HIS LAST ASSISTANT

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

Natalie stared at Damien. For a moment, she thought she had heard him wrong.

Richard was downstairs.

Her stomach twisted. "What does he want?"

Damien's expression remained unreadable. "He didn't say."

That somehow made it worse because Richard never did anything without a reason.

Every move was calculated, every smile had a purpose, and every act of kindness came with a price. Natalie knew that better than anyone.

She grabbed her bag immediately. "I'm leaving."

Damien frowned slightly. "No."

Her head snapped up. "No?"

"You work here."

Natalie laughed bitterly.

"Exactly. And he knows that now."

Damien didn't look concerned. "He already knew."

The realization hit her instantly. Of course he did. Richard had probably known the moment she entered the building on her first day.

Damien started toward the door. "Come with me."

Natalie hesitated. Every instinct screamed at her not to, Richard brought out the worst memories. The worst version of herself, the frightened version, the uncertain version, the version she hated, but running wasn't an option anymore.

Not if she wanted her life back. So she followed Damien.

•

•

The lobby looked different from the executive floors. Employees moved through the space carrying coffee cups and laptops, and conversations buzzed quietly.

Then they noticed Damien and immediately became silent.

Natalie barely noticed because she saw Richard standing near the centre of the lobby.

His eyes found hers instantly. "There you are."

Natalie stopped walking, and every muscle in her body tightened.

Beside her, Damien remained calm.

Richard's smile widened slightly. "Relax, Natalie."

She hated that smile. "What do you want?"

Richard's eyebrows lifted. "Straight to business."

"What do you want?"

His gaze lingered on her, then shifted briefly to Damien. "I came to help."

Natalie nearly laughed. "You destroyed my career."

Richard sighed dramatically.

"There you go again." He paused. "You need to move on."

Natalie's jaw clenched. Move on? As if losing everything was an inconvenience, as if she had imagined it, as if he hadn't spent months making sure nobody would hire her.

Richard took a step forward. "You're making things harder than they need to be."

The lobby had gone completely silent now. People were pretending not to watch, but nobody was succeeding.

Natalie felt humiliation creeping up her neck, and then Damien spoke.

"What exactly are you offering?"

Richard looked at him. For the first time, the friendliness in his expression slipped.

"A solution."

Damien folded his arms. "I'm listening."

Richard smiled again.

"Natalie resigns."

The lobby became even quieter.

Richard continued. "The media loses interest."

His eyes returned to Natalie. "You disappear for a while."

Natalie's stomach turned.

Disappear? That was what he wanted. Not an apology, not peace. He wanted to erase her again.

"You really think that's going to happen?” She asked quietly.

Richard's smile faded..

"I think you're making a mistake."

The warning beneath the words was obvious.

Damien heard it, too.

Natalie knew because his expression hardened.

For the first time since arriving, Richard seemed uncertain. "I came here out of professional courtesy."

"No.” Damien replied calmly.

"You came here because she didn't leave."

Richard's jaw tightened.

Damien continued. "You expected her to disappear."

Richard wasn't smiling anymore. "Careful."

The word came out very cold, the kind of voice Natalie remembered hearing behind closed doors.

"You should leave." The order landed heavily.

Richard stared at him. A challenge passing silently between two powerful men. Neither looked away nor moved.

Finally, Richard laughed softly. "You know what your problem is, Damien?"

Damien said nothing.

Richard looked toward Natalie. "You're trusting the wrong woman."

Natalie's chest tightened.

Damien's expression didn't change. "Are we done?"

Richard smiled.

This time, it looked genuinely unpleasant, and then he reached into his jacket pocket.

Natalie's stomach dropped. For one terrifying second, she didn't know why. Only that something felt very wrong.

Richard pulled out a small envelope and handed it directly to Damien. "I think you'll want to see this."

Damien took it.

Natalie stared at the envelope,a horrible feeling settled in her chest.

Richard looked almost satisfied now, which meant whatever was inside couldn't be good.

Before anyone could stop him, Richard turned and headed toward the exit. Halfway there, he stopped, looked over his shoulder, and delivered the final blow.

"Ask Natalie why she never filed a police report."

Then he walked away, and the lobby doors closed behind him.

Natalie's blood turned cold because she already knew what was inside that envelope.

Or at least she thought she did. The question was, how much had Richard prepared? And how much damage was he willing to do?

Slowly, Damien looked down at the envelope in his hands, then back at her.

For the first time since she met him...

Natalie wasn't sure she wanted him to open it.