Chapter Two—Unspoken Armor
1270 Words
The elevator doors shut with a soft hiss, but the tension clinging to Ava’s spine refused to leave. She didn’t even realize that she had been holding her breath until she stepped outside the Harrington Corp building and the air rushed into her lungs. The sunlight felt too bright, and hot. Everything had changed and the job hadn’t even started yet.
By the time she made it to Leah’s apartment, the city had started to hum with evening energy. Ava took out the spare key Leah insisted she take and was about to slip it in but the door was open so she walked in.
The smell of garlic, herbs, and spices greeted her, along with the familiar thump of music vibrating from Leah’s speaker.
“You’re home early,” Leah shouted from the kitchen. “Please tell me that means you got the job and didn’t get eaten alive by the corporate wolves.”
Ava dropped her bag by the door and kicked off her heels.“Oh, I got the job.”
Leah peeked from the kitchen, a wooden spoon in her hand and a smirk tugging at her lips. “And yet you sound like someone who just walked out of a courtroom, found guilty, not a job interview.”
Ava collapsed onto the couch, dragging a throw pillow onto her lap.“Because it felt like one.”
Leah walked out fully, apron smeared with tomato sauce and sat beside her. “Okay. Spill.”
Ava leaned back and stared at the ceiling.“It wasn’t HR. I got pulled into the CEO’s office. James Harrington himself.”
Leah whistled low.“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was,” Ava replied.
“He gave you a hard time?”Leah asked.
Ava laughed under her breath. “He gave me a warning. A threat. Maybe both. He knows who I am.”
Leah set the spoon on the coffee table and crossed her legs. “Of course he does. He doesn’t forget faces, especially not those tied to old scandals. But you didn’t back down, did you?”
Ava glanced at her. “Would it matter if I did?”
“Yes,” Leah said. “To you, it would. And I know you. You walked in there with your chin up and fire in your chest.”
Ava smiled faintly. “He offered me a job, as his secretary.”
Leah blinked. “Wait. Seriously?”
“I’m supposed to start tomorrow. Seven sharp. No room for mistakes or being soft.”Ava sighed.
Leah let out a whistle again. “You’re swimming with big sharks now, babe. But… I think you’ll be fine.”
Ava pouted.“I’m not so sure, Leah. You needed to be in that office today, he hates me.”
Leah stood up and walked back into the kitchen, grabbing the spoon on the coffee table. “That’s because you’ve forgotten how strong you are. Or maybe you’ve just been too overwhelmed to remind yourself lately. But that’s why you have me, I’ll always remind you.”
Ava followed her in, leaning on the kitchen counter. “I think, I just… feel like I’m living someone else’s life. One minute I’m in that study, holding Dad’s picture and missing him like crazy, and the next I’m standing in front of the man who wanted to burn his legacy down.”
Leah turned, sliding a bowl of pasta in front of her. “Eat. Then listen. I’ve worked in that building for two years now, remember? PR is its own kind of warzone. We spin gold from ashes and still get blamed when it rains.”
Ava smiled, the scent of the pasta suddenly reminding her she hadn’t eaten all day.
“I had to learn quickly,” Leah continued. “James Harrington doesn’t give second chances. But he does respect people who don’t flinch. I’ve seen that.”
“I didn’t flinch,” Ava said softly.
“Exactly,” Leah said. “You’re already ahead of most. Most people can’t stand straight in front of him.”
Ava toyed with her fork. “What’s it like? Working in PR in a company that… cold?”
Leah leaned against the fridge, thoughtful. “It’s high pressure. One wrong sentence in a press release and the wolves come out. We handle reputation management like it’s a sport. Crisis control, stakeholder reports, internal politics—it’s all one big dance, and sometimes you don’t know who’s leading.”
“Sounds exhausting,” Ava replied, grabbing a glass of water.
“It is,” Leah said, laughing. “But you find your rhythm. And once you do, you stop being afraid of the chaos and you use it.”
Ava looked down at her food, suddenly feeling something heavy and quiet settle inside her. “You really think I can survive this?”
Leah moved closer, her tone soft but firm. “Ava, you were raised in rooms where deals were made before most people finished college. You know how to keep it together, even when it hurts. That man upstairs? He saw something in you. Do you think Harrington would hire you out of pity? Please.”
Ava looked up. “I think he hired me to make my life hell, and get revenge.”
“Maybe,” Leah said, pouring wine into two different glasses. “But that’s still an opportunity And it’s up to you to decide what you’ll do with it. ”
There was a long pause in the room.
Then Leah smirked again and passed a glass of wine to Ava’s side. “And also, I kind of can’t wait to hear how you manage not to kill him.”
Ava laughed hard.“Do you know what the worst part is?”
“What?”
“He’s… not what I expected. Cold, yes.Condescending, absolutely. But there’s something else. I think he’s broken in ways he doesn’t want to admit to himself.”
Leah’s brow lifted. “You’re not developing a tragic crush on your boss already, are you? Because I didn’t sign up for that storyline.”
Ava chuckled, shaking her head. “God, Hell no. I just… I’ve seen that look before. That kind of ache people carry when they think hiding it makes them stronger.”
Leah nodded slowly. “Then maybe that’s why you’re the right person to work in that office.”
Ava ate in silence for a bit, grateful for the normalcy. For the warmth of friendship after the ice-cold threat from James Harrington.
“He’s definitely going to make my life miserable right?” she asked.
Leah grinned. “Absolutely. But the question is, are you going to let him?”
Ava sat up straighter. Her eyes were clearer now, her heartbeat steadier. “No. I’m not.”
Leah raised her glass. “To survival.”
“To survival,” Ava echoed, clinking her glass gently.
Just then, Ava’s phone buzzed. She picked it up and read the message.
FROM: Unknown Number
SUBJECT: Tomorrow
7 a.m. sharp. Don’t be late.
—J.H.
Leah peeked at the screen. “So it begins.”
Ava tucked the phone away and exhaled.
Tomorrow wasn’t just a workday. It was going to be a war front.
And she would be ready.
Leah had just started rinsing her cup when she paused .“Oh …there’s something I didn’t mention about working at Harrington Corp.”
Ava turned to her, curious.
“What is it?”
Leah hesitated, her smile fading.“You’ll see.”
- Writer
