She Helped a Homeless Stranger… Not Knowing He Was a Billionaire in Disguise
Chapter 3
Olivia stood frozen in the conference room.
Marcus looked at her.
“You know him.”
She nodded.
“I thought he was homeless.”
Marcus gave a humorless laugh.
“That’s the point.”
The elevator opened.
Nathaniel Cross stepped out.
The room went silent.
He looked exactly like the photographs.
But Olivia could still see the man from the pharmacy beneath the expensive suit.
His eyes found hers.
For one second, the billionaire disappeared.
Daniel was there.
The exhausted stranger who had eaten soup across from her.
Then his expression became professional.
“Olivia.”
She swallowed.
“Mr. Cross.”
He smiled faintly.
“Daniel was fine.”
Marcus looked between them.
“You two know each other?”
Nathaniel nodded.
“Yes.”
Olivia couldn’t stop herself.
“Why did you lie to me?”
The room became painfully quiet.
Nathaniel looked at her.
“Because I needed to know if someone would help me without knowing who I was.”
“Why?”
“Because I stopped trusting people.”
Olivia folded her arms.
“So you pretended to be homeless?”
“Yes.”
“That’s cruel.”
Nathaniel’s expression softened.
“You’re right.”
That answer surprised her.
He didn’t defend himself.
Didn’t explain.
Didn’t blame her.
He simply accepted it.
“I owe you an apology.”
Olivia shook her head.
“You owe me nothing.”
“I owe you the truth.”
He looked around the room.
“Can we talk privately?”
Marcus immediately objected.
“Mr. Cross, we have a meeting.”
Nathaniel turned.
“The meeting can wait.”
Marcus clenched his jaw.
Olivia followed Nathaniel into a private office.
He closed the door.
“I didn’t know who to trust.”
“Why?”
Nathaniel sat down.
“My father built Cross Meridian from nothing. When he died, I inherited everything.”
Olivia listened.
“But after I took over, people changed.”
“People always change around money.”
Nathaniel smiled sadly.
“Exactly.”
He told her about relatives who suddenly needed loans.
Business partners who lied.
Friends who leaked private information.
And employees who manipulated numbers to benefit themselves.
Then six months earlier, Nathaniel discovered something.
Someone inside Cross Meridian was stealing millions.
Not through obvious transactions.
Through hundreds of tiny transfers.
“How much?”
“Forty-eight million dollars.”
Olivia stared.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“So you disappeared?”
“I needed to find out who I could trust.”
Olivia looked at him.
“And pretending to be homeless was part of that?”
“Yes.”
“You could have hired investigators.”
“I did.”
“Then?”
“They were compromised.”
Olivia leaned back.
“Why me?”
Nathaniel looked at her.
“Because you didn’t ask who I was.”
She frowned.
“I didn’t know you were important.”
“Exactly.”
He smiled.
“You bought me soup.”
Olivia laughed despite herself.
“That’s your grand test?”
“It was the first one.”
“First?”
Nathaniel became serious.
“There were others.”
He explained that he’d watched people react to him while disguised.
Some gave money.
Some insulted him.
Some ignored him.
One executive had kicked his cardboard sign away.
Another had called security.
But Olivia had simply asked whether he was cold.
She had spent her own money.
And she hadn’t once asked for anything in return.
Nathaniel opened a folder.
Inside were financial documents.
“I need someone outside my company.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re already outside.”
Olivia stared.
“You want me to investigate your company?”
“Not exactly.”
He slid another document toward her.
It was a contract.
Olivia looked at the salary.
Her eyes widened.
“That’s more than I make in three years.”
“I know.”
“I can’t accept this.”
“You haven’t heard the job.”
“What job?”
Nathaniel looked directly at her.
“I want you to become my executive assistant.”
Olivia stared.
“Why?”
“Because I need someone I can trust.”
She pushed the contract back.
“Trust isn’t something you buy.”
Nathaniel nodded.
“I know.”
He picked it up.
“That’s why I’m asking you to earn it.”
Olivia stood.
“I’ll think about it.”
Nathaniel smiled.
“That’s all I wanted.”
As she reached the door, he added:
“One more thing.”
She turned.
“Yes?”
“The man stealing from my company knows I was testing people.”
Olivia’s smile disappeared.
Nathaniel continued.
“And now he knows about you.”
