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Chapter 9

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Yours, Forever

Xavier Knight couldn't believe his luck.

The first time he bumped into Aurora was 4 years ago while waiting to pick up his younger sister. Of course at that time he had not known anything about her. He didn't even know her name. Yet for 4 years, he continued to think about her and to say he was confused would be an understatement.

Xavier had never felt that way about anyone. He was always busy with work and had no time for romance. He was pretty closed off, only keeping a select group of people close, including his family. And the way the media depicted him as cold hearted and ruthless business man caused people to be afraid of him.

Not that Xavier was complaining. In his 28 years of living, he's had a fair share of people who had wanted to only get close to him due to his wealth, causing him to become guarded. It wasn't easy to gain his trust.

Which was why he was feeling perplexed. He knew nothing about her and had barely interacted with her, yet he wanted to know everything about her and give her everything. Throughout the 4 years, he found himself thinking back to her beautiful brown eyes and wondered where she was.

He had hoped that perhaps she would remember his face and recognize him in the media. Sadly, she hadn't reached out for him and he began losing hope of running into her once again. After all, there were billions of people in the world. What were the chances too running into her again?

It was a spur of the moment decision when he had decided to get coffee at Massie's Corner Cafe. His older sister, Stephanie, had introduced the cozy cafe to him a year ago and since then, he never got coffee anywhere else. His assistant would usually have his coffee ready from Massie's in the morning.

Xavier had been in a foul mood when issues with the architects that had been working with Knight Industries since his father was CEO caused him to have to run back to the office. He had planned to take the weekend off to spend time with his nephew, Colton. He was Stephanie her husband, Ethan's, son and had Xavier wrapped around his little finger. Even though he was irritated, it was considered to be an urgent matter since the entire project had been halted.

Xavier went through meeting after meeting since 9AM and in the end, there was still no solution. Angry, he had stormed out of his office and had gone to Massie's for a short break.

It was then and there where he saw his angel for the first time after 4 years. The way she stared at him wide eyed as she stood in his arms made him never want to let go. She was even more breathtaking than she was 4 years ago. Her hair was thrown in a messy bun with strands falling to frame her face. She was dressed casually and her face was clear from any makeup. She was absolutely stunning.

After he had gotten his coffee from Massie, Xavier took a seat at the other side of the cafe and just simply stared. He knew he was coming off as creepy, but he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Not that she noticed, since she was so focused on her work.

He had tried to gather the courage to go up to her and ask for her name, but in the end, they were calling him back to the office for another emergency meeting. Massie and his angel seemed close which meant that she came to the cafe often. He had decided to come back the next day.

And he did.

In fact, there she was in the same spot, seemingly engrossed in her work. Xavier was surprised when she had invited him to join her. He found himself enjoying Aurora's company, liking the fact that she seemed to not know who he was. No one besides those close to him spoke to him like she did.

Xavier wasn't sure when he was going to see her again. He had gone to the cafe everyday since then, yet he never ran into her, granted he went at odd hours of the day.

Because of the lack of Aurora's presence, his mood had gotten worse. He snapped at almost everyone and ended up firing the architectural firm for their mistakes.

Instead of looking for a new firm that he couldn't trust, he sought the help from his friend, Liam, whom he knew would do a great job. And to see Aurora working at Liam's firm, came to another surprise to him. It was as if the stars were finally all lined up. There were quite a few architectural firms in Los Angeles alone, yet she worked for Liam Smith of all people. And from what he heard, she had a pretty high position meaning she had worked for Liam for quite some time.

She was right under his nose and Xavier didn't even know it.

He stood in front of his large window overlooking Downtown LA, pondering about the events that had just occurred this past week. His office was located on the highest level, the 60th floor, and was quite spacious.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," Xavier called out with a monotonous voice.

"You called, Mr. Knight?" Joshua stepped into the room with an iPad and a folder.

"Did you have the contract finalized with Smith Architects?" Asked Xavier, before taking a seat at his large black desk.

"Yes sir, I just came back from their office," Joshua handed the folder to Xavier. "Mr. Smith sends his regards."

This caused Xavier to snort. "I saw that bastard yesterday."

"Yes sir, would you like me to tell him that?" Asked Joshua with a serious voice. He had been Xavier's assistant for the the past 3 years and took his job very seriously, sometimes a little too seriously.

"No," Xavier paused before continuing. "Check in with Stephanie to see where we're at with the management situation and the contracts."

Knight Industries were not only known for their hotels, but were also partners and owners of other companies. His mother's fashion label was under Knight Industries as well as his sister's makeup brand, Bold n' Beautiful. It seemed odd at first to endorse a fashion label and makeup brand. However, Xavier endorsed in many different companies in different industries, which was a quick way for Knight Industries to grow rapidly.

It was hard at first to convince Madison to let Knight Industries endorse Bold n' Beautiful since she worked very hard to build her way up successfully on her own. His family had kept all the younger siblings' identities a secret due to their request to live normal lives in public. Madison was the first one in the family to not work for the company, but as she gains more attention for her brand, her relation to the Knight family was slowly being discovered.

"Of course sir. I'll do that right now," Xavier quickly dismissed Joshua with a nod and began to look over his paperwork. It was the same routine every day. He woke up, went to work, and went home.

Not a minute had passed before his door suddenly opened. There were only a select few people who dared to not knock on his door before entering.

"Xavier we need to talk," said a familiar voice causing Xavier to grunt in annoyance. Xavier looked up to find his best friend and COO, Lucas Reed standing at the door with a shit eating grin on his face.

"I could have you fired for not knocking before entering," muttered Xavier. He sent a glare towards his friend's direction, causing Lucas's grin to widen as he made his way towards Xavier.

"We both know you love me," Lucas took a seat in front of Xavier before shrugging. Xavier had no idea how had put up with Lucas for the past 28 years of his life. The two were childhood friends and Lucas was one of the few people outside his family that he trusted. "Plus, Maddie will raise hell if you were to fire me."

Indeed, the asshole sitting in front of him with a stupid grin on his face was dating his younger sister. How it happened, he didn't know. All he knew was that Lucas treated Madison well and that was all that mattered. He would shoot Lucas' knees if he were to ever upset his little sister, best friend or not.

"Someone tell me why this asshole is my COO," Xavier grumbled under his breath not so quietly.

"Because Damien didn't want to do the paperwork," answered Lucas cheekily, not wiping the grin off his face. Oh no, not after what he had heard from a fellow comrade. "But that's not why I'm here."

"Then please enlighten me Reed," Xavier said sarcastically, folding his hands together in front of him. "It's not like I have a large stack of paperwork I have to go through."

Lucas completely ignored the sarcasm in his friend's voice. "So, my source has told me something very interesting over the phone earlier."

"What did that asshole say to you?" Xavier said, referring to Liam. Liam Smith was known to have quite a big mouth.

"He said something about you being smitten over this girl." Lucas' grin slowly morphed into a smirk, one that Xavier wanted to wipe off his smitten face.

Xavier ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know what he's talking about."

"We both know you know what he's talking about."

"He was probably drunk."

Lucas looked at his friend with an incredulous look. "At 10AM?!"

"People can get drunk at 10 in the morning," grunted Xavier. Lucas gave him an unamused look.

"Come on, man," groaned Lucas, knowing full on his friend was stubborn. "I'm your best friend."

"I just-" Xavier sighed before he stopped talking. He didn't know what to say, knowing that this was a first.

"You're interested," Lucas' voice held no sign of question. This was a first for him too. After growing up with Xavier, Lucas saw first hand how many wanted to get close to them just for their wealth and fame. It was the biggest reason why Xavier became closed off and ruthless to outsiders, only trusting a few people outside his family.

Lucas was left with silence as he tried to read his friend.

"She must be special," added Lucas. Xavier's face remained expressionless but Lucas could see the gears turning in his best friend's head.

"She is," Xavier finally said quietly. "I don't even know how to explain it."

Lucas nodded in understanding. "That's how I feel about Maddie."

"She was the one I bumped into 4 years ago," confessed Xavier. Lucas' jaw slacked, his mouth hanging open like a fish desperate for water. About a year after bumping into Aurora, Lucas and Xavier were at a bar when Xavier accidentally confessed about meeting Aurora. No one knew about the mysterious girl; no one but Liam. Liam would be dead if Maddie ever found out he had kept something that important to himself. "Close your mouth. You'll catch flies."

Lucas immediately closed his mouth, not wanting to look like an idiot.

"B-But, h-how? Where?" To say Lucas was shocked would be an understatement. "Are you sure it's her?"

Lucas had so many questions he wanted to ask.

Xavier gave him a slight nod. "Of course it's her, you dip shit. How could I forget her?"

"Holy shit. What a fucking coincidence." Lucas' eyes were as wide as saucers. He could not believe his friend's luck. And neither could Xavier.

Xavier began filling Lucas in with what had happened these past few days. He had always been one to tell Lucas everything and vice versa. They knew each other like the back of their hands.

"She worked for Liam all this fucking time?" Lucas had an incredulous look on his face. "Man, you could have met her earlier instead of waiting 4 years to somehow miraculously bump into her, which you did technically by the way."

Xavier rolled his eyes and threw his arms in the air. "Tell me something I don't fucking know."

After another 15 minutes of Lucas' consistent interrogating, with Xavier running his hands through his hair multiple times out of annoyance, Xavier took a deep breath to calm himself. "Don't you have a job to get back to?"

Without putting up a fight, Lucas stood up as he continued to fire question after question. Lucas enjoyed pushing Xavier's buttons and seeing him riled up.

"So, does your mother know? Can I tell her?" Asked Lucas excitedly. Xavier was really starting to question his decision of making Lucas his COO. "How are you going to go after her? Does she know you've been waiting for her for 4 years like a crazy mother fucker?"

The last question earned a hard glare from Xavier, causing Lucas to laugh loudly as he grabbed the door handle.

"No," growled Xavier. "Get out."

"Fine," A dramatic sigh left Lucas' mouth. He was about to leave the room and close the door behind him but decided to stick his head back into the room.

"Can I at least tell Maddie?"

"Get the fuck out of my office you asshole."

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Thank you so much for the 100 reads! I really appreciate you giving my story a chance and I hope you are enjoying it so far! More updates will be coming soon~

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