The next morning, Alexander Harris was on a mission. He didn''t want to risk giving ire Peterson a heads-up, thinking she might avoid him if she knew he wasing. So, he headed straight to her office, walking with purpose like a man on a secret quest. When he


    arrived, Sandra, ire''s friendly but sharp-eyed secretary, gave him a polite smile.


    "Good morning, Mr. Harris. Are you here to see Ms. Peterson?"


    Alexander nodded, and Sandra clicked a few keys on herputer. "Ms. Peterson hasn''t arrived yet. She''s usually having breakfast around this time."


    Alexander nced at his wristwatch. It was 9 a.m. sharp. "She''s not here yet?"


    Sandra smiled, almost knowingly. "Oh, Ms. Peterson likes to start her mornings with a nice long breakfast."


    Of course, she does, Alexander thought.


    "I''ll wait," he said with a nod, trying to keep his cool.


    Sandra gestured toward ire''s office door, giving him permission to head inside. Alexander walked in, taking a seat on the leather couch in the corner. ire''s office was pristine, just like the woman herself-everything in its ce, not a single paper out of line. It was the kind of room that almost dared you to make a mess.


    But snooping around wasn''t his style-well, not when it came to ire. So, after a few minutes of awkwardly looking around the room, he pulled out his phone and started ying a game to kill time. Thirty minutes passed. ire still hadn''t shown up, and Alexander was getting restless, bouncing between frustration and wondering if this entire visit was a bad idea.


    Finally, the door swung open with a soft click, and in walked ire Peterson, looking surprised to see him lounging on her couch like he owned the ce. She paused mid-step, her perfectly manicured hand still on the door handle. "Alexander?" she asked, frowning. "What are you doing here?"


    She wasn''t pleased, but Alexander had expected that. He stood up, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and smoothed down his suit. "I need to talk to you."


    ire raised a perfectly arched brow, her curiosity piqued. "Oh? And you couldn''t have just called?"


    "Let''s just say it''s not a conversation over the phone."


    ire crossed her arms, tapping her foot as if she had somewhere better to be. "Well, you''ve got my attention. What is it?"


    Without wasting any time, Alexander reached for his phone, scrolling through his recent recordings. He found the one fromst night and hit y. A voice-feminine, smooth, and eerily familiar-came through the speaker.


    ire''s frown deepened. She cocked her head, listening carefully. "Who is that?" she asked, her tone sharp, but there was a hint of unease creeping in.


    Alexander paused the recording and looked at her, waiting for the moment to hit. "That," he said slowly, "is udia Wright."


    For a second, ire''s expression was unreadable, like she was trying to put the pieces together. Then, her eyes narrowed. "udia? As in the udia Wright?"


    "The one and only."


    ire scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, this has to be some kind of joke. Why are you ying me a recording of her?"


    Alexander sighed, putting the phone down but keeping it in his hand. "I know you wanted the whole udia situation to be over with, and trust me, so do I. You wanted her to rify what happened during that disastrous press release—" "Disastrous is an understatement," ire muttered, folding her arms.


    "—and I tried. Butst night, udia wasn''t exactly... cooperative. Instead of helping, she started asking me to do things I''m definitely notfortable with. This was the only thing could think of, ire." He gestured toward the phone, giving her a look that said he was just as frustrated as she was. "I recorded the conversation."


    ire frowned and motioned to his phone. "y it again."


    Alexander did as she asked, and once again, udia''s voice rang through the room. This time, ire listened more intently, her brow furrowing at the mention of a 40% profit. As the recording went on, she straightened up, her eyes widening slightly at udia''sment about having no business with ire, but with Alexander himself.


    The recording ended, and ire crossed her arms over her chest, her face twisting into a thoughtful scowl.


    "So, udia''s had a beef with you from the start, huh?" ire asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow at Alexander. "And what''s this about 40%? What are you two talking about?"


    Alexander shifted awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, avoiding her gaze. "Uh... well, it''s not really important."


    "Not important?" ire shot him a narrow-eyed re. "You just yed me a recording where she''s talking about some deal with you, and suddenly 40% of something is very much a thing. Spill it, Alexander."


    He shifted again, clearing his throat. "Look, it''splicated, alright? But let''s not focus on that. The point is, udia doesn''t want to rify anything, so we might as well upload this instead."


    ire stared at him, her lips pursed. She let his deflection slide for now. She had bigger things to worry about. Uploading a voice recording of udia without her consent was risky, but ire had to admit, her patience was wearing thin. They needed damage control, and fast.


    "Why wouldn''t she just clear the air?" ire asked, more to herself than to Alexander, but he answered anyway.


    "Because she''s stubborn. udia never does anything unless there''s something in it for her. That''s just who she is."


    ire''s eyes narrowed even further, her brain working overtime as she tried to piece together the situation. "What does she want in return?"


    Alexander shrugged. "Who knows? It could be anything. Probably something ridiculous and over the top. She''s also... well, needy."


    "Needy?" ire raised an eyebrow, amused for a split second. "You make her sound like a puppy."


    Alexander scoffed. "Trust me, she''s no puppy."


    ire sat there, chewing on the inside of her cheek, clearly mulling something over. She then stood up and moved to the couch, sitting down with a sigh as she rested her elbows on her thighs. "Okay, so what business are you two involved in?" "Wine," Alexander said with a half-hearted wave of his hand.


    ire blinked. "Wine? You and udia are in the wine business together? That''s what this is about?"


    "Not exactly wine business. My


    father was the one who invested in


    her family business. Long story short, I took over thepany and


    had no idea about her wine and udia also took over her parent''s business. But I have solved her


    request, so you don''t need to worry


    about it."


    "Okay, so what are our options here?"


    Alexander looked at her, his expression resigned. "We could just use the recording. It''s not ideal, but if she refuses to cooperate, this is our best shot at showing the public what''s really going on."


    ire thought about it for a moment, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the arm of the couch. "We could use it, but it could also blow up in our faces if udia gets wind of it. She''s not the kind of person who lets things slide." Alexander nodded, fidgeting slightly. "True, but we don''t have much else to work with.


    ire bit her lip, deep in thought. After a long pause, she let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright, we''ll use the voice recording... for now. But I want you to try talking to udia again. See if you can get her to change her mind."


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