MISTAKEN RUTHLESS TYCOON FOR LOVER

New York City, late autumn, 5:30 PM.

The sun had long been swallowed by thick clouds, leaving only a few pale rays struggling to break through the gray sky.

Emily had been slumped over her desk for hours, cold sweat forming in beads on her forehead.

The sharp trill of her phone rang out clearly amidst the mechanical clatter of keyboards, yanking her back from a fog of dizziness.

"Hello, is this Emily from The New York Times?"

Lying face-down on the desk, Emily forced herself upright and responded, trying to sound alert. "Speaking. Who is this, please?"

"I'm Lens, assistant to the president of Universe Bank. About a month ago, your magazine scheduled an interview with President Aiden Campbell for tomorrow. Do you remember?"

Emily snapped to full awareness, instinctively straightening her posture.

Of course, she remembered.

The name Aiden had been on everyone's lips lately.

At first, he made waves in the industry simply for being the son of Bill, the founder of Universe Group, and for suddenly appearing on the financial scene.

After returning from his studies in Europe, Aiden took over Universe Bank, the group's privately-owned commercial bank.

At the time, insiders weren't optimistic-it looked like Bill had tossed his half-defunct company to his son to let him "play CEO" for fun. Critics even mocked the move in columns that were normally far more serious.

But Aiden proved them wrong. He swiftly tackled the bank's over-reliance on deposit-lending operations and its increasing risk exposure. He focused on risk management, executed reforms decisively, and turned things around.

At just 27, Aiden became the talk of the entire financial world. Awards flooded in, and media outlets scrambled to secure interviews. But despite his fame, actual interviews with him were rare. Even the most mainstream outlets struggled to get even a few quotes.

This interview had taken months of effort and strings pulled by the editor-in-chief to arrange.

When the assignment was handed to Emily, the whole newsroom looked on in envy.

The name Aiden alone guaranteed readership-and the reporter who got to interview him would be in the spotlight too.

Now, however, this call had Emily's stomach in knots. She asked carefully, "Is there a change in schedule?"

"Yes," Lens said. "The interview scheduled for 9 AM tomorrow has to be postponed. President Campbell has a conflict due to other work commitments."

Emily pressed, "Will he be available in the next few days?"

"Unlikely," Lens replied. "If it's possible on your end, we'd like to push the interview to a week later."

That wouldn't work.

In financial journalism, timing was everything. A week's delay would mean the article might not make it to print in time-and any exclusive angles could already be stale.

"That's really not ideal," Emily said quickly. "Would there be any way to squeeze in a short interview? Even by phone?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Lens replied. "I can't disclose the exact schedule, but the earliest availability is next week."

Emily gritted her teeth. "What about tonight? Just three hours-no, two? One hour?"

Before Lens could answer, she jumped in again, desperation leaking into her voice. "Even just one hour. Please, I've been preparing for this interview for a month."

Lens hesitated, then said in a lowered voice, "President Campbell is attending an important event tonight. But-maybe-he could spare a moment during it. No promises though."

"I'll wait," Emily blurted out. "Just give me the address. I'll be there."

Before hanging up, Lens warned her, "Miss Emily, I can arrange a waiting area, but I can't guarantee you'll see President Campbell. It's entirely possible this will be a wasted trip."

-

The call ended with a few mechanical beeps echoing in Emily's ears. She collapsed back onto the desk, nerves slowly settling-only to be replaced by a hollow sense of disappointment.

An Aiden interview should've been a moment of triumph.

But her heightened emotional sensitivity-courtesy of her period-was making the letdown hit even harder. Her mood was terrible. Even a little bitter.

Today was her boyfriend Carlos's birthday.

Their first birthday celebration together as a couple.

Carlos had made dinner reservations and bought movie tickets, all set for a cozy evening. But now Emily wouldn't be there. Instead, she'd be dragging her exhausted, cramping body to an event she might not even get into.

She turned her face to the side, took a few deep breaths, and shut down her computer.

Across from her, Cathy looked up from her own work. "What's going on?"

Emily stayed still a moment, bracing against a wave of pain. Then she said, "The interview's been moved up. I have to go tonight."

"What?" Cathy now noticed how pale Emily looked. Her normally lively expression had dulled, her skin ghostly white. "Are you okay?"

"Doesn't matter. I have to be," Emily muttered, walking over to the printer and gathering a stack of documents. She stood there, staring blankly at the floor.

The printer hummed quietly, neatly stacking the pages in front of her.

Someone's ringtone went off nearby. Emily blinked and slowly pulled out her own phone.

She was about to call Carlos to explain, but just then, he beat her to it.

"Babe, I'm coming to pick you up. What time do you get off?"

Leaning against the printer, Emily drew slow circles on the machine with her finger. "I'm really sorry. I have a last-minute interview. It might take two hours. I don't think I can make dinner."

She hesitated, then added, "I'm also not feeling great, so I might not be up for the movie either."

Carlos sighed on the other end. "Okay. I'll just hang with a friend or something."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

-

Cathy waited for Emily to hang up, twirling her pen. "You ditched your boyfriend?"

"What else was I supposed to do?" Emily said, hauling her documents over to the binder. "Ditch Aiden?"

"Poor guy. First birthday with you and he loses out to a stranger."

"Sounds like I'm going to Aiden's birthday instead," Emily muttered.

"I still can't believe your boyfriend's okay with this," Cathy said.

"What's there to be mad about?" Emily replied, after a pause. "He didn't complain. Said he understood."

Cathy snorted. "Your guy is way too reasonable. Mine's super clingy. If I bailed on him-reason or no-he'd be mad."

Emily spaced out a little.

A sharp "click" and a jab of pain in her finger snapped her back. She yanked her hand away from the stapler just in time.

But the sting lingered-and seemed to crawl deeper.

She stood silently for a few seconds, then texted Carlos:

Emily,Are you upset?

Carlos,?

Carlos,Nope! I get it. Work comes first. We have many birthdays ahead.

Carlos,Oh, and you said you weren't feeling well. Are you sick?

Emily exhaled.

Maybe she was just being overly sensitive.

Emily,Nothing serious. Just period cramps TAT

Carlos,Poor baby.

Carlos,Where's the interview? I'll come pick you up after.

-

Lens's address was the Warner Estate, far out on the city's western edge.

It was rush hour. Emily battled cramps and took a mix of subway, bus, and taxi. It took over an hour to arrive.

She was irritated. Understandably.

Lens had arranged a lounge upstairs from the banquet hall. Spacious, luxurious-and completely empty. The loneliness amplified every anxious minute.

Emily sat on the sofa, legs swinging in time with the ticking clock. She looked around again and again, trying not to fall asleep.

But time dragged. Her head nodded repeatedly, eyes drooping-until the door finally creaked open.

She sat bolt upright.

But it wasn't Aiden.

It was Miller-Aiden's brother-in-law and Universe Group's second-in-command. Emily had interviewed him before; they knew each other.

Miller's eyes landed on her. For a second, her expression lit up. Then she realized it wasn't who she hoped, and her whole body deflated.

Miller paused, covering his phone. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for President Campbell. I had an interview scheduled tonight."

He gave her a quick once-over, eyes lingering on her pale face. He didn't say much, just mumbled, "It's late," and left.

Emily waited another two hours.

Rain began to fall outside, a cold, steady drizzle tapping at the windows.

Downstairs, faint music and chatter floated up from the banquet. The contrast was brutal.

Just as Emily was losing the battle against sleep, her phone rang again.

The sharp ringtone echoed through the empty room like a bad omen.

"Miss Emily, I'm very sorry-the banquet just ended, but President Campbell has other matters to attend to. So..."

Of course.

Emily was silent for several seconds. "Understood. Thank you."

The interview wasn't happening.

As she stood up, dizziness washed over her. She held onto the sofa, took a moment to steady herself, then headed for the elevator.

By the time she got to the Warner Estate's gates, the rain had grown heavy.

She was wearing a thin skirt suit-not meant for standing outside in freezing wind and rain. Her legs were bare under her coat, her sheer stockings little more than decoration.

People were beginning to leave.

Emily stepped aside, noticing some familiar faces-many from her past interviews.

Apparently, this had been a high-profile finance event.

She tried to scan the crowd for Aiden. But then remembered-she didn't even know what he looked like.

The man was infamously low-profile. Emily had searched online while prepping, but could only find blurry photos where he was barely visible.

-

A female CFO Emily barely knew offered her a ride. Emily declined-Carlos was on his way.

It was now 11 PM. One hour left of his birthday.

No matter what, she wanted to say "Happy Birthday" in person.

The valet area emptied slowly. Tail lights shimmered in the rain.

"Miss Emily?" a man approached.

She recognized him vaguely-a finance exec who often DM'd her on Facebook.

He leaned in, clearly drunk. "Alone? Want a ride home?"

Emily stepped back. "No, thank you."

He grabbed her arm. "Come on, it's pouring."

She shook him off. "Seriously, my boyfriend's coming to get me."

At the word boyfriend, the man gave her a long look, realized she wasn't bluffing, and backed off without another word.

Another young man came up moments later-another familiar face, a rich playboy type.

Same story. Same rejection.

This wasn't a normal finance gala, clearly.

Emily stood by the wall, teeth gritted. Her mood was already frayed. These encounters only stoked the fire.

She didn't notice that Miller, leaving the banquet with Aiden, spotted her standing alone.

He nudged Aiden and murmured, "Isn't that Emily? Poor girl's been waiting all night. I'd take her, but too many eyes on me. You think you could help her out?"

Aiden looked over.

Her wool scarf was wrapped high up to her chin. Her face, pale under the harsh lights, looked doll-like-delicate features, flushed nose, wide eyes.

Pitiful, really.

-

Emily looked up from her phone as a sleek black Bentley pulled up.

Footsteps approached from behind.

She turned-and locked eyes with a stranger.

He stopped. "Miss Emily?"

She didn't recognize him.

But she thought, Why are all these rich guys so casual these days?

"No, thank you," she said coolly.

His eyes, magnified slightly behind gold-rimmed glasses, glinted under the chandelier.

There was something quietly intense in his gaze.

Emily met his eyes and added firmly, "My boyfriend is on his way."Word by word, she emphasized the three words,"my boyfriend."

The unspoken message was clear,I have a boyfriend.

"......"

A barely noticeable, cold curve lifted at the corner of Aiden's lips. One hand in his pocket, he turned and walked away.

The valet pulled open the car door. He got in with a slight bow, and the Bentley sped off.