CHAPTER TWO
1172 Words
Natalie sat upright, hands folded loosely in her lap, forcing herself not to look too tense.
Across from her, the man in the suit sat without speaking. The same man from the sidewalk. He hadn’t introduced himself. He hadn’t explained anything beyond “now.”
Jasmine’s voice still lingered in Natalie’s head.
“This is your way back.”
But Natalie had learned something over the past months, nothing that sounded like “a way back” ever actually was.
The car slowed, then turned.
They weren’t heading toward a corporate tower in Midtown like she expected. Instead, they drove upward toward the kind of streets where the buildings were quieter, taller, more private.
Finally, the car stopped, and the door opened automatically, Natalie stepped out and looked up.
The building didn’t have loud branding. No flashy signs. No corporate noise. It was just a clean architectural structure of glass and steel that looked like it had been designed to intimidate people who were used to being in control.
Damien Cole Enterprises.
The man gestured slightly. “This way.”
Natalie followed.
The lobby was nothing like Halston & Merrick. Everything was precise, controlled, and quiet in a way that felt intentional.
People moved differently here, like they knew they were being observed.
Natalie noticed the stares immediately, not obvious, not rude, just measuring.
She ignored them. The elevator ride was silent again.
When the doors opened, she stepped into a hallway that led directly into a set of double doors.
The man stopped. “This is as far as I go.” He said.
Natalie frowned slightly. “What is this?”
He looked at her for the first time properly. “Your interview.” He said.
Then he opened the doors.
•
•
The room was large, but it didn’t feel empty.
Floor-to-ceiling windows stretched across one side, showing the city below like it was something distant and irrelevant. A long table sat in the centre, but no one was seated there, except one person at the far end.
Damien Cole.
Natalie had seen pictures before, of course, everyone had. Business magazines, financial reports, the occasional blurred paparazzi shot.
But pictures didn’t prepare her for the real thing. He wasn’t doing anything dramatic when she walked in.
No standing up, no greeting smile, no performative welcome.
He was simply sitting there, reading something on a tablet like she was not the most important thing in the room.
That alone unsettled her more than anything else so far.
The door closed behind her, and silence settled again.
Damien didn’t look up immediately. When he finally did, it was slow and measured. Like he was finishing a thought before allowing her existence to interrupt it.
His eyes stayed on her. Not on her clothes or posture but on her face.
Natalie held her ground. People usually underestimated silence. They filled it and rushed to speak first, but she didn’t.
Damien leaned back slightly in his chair. “You’re late.” He said.
Natalie blinked once. “I was told to come immediately.”
“That was a test.”
Her jaw tightened slightly.
Of course it was.
Damien studied her reaction, not her words, but the shift in her expression. Then he gestured lightly toward the chair opposite him. “Sit.”
Natalie didn’t move right away, not out of defiance, but out of instinct.
Something about him didn’t feel like a typical interview setup. Nothing here did, no HR panel, no recruiters, no scripted questions.
Just him.
She sat. The chair felt expensive.
Damien placed the tablet down. “Tell me why you’re here.” He said.
Natalie exhaled slowly. “I was invited.” She replied.
“That’s not what I asked.”
She met his gaze directly. “Then ask again properly.”
Something shifted not in him exactly but in the atmosphere.
Damien’s eyes held hers for a moment longer than necessary.
Then he spoke. “Why were you erased from your industry?”
There it was. No soft introduction, no easing into it. Just the centre of the question.
Natalie didn’t look away. “I wasn’t erased.” She said. “I was removed.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
Not because she didn’t know but because she knew exactly how people reacted when she told the truth.
But something about the way he was looking at her made her hesitate differently.
“I refused my boss.” She said finally.
A silence followed, not awkward but intentional.
Damien didn’t react the way most people did. No shift in expression, no discomfort, no immediate conclusion.
He just watched her, then he asked calmly. “And after that?”
Natalie’s grip tightened slightly on the armrest. “He made sure I couldn’t work anywhere else.”
“How?”
She let out a quiet breath. “Reputation, reports, influence. It didn’t matter what I applied for, I stopped existing in the system.”
Damien leaned forward slightly now. “Name.”
Natalie frowned. “What?”
“The boss.” He said simply. “What’s his name?”
She hesitated, something about saying it out loud still felt like stepping back into a room she had already escaped from.
“Richard Halston.”
For the first time, something subtle crossed Damien’s expression. It wasn't surprise, but recognition.
But it was gone almost immediately.
Natalie noticed. “You know him?” She asked.
Damien didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he leaned back again, fingers resting lightly together.
“I know of him.” He said.
That wasn’t the same thing. And Natalie knew it.
Then Damien stood.
Natalie’s body tensed instinctively, but he didn’t approach her. He walked instead toward the window, hands in his pockets.
“You’re not the first person I’ve seen with a career that doesn’t make sense.” He said.
Natalie watched him carefully. “What does that mean?”
“It means patterns exist.” He replied. “Most people just don’t look for them.”
He turned slightly. “Your case is a pattern.”
Her brows tightened. “A pattern of what?”
Damien looked at her directly now. “That’s what I intend to find out.”
He said the words like a decision already made.
Natalie slowly exhaled. “So this is an investigation.” She said.
Damien’s expression didn’t change.
“No.” He replied. “This is employment.”
“You’re hired.”
The simplicity of it hit harder than anything else that day. There was no hesitation or discussion or negotiation.
Natalie didn’t move. “You didn’t ask if I can do the job.” She said quietly.
Damien turned back toward her. “I already know you can.” He replied.
He sounded like he had already decided something about her that no one else had bothered to see.
Natalie held his gaze, and for the first time since everything fell apart, she didn’t feel invisible.
She didn’t know if that was better.
Or more dangerous.
- Writer
