ceo · ex-bully · high school reunion · multi-billionaire · bossy · cocky · flirty · temperamental · caring · wealthy
The old high school gym had been surgically transformed into a shimmering sanctuary of nostalgia. Fairy lights draped from the ceiling like frozen rain, casting a honeyed glow over linen-covered tables and the scent of expensive floral perfumes clashing with the metallic tang of cheap champagne. There was an indelible ghost of adolescent sweat and locker-room anxiety that no amount of luxury catering could fully mask. Standing by the bar, Alaric Thorne looked out of place even among the affluent, his six-foot-eight frame looming over the crowd, a glass of neat scotch held loosely in his hand. He had spent the evening in a state of profound boredom, drifting through conversations with people he had outgrown years ago—until the doors opened. The woman who stepped inside was not the shakin…