The elevator climbed with a smooth, silent speed that made Olivia's stomach do somersaults. 10th floor... 20th... 30th...
The doors slid open on the 40th floor. The Executive Level.
The air up here was different-colder, filtered, and smelling of expensive leather.
Even the secretaries had gone home, leaving the vast, marble-floored lobby in a haunting silence. The bodyguard stopped before a set of towering mahogany doors. "Please, go in, Miss."
Olivia took a breath that felt like swallowing glass. She stepped onto the plush carpet, and the door clicked shut behind her with a heavy, final thud.
Damian was seated behind a desk made of dark, polished obsidian. He didn't look up immediately; he was signing a document, the scratch of his pen the only sound in the room.
Olivia stood frozen, her hands bunched into fists at her sides.
He finally looked up, a glint in his blue eyes that made her knees feel weak.
He gestured toward the desk. She took small, agonizingly slow steps until she was a few feet away.
Deciding to play it safe, Olivia forced her face into a professional mask. "Good evening, Mr... Mr. Carrington," she stuttered, the name feeling foreign on her tongue. "Are you having trouble with something? How may I be of help?"
Damian leaned back, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across his face. "Actually, I am having quite some trouble. I'm looking for someone. A very gorgeous lady. She ran away from me on a Sunday morning, and I'm a man who expects people to take responsibility for their actions."
The ground really did need to swallow her now. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what you're talking about. If you're looking for someone, perhaps you should go to the police. I'm sure they can do better, that's their job."
Damian let out a short, dry chuckle. He stood up, and the sheer scale of him seemed to fill the room. He began to walk around the desk, his movements deliberate.
Olivia instinctively backed away. He kept coming. She took another step back, her heel hitting the cold wall. He kept advancing until he was so close she could feel the heat radiating from his chest. He reached out, holding her chin gently, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"Why are you hiding like nothing happened between us, Olivia?"
"Nothing did happen," she whispered, her voice cracking. She felt small, trapped by his height and the overwhelming scent of his cologne. "And if you think you can just buy me... I don't need your money."
Damian's eyes darkened instantly. He looked genuinely offended, his fingers tightening just a fraction on her chin.
"Is that what you think of me? You think I'm trying to pay you?" His voice dropped to a low, dangerous rumble. "I carried you back to bed when you passed out on the bathroom floor. spent my entire night nursing you, Olivia.
I sat by that bed and cleaned you up when you were retching so hard you couldn't breathe. I called my personal physician in the middle of the night because your fever spiked so high you were delirious. I stayed awake watching you, making sure you were okay.
And this is the gratitude I get? You think I'm looking for a transaction?"
Olivia blinked, the air leaving her lungs. The "blank spots" in her memory suddenly felt very different. He hadn't taken advantage of her. He had... taken care of her. A wave of intense guilt and embarrassment washed over her, he didn't have to be so detailed.
"I... I..." she stammered, her face flaming. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood. I sincerely apologize." She began to bow her head repeatedly, her hair falling over her face in her frantic attempt to hide her shame.
Her defiance had been a shield, but now it was gone. Damian leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Be my woman. That's the only gratitude and apology I'll accept."
Olivia choked on the air, a violent cough erupting from her throat. "What? You're ridiculous!"
"Do you realize I'm still your boss?" he countered, his expression unreadable.
Olivia bit her lip, her mind racing. "I'm sorry, sir. What happened was a... a misunderstanding. I'd appreciate it if you asked for something else."
Without waiting for his reply, she ducked under his arm and ran. She didn't stop until she was out of the office, down the elevator, and breathing the humid evening air of the street.
Olivia hurried toward the bus station, her mind a chaotic blur. She needed to save every penny; a cab was a luxury she couldn't afford with payday so far away.
"Olivia!"
She froze. That voice made her skin crawl. She turned to see Casper stumbling toward her, smelling of alcohol and something else, she didn't care to know.
"Olivia, I've been waiting for you," he rasped, reaching out to grab her wrist. "I didn't mean for things to end this way, but I had no choice. Ivonne's father is the key to my promotion. Once I'm a manager, I'll come back for you, I'll divorce her. You just have to be obedient, Olivia. Just this once, do as you're told!"
Olivia stared at him, feeling a wave of pure disgust. "You're drunk, Casper. Let go of me."
"I'm doing this for us!" he yelled, his grip tightening until it bruised. "But I saw you going into your apartment yesterday very early in the morning. You're acting differently. You're not listening to me anymore. Swear to me you haven't given your body to another man! Swear it!"
"Let me go!" Olivia screamed, struggling. "It's over, Casper! Go to Ivonne and leave me alone!"
Casper's face contorted with a drunken, ugly rage. He raised his hand, his eyes wild with the need to dominate her. "How dare you!? You're mine, Olivia! Why can't you just be obedient?"
He lunged forward, his palm whistling through the air, aimed directly at her face.
Olivia flinched, closing her eyes and bracing for the impact.
But it never came.
Instead, there was the sound of a heavy, bone-deep thud. A blur of motion moved past her, and a fist connected squarely with Casper's jaw.
The force of the blow was so immense that Casper was lifted off his feet before crashing back onto the pavement like a sack of stones.
Olivia gasped, her eyes flying open as she stared at the crumpled form of her ex-boyfriend on the ground. She looked up, trembling, to see a dark silhouette standing over him.
