precision in every line of his tailored suit.

Leonard continued, "No one's cracked him. Not even Forbes. Not even Vanity. You want your big break? Dig into the man everyone pretends they understand but no one really knows."

"How am I supposed to even meet him?" she asked.

"That's your job to figure out."

Later that afternoon, Arya sat on the edge of her desk, staring at Kian Grey's empty file as if it would bite her. Her best friend and fellow writer, Lara, leaned against the cubicle wall, arms crossed, lips tight.

"So let me get this straight," Lara said. "You're going to pretend to be someone else and infiltrate the life of a man who literally bought out two magazines just to keep a single photo unpublished?"

Arya cringed. "That was one time."

"Exactly. And the photographer still can't find work."

Arya sighed, closing the folder. "Look, I know it's crazy. I'm not even their best writer. I've only done fashion pieces, profiles, puff stories. This is the first time I've been offered something *real*."

"Leonard didn't offer it," Lara corrected. "You begged."

Arya looked down. "I want more, Nina. I'm tired of writing about handbags. I want a story that matters."

Lara softened. "I get that. But Kian Grey? He's not just rich, Arya. He's powerful. Strategic. If he finds out what you're doing..."

"I'll be careful," Arya said.

"You might end up hated by the public," Lara warned. "You think people won't come after you if you mess with their tech god? And you know how messy the internet can be,your career, your life with just his word"Arya's chest tightened. She'd thought about it, of course. But the idea of *finally* proving she was more than a byline under "Seasonal Style Trends" and the fact she might get a promotion felt worth the risk.

"He's very impossible to access unless you're in his circle,and I just have to find a way to get in there." Lara added.

Arya opened the folder again and stared at the short list of people Kian allowed into his life. A few business partners. His lawyer. A single PR contact. And a personal assistant with a six-month NDA.

Impossible... unless she slipped in through another angle.

She looked up slowly. "But what if I wasn't a reporter?"

Lara blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What if I posed as someone else? Someone... non-threatening. Someone who could be hired."

Lara's eyes narrowed. "Like who?"

Arya's lips curved into a plan she wasn't sure she had the guts to follow through on. "A fashion designer."

Lara groaned. "That is the dumbest-and possibly most brilliant-thing I've ever heard."

Arya gave a small smile, heart pounding. "He's redoing his penthouse, apparently. Word is he's looking for someone fresh. Under the radar.And we both know I can be good for that work"

"And you think you can convince him you're a designer?"

"I know enough. I can fake the rest.Just hope my childhood dream will help me this time around"

Lara leaned closer, lowering her voice. "You do realize who you're digging into, right? Kian Grey. Billionaire, guarded, ruthless. Also... too handsome to be real. Like, unfairly handsome.Lord knows why his father decided not to speak of him till he became CEO"

Arya raised an eyebrow. "That's your concern? His jawline?"

Lara smirked. "I'm just saying, if you end up staring at him too long and forget your mission, I won't blame you."

Arya smiled, though her stomach fluttered with nerves. "I won't forget. I can't."

"You are my best friend you should support me,"

"Oh!! Yes,yes support your mission to hell"Lara smirked again.

"You're seriously going to lie your way into a billionaire's life?"

Arya's smile faded. "Not for the story. Not entirely. For me. I need to know I can do this."

"And what if you fall for him?" Lara asked quietly.

Arya paused.

"That's not going to happen."

But the way her stomach flipped as she stared at Kian's picture told her it might already be too late.

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