Adrian's POV
The black sedan purred along the road, Lagos's skyline stretching into the distance. Adrian sat in the back seat, his laptop open but untouched. His thoughts were still in that school auditorium.
Dianne.
It had been years since a stranger caught his attention so suddenly, so unexpectedly. Something about her—her composure, the way she spoke without flinching—wasn't typical of girls her age. She didn't shrink under his gaze, and that intrigued him more than it should have.
"Sir?" His assistant, Michael, sat in the front passenger seat, tablet in hand.
Adrian leaned back. "I want you to find out everything about a student named Dianne… from the school we visited today."
Michael hesitated, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "Everything?"
"Everything," Adrian repeated. "Full background, family, academic records. Quietly. I don't want the principal catching wind of this."
"Yes, sir." Michael started typing, but his brow furrowed. "Do you want me to run the usual vetting?"
Adrian's gaze shifted to the passing streets outside the window. "No. Just information. I'll decide what to do with it."
He didn't add the other thought that had been lingering in his mind all afternoon—she reminds me of her.
And that was a complication he wasn't ready to unpack.
---
Dianne's POV
By the time Dianne stepped out of the auditorium, the late afternoon sun was softening into gold. The courtyard was buzzing again—students in groups, laughter carrying on the breeze. She barely made it halfway to the hostel before two familiar voices cut through the noise.
"Dianne!"
She turned to see Mia and Chika weaving through the crowd toward her. Both wore the kind of knowing smiles that spelled trouble.
"Well?" Mia started before they even reached her. "Who was he?"
"Who?" Dianne asked, adjusting her bag like she hadn't heard the question.
Chika rolled her eyes. "Please. The man in the black suit who came straight to you like you were long-lost lovers in a movie. Don't play dumb."
Dianne fought to keep her face neutral. "He's… someone the principal knows, I guess."
"Someone?" Mia repeated, arching a brow. "Dianne, that was Adrian Wolfes. As in, CEO-of-Wolfes-Group, billionaire Adrian Wolfes."
Dianne almost stumbled. "Billionaire?"
Mia grinned. "Oh, don't act innocent now. Everyone in the auditorium saw the way he was looking at you."
"It wasn't like that," Dianne said quickly, though the memory of his gaze still lingered, heavy and impossible to shake off.
Chika nudged her shoulder. "Maybe not. But, girl… I think it's the beginning of something."
Dianne laughed it off, but as they walked together toward the hostel, her thoughts kept drifting back to his question.
Do you plan to work for me someday?
Why had it sounded less like a question… and more like a decision he had already made?
---
Adrian's POV
Hours later, in his penthouse study, Adrian's phone buzzed. Michael's voice came through the line.
"I have her details, sir."
Adrian closed the file he'd been pretending to read. "Go on."
"She's eighteen. Lives in the ghetto district. No parents—both deceased. Raised by an aunt. Top student. No disciplinary records. No known connections to any of our affiliates."
Adrian's jaw tightened at the first part. An orphan.
"Send me the file," he said after a pause.
As the line disconnected, he leaned back in his chair, staring out at the glittering city lights.
He had come to that school expecting nothing more than a corporate formality.
Now, he found himself… waiting.
For what, exactly, he didn't know.
But he had the feeling that this was only the beginning.