HIS LAST ASSISTANT

CHAPTER FIVE

Natalie stared at Samantha. For a moment, the words didn’t fully register.

“The press?”She repeated slowly.

Samantha nodded once. “Three media vehicles outside already. More are arriving.”

A cold feeling crept into Natalie’s chest.

Richard, it had to be Richard.

Damien, however, looked completely unbothered. “How much do they know?” He asked calmly.

Samantha glanced briefly toward Natalie before answering. “Not much yet. But someone tipped them off that Richard Halston was seen entering the building.” She paused. “And apparently, someone recognized Natalie.”

Natalie closed her eyes briefly.

Of course they did.

Damien walked past both women toward the windows overlooking the street below.

“Who leaked it?” He asked.

Samantha hesitated. “We don’t know yet.”

But Natalie noticed something.

Samantha’s eyes flickered downward slightly when she answered.

Damien noticed discomfort.

“You suspect someone.” He said.

Samantha exhaled carefully. “I suspect people are talking more than they should.”

Natalie stayed quiet. Her pulse was still uneven beneath her skin, but she forced herself to think clearly.

This was exactly how Richard operated. With pressure, humiliation, and control.

If he couldn’t erase her quietly anymore, he’d make sure she became public damage instead.

Her throat tightened at the thought. She had spent months trying to disappear from attention.

Now cameras were waiting downstairs.

Damien finally turned back toward them. “Prepare the secondary exit.” He told Samantha.

Samantha nodded immediately and left the room.

The moment the door shut behind her, silence settled again.

Natalie let out a breath slowly. “I should leave.”

Damien looked at her. “No.”

“This is already becoming a problem.”

“No.” He repeated calmly. “It’s becoming noise.”

She stared at him, frustration slipping through despite herself.

“You say that because it’s not your reputation being dragged through the street again.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them slightly.

Damien studied her quietly, and then he asked. “Do you think I care about public opinion?”

Natalie blinked once.

Honestly? No.

Men like Damien Cole didn’t build empires by caring what people thought, but this was different.

“You should care when it affects your company.” She replied carefully.

Damien walked closer slowly, his expression unreadable as always. “You think too small, Natalie.”

Her brows tightened slightly.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Then he said quietly. “If I removed every person people talked about, half this city would disappear.”

Natalie held his gaze, searching for mockery. There wasn’t any.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked before she could stop herself.

Damien’s eyes remained steady on hers. “Because people like Richard Halston survive when everyone else backs away.”

Natalie’s chest tightened unexpectedly. “And you?” She asked softly.

His expression barely shifted. “I don’t back away.”

The air between them changed slightly.

A knock interrupted the silence again.

This time, Samantha returned with a tablet in hand. “You need to see this.”

Damien took the tablet from her.

Natalie watched his expression carefully as he looked down at the screen.

For the first time since she met him, his jaw tightened slightly.

“What?” Natalie asked immediately.

Damien turned the tablet toward her.

Her stomach dropped.

A headline filled the screen.

“Billionaire CEO Damien Cole Seen Meeting Privately With Disgraced Former Strategist Natalie Brooks”

Below, it was a photo, not from today but from months ago.

Natalie exited Halston & Merrick after her termination. She looked exhausted and destroyed.

Someone had circled her face in red.

Another line beneath the headline read:

“Sources suggest Brooks’ removal from Halston & Merrick involved “professional misconduct concerns.”

Natalie felt physically ill.

“They’re trying to frame the story before facts come out.” Samantha said carefully.

Natalie barely heard her because another sentence had appeared lower in the article.

“Questions are now being raised about why Damien Cole personally recruited Brooks despite her controversial corporate history.”

Natalie swallowed hard and handed the tablet back.

“This is exactly what I meant.” She said quietly. “Your company’s already being dragged into this.”

Damien looked completely unmoved. “Temporary.”

Natalie almost laughed.

Temporary?

Did he have any idea what this kind of media attention could do to someone already hanging by a thread?

“Not for me.” She said.

Then Damien asked something unexpected. “Do you want to quit?”

Her head snapped toward him immediately. The question hit harder than she expected.

Because beneath it was something dangerous.

Natalie looked at him carefully. If she walked away now, things would become easier for him.

But then she remembered Richard’s face earlier, that brief moment of panic when he realized she wasn’t gone anymore.

And suddenly Natalie understood something clearly, leaving now would prove him right, that he could scare her out of every room forever.

Her spine straightened slowly. “No.” She said.

Damien’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes sharpened slightly. “Good.”

Samantha looked between both of them carefully, and then her phone buzzed.

She checked the screen and frowned. “Mr. Cole…”

“What?”

“The board heard about the article.”

Of course they had.

Natalie closed her eyes briefly.

Samantha hesitated before continuing.

“They’ve called an emergency meeting.”

This was escalating too fast.

Damien, however, looked unsurprised. “When?”

“In one hour.”

Samantha paused.

Then, it was added carefully. “And Victor Lang specifically requested Natalie’s presence.”

The room went still again.

Natalie frowned immediately. “Why would the CFO want me there?”

Samantha’s expression tightened slightly. “Because according to him…” She hesitated. “If your situation is affecting the company, then the board deserves to evaluate the risk themselves.”

Natalie felt anger rise hot in her chest.

She already knew what this meeting would become. An interrogation.

Damien seemed to realize the same thing because his expression cooled instantly. “What exactly?” He asked quietly. “Does Victor think he’s trying to do?”

Samantha looked uneasy now.

“I think.” She admitted carefully. “They’re preparing to ask you to terminate her employment.”

Silence crashed into the room.

Natalie’s stomach tightened painfully.

There it was, the same pattern all over again. Except this time, the stakes were even higher because if Damien let them push her out now, Richard Halston would win again.

And somehow, deep down…

She didn’t think Damien Cole liked losing.