Chapter 2 The Billionaire's Pursuit

The gala was over, yet Jason Blackwood found himself replaying the evening in his mind as his driver steered the sleek black limousine through the city.

The city lights streaked past the tinted windows, gold and silver against the dark night. He leaned back against the leather seat, with his one hand loosening the knot of his tie, but his thoughts weren't on the night's speeches or the millions pledged to the foundation, just the night.

They were on her.

Aira Daniels.

He repeated the name under his breath like a secret, a challenge, a puzzle he intended to solve. He had met countless women at countless events; actresses, models, heiresses. They all smiled the same rehearsed smiles, carried the same hunger for his name, his wealth, his world. But Aira had been different this time. She had looked at him with something between surprise and defiance, as if she wanted nothing from him, as if she was guarding something behind her emerald eyes.

And that intrigued him more than he cared to admit.

"Home, sir?" the driver asked.

Jason hesitated, then shook his head. "The office."

"At this hour?"

Jason's lips curved slightly. "Yes. At this hour."

Because Blackwood men didn't wait, when something caught their attention, they pursued it.

Jason could feel a quiet hum beneath his skin, a restless urgency that refused to let him sleep. He wasn't used to being denied information, and Aira had left him with questions that burned sharper than any business deal, yet he couldn't answer them at the moment.

Across town, Aira kicked off her heels the moment she closed her apartment door. The silence of her small but cozy living room wrapped around her like a blanket. Relief washed over he, relief that she had survived the night without drawing too much attention, especially from Jason Blackwood. At least, that was what she wanted to believe.

Her son's soft breathing drifted from the bedroom. Liro. Just the thought of him calmed her nerves. She peeked in, smiling at the sight of his small body curled beneath the blanket, a stuffed rabbit clutched in his tiny hand. She brushed a stray curl from his forehead and felt her heart ache with love.

This is why I can't get distracted, she reminded herself firmly. Men like Jason Blackwood don't belong in my world. And I don't belong in theirs. So I had to remain in my space.

Yet, against her will, she remembered the heat of his gaze, the way his voice seemed to sink past her defenses. For one dangerous moment at the gala, she had almost forgotten who she was a single mother fighting to give her son a good life he deserves.

She couldn't afford mistakes. Not again.

Still, when she crawled into bed, sleep didn't come easily. Her mind played tricks on her, Jason's eyes catching hers in the ballroom, his voice when he said her name. It unsettled her. Kept her restless. The way he seemed to notice her when she had worked so hard to remain unseen made her keep thinking.

The next morning, Jason sat at his desk in the corner office of Blackwood AgroTech's headquarters, a skyline of glass towers stretching beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. The building was quiet at this early hour, but Jason thrived in the silence. He was so quiet. His assistant, Natalie, arrived promptly at seven, her clipboard in hand, rattling off his schedule for the day.

Jason's attention was elsewhere. He wasn't listening to meetings or figures. His thoughts had already returned to emerald eyes and the woman who had dared to laugh at him, not with the practised flirtation of the others, but with a hint of reluctance.

"Natalie," he cut in suddenly.

She stopped mid-sentence. "Yes, sir?"

"Last night. The gala guest list. Find me a profile on Aira Daniels."

Natalie blinked, then nodded briskly. "Of course." She knew better than to ask questions.

Jason leaned back, fingers steepled. It wasn't just curiosity anymore. It was instinct. He didn't know why, but something about Aira pulled at him like gravity. And Jason Blackwood never ignored his instincts. He always pay good attention to them.

By lunchtime, Aira was back at her modest office, buried in marketing reports. The office was small and tucked into a building that smelled faintly of old paper and ink. The walls were decorated with faded posters of past campaigns, and her desk was cluttered with sticky notes, sketches and files. It wasn't glamorous, but it was hers. She tried to lose herself in work, but her phone buzzed with an email.

From: Blackwood AgroTech Corporate Relations

Subject: Partnership Follow-Up

Her heart skipped. Blackwood AgroTech? She scanned the message quickly; it was an invitation to discuss a potential campaign collaboration. Her chest tightened. Was this a coincidence? Or... him?

It could be him. She muttered.

Before she could think further, her boss walked in, beaming. "Aira! Incredible news."

"What's that, ma'am?"

"Blackwood AgroTech wants us for their upcoming corporate initiative. They specifically requested you for the preliminary meeting."

Her pen slipped from her hand. "Me?"

"Yes, you. This is huge, Aira. Don't mess it up."

Aira forced a smile, but inside, panic churned. She got scared. Jason Blackwood wasn't just a fleeting encounter at a gala. He was stepping directly into her world. She just knew that.

That night, as she prepared dinner, she tried to ignore the email. She chopped vegetables with more force than necessary, telling herself it was just business and nothing more. Yet her hands trembled when she set Liro's plate on the table. He chatted happily about dinosaurs, sharks and finger painting, blissfully unaware of the storm in his mom's chest.

Aira smiled for him, but when he was asleep, her mask slipped. She went back to her thoughts. She sat at the edge of her bed, staring at the email on her phone. A choice lay before her: accept the meeting and step into Jason's world, or refuse and risk her company's chance at success.

She got stuck in the two choices, but either way, she knew that her life had just changed.