Chapter 30

Alejandro’s POV

I had woken up to a phone call dragging me into an early board meeting my father had suddenly decided to call.

Although I had planned to stay in for the day and spend the entire morning making love to Mira, Mr. James Montenegro clearly had other plans for me.

After the meeting finally ended, I got caught up in some office work that refused to stop piling up. Still, I made sure to send her flowers earlier and have a dress delivered. The same beautiful red dress she had on now. Ever since I stepped into this room, I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her.

“God, you’re beautiful, Mira,” I finally said after staring for so long.

A blush crept across her cheeks, her eyes sparkling softly as she looked into mine.

“I thought you being mute meant you didn’t like it,” she replied teasingly.

I chuckled under my breath, releasing her from my hold before guiding her slowly toward the mirror in the corner of the room. I positioned her in front of it and wrapped my hands around her waist from behind.

“Look there,” I murmured softly into her ear while pointing at our reflection. “Tell me what you see.”

She studied the image staring back at us and smiled faintly.

“An imperfect man and woman who have absolutely no idea what they’re getting themselves into.”

Her answer didn’t shock me, but it wasn’t exactly what I had expected either. Still, she wasn’t wrong. I was flawed in more ways than I could count, yet here she was giving me a chance to love her.

I smirked slightly.

“No, love. Look again. What do you see?”

“A beautiful woman and an impeccably handsome man,” Mira replied with confidence.

Then she tilted her head slightly. “What do you see?”

I leaned down, trailing my nose slowly along her neck, breathing in her sweet vanilla scent before turning her gently to face me again.

“What I saw,” I said quietly, “was a gorgeous woman wearing a stunning red dress and an ethereal face that refuses to let the past or the future control who she is right now.”

Mira smiled softly.

“I never thought Alejandro Montenegro had a sweet side.”

“There are many sides to me,” I replied with a small grin. “You’ll get to meet them all eventually. But for now, let me take you out for a lovely evening.”

With that, I escorted Mira out of the room and we headed toward Villa Vella Restaurant, one of the most elegant places in the city.

The moment we stepped inside, Mira’s face lit up instantly.

“It’s so beautiful.”

The restaurant truly deserved the reaction. Warm golden lighting filled the entire space, reflecting off polished marble floors and tall glass walls that overlooked the glowing city skyline. Soft jazz music drifted through the air, mixing with the quiet chatter of guests and the faint clink of wine glasses. Every table was dressed in white linen with a small candle flickering gently at the center.

The entire place had the kind of luxury that didn’t need to shout.

“Not as beautiful as you are,” I whispered as we stepped into the elevator and headed to the top floor.

The elevator doors opened and a woman approached us immediately. She held an iPad in one hand and wore a smile that looked a little too practiced to be genuine.

“Welcome to Villa Vella, Mr. Montenegro. Please kindly follow me.”

She led us across the restaurant toward a private table I had reserved earlier near the edge of the floor where the view of the city was perfect.

I pulled out a chair for Mira before taking my seat across from her.

“I’ll be right back,” the woman said politely before walking away.

I quickly checked my phone before switching it off completely. Nothing was going to interrupt tonight.

When I looked up again, Mira’s eyes were wandering around the restaurant and the excitement on her face had faded slightly.

“Hey,” I said gently, reaching across the table for her hand. “Are you okay?”

She sighed quietly.

“I don’t belong here, Dro. This dress, the shoes, the atmosphere of this restaurant. Everything is just so perfect and it’s something I could never afford on my own.”

I squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“Don’t say that, Mira. You belong here just as much as anyone else.”

“You don’t understand,” she whispered, leaning closer to me. “Ever since we walked in, some women haven’t taken their eyes off me. They’ve been whispering. I heard them.”

I turned slightly and glanced behind me.

Two women were indeed staring directly at our table.

“What did they say?”

Mira sighed again, her shoulders dropping.

“They were wondering why Alejandro Montenegro would bring a woman like me to a place like this.”

Without responding, I stood up and walked over to the woman who had escorted us earlier. I leaned closer and quietly told her something.

A few minutes later, the two women were politely escorted out of the restaurant by security.

When I returned to the table, Mira stared at me intensely.

“What did you tell her?”

I chuckled lightly.

“I told her to inform those women that you are my girlfriend and that they were becoming a nuisance in this building.”

I paused before adding casually,

“And that they should be thrown out.”

Mira’s eyes widened. “Dro, why?”

“I can’t have my woman feeling uncomfortable under a roof I could buy,” I replied calmly before lifting her hand and pressing a gentle kiss against it.

Mira shook her head with a smile. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“For you, I am.”

The night continued beautifully. We laughed the entire time, drank wine, and filled our stomachs with some of the most incredible dishes the restaurant had to offer. The jazz music gave the evening a relaxed charm and Mira couldn’t stop smiling.

Every time she smiled, something in my chest softened.

I couldn’t help wondering what had taken me so long to realize how much I had fallen for my own assistant.

I knew my father would never approve of this.

But at that moment I truly didn’t give a damn about what he and his shiny bald head thought.

The same went for Ace. From the very beginning I knew he had an eye for Mira, but if he was really my friend he should have noticed I did too.

I still hadn’t told the boys about us, and it definitely wouldn’t be easy. Especially since I couldn’t go through with the bet anymore.

The real question was how I was going to explain that.

“Hey Dro.”

A familiar voice suddenly cut through my thoughts as someone approached our table.

“What are the odds I’d find you here? And with a lady for that matter.”

It was Marlo.

“Hey, Marlo,” I replied with a weak smile.

It was far too late to hide Mira from the boys now.

He looked at Mira, offered her a polite smile, then turned back to me.

“Seems you’ve won the bet.”