The First Lie
1071 Words
By noon, Karma had learned three things about Damian Blackwood.
He hated interruptions.
He hated wasted time.
And apparently, he hated lunch.
She discovered the third when Elise stopped by her desk.
“Has he eaten?”
Karma glanced toward Damian's closed office.
“No.”
Elise sighed.
“He does that.”
“Then I suppose he'll survive.”
Elise gave her a strange look.
Karma returned to her computer.
She had bigger problems.
For the past two hours, she'd been going through Damian's schedule.
Not snooping.
At least, not technically.
It was part of her job.
Travel arrangements. Meetings. Appointments. Dinner reservations. Private events.
The schedule gave her something she hadn't expected.
Patterns.
Every few weeks, Damian disappeared from the city for a day or two.
No business meetings.
No investor calls.
No explanation.
Just a blocked calendar.
PRIVATE.
Karma made a mental note.
Then she noticed something else.
A recurring appointment had been removed from his calendar.
Seven years ago, the same week her father's company collapsed.
Her fingers paused over the screen.
She stared at the empty space.
There was no name.
No location.
Nothing useful.
But someone had deliberately erased whatever had been there.
Karma leaned back.
Interesting.
She opened another calendar.
Nothing.
Another.
Nothing.
She closed them.
Too much curiosity could become careless.
And careless people got caught.
---
At one o'clock, Damian called her into his office.
She entered with a tablet in hand.
“You changed my schedule.”
“Three appointments overlapped.”
“You moved one.”
“It was unnecessary.”
His eyes lifted from his laptop.
“You've been here one day.”
“Yes.”
“And you're already deciding which of my meetings are unnecessary?”
Karma shrugged.
“You hired me to manage your schedule.”
“I hired you to follow instructions.”
She considered that.
“Then I'll put the meeting back.”
She reached for the tablet.
“Leave it.”
Her eyes met his.
Damian leaned back.
“You're not easily intimidated.”
“Should I be?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Karma noticed.
So did he.
His expression hardened.
“Sit.”
She sat across from him.
He slid a folder toward her.
“Take this to Legal.”
She picked it up.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
She stood.
As she reached the door, his voice stopped her.
“Karma.”
She looked back.
“Your previous employer.”
“What about them?”
“Why did you leave?”
She kept her expression neutral.
“I wanted something different.”
“You already said that.”
“It's still true.”
His eyes stayed on hers.
“You're very careful with your answers.”
“I'm an assistant.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Karma gave him the smallest smile.
“You've said that before.”
For a second, something almost amused crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
“Go.”
She left.
---
Legal was on the seventh floor.
Karma delivered the folder, collected the required signature, and headed back upstairs.
Nothing unusual.
No secret files.
No dramatic discoveries.
Just work.
Which was exactly why she almost missed it.
As she passed Damian's office, his assistant's old desk was being cleared out.
A filing cabinet had been moved away from the wall.
Behind it was a small indentation in the paint.
Someone had once mounted something there.
A plaque, perhaps.
Or a photograph.
Karma slowed.
Then kept walking.
She didn't look back.
Not yet.
When she returned to her desk, she opened Damian's digital calendar again.
She searched the dates around the week her father died.
Nothing.
Then she searched the address she'd memorized years ago.
Blackwood House.
One result appeared.
A recurring private event.
No details.
No attendees.
Just an address and a date.
Karma stared at it.
The date was seven years old.
The same night her father died.
Her pulse quickened.
She copied the address onto a blank piece of paper.
Then deleted the search.
She had barely closed the file when Damian appeared beside her desk.
“Everything all right?”
Karma looked up.
“Fine.”
His gaze dropped to her screen.
The calendar was closed.
He looked back at her.
“Good.”
He walked away.
Karma watched him disappear into his office.
Only then did she realize something.
He hadn't asked what she was doing.
He already knew.
---
At 5:41 p.m., Karma received a message.
Unknown Number
Stop looking.
She stared at it.
Her first instinct was to delete it.
Instead, she waited.
Another message appeared.
You don't know what you're getting yourself into.
Karma typed one response.
Who are you?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Nothing.
Karma slipped the phone into her pocket.
She looked toward Damian's office.
The blinds were half closed.
His silhouette moved behind them.
She wondered if he had sent the messages.
It would make sense.
He knew who she was.
He knew about her father.
He had recognized her the moment she'd walked into that interview.
Maybe the anonymous messages weren't warnings at all.
Maybe they were tests.
Karma stood and gathered her things.
As she passed his office, the door opened.
Damian stepped out.
Their eyes met.
“You're leaving.”
“Yes.”
“Tomorrow. Eight forty-five.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Again?”
“You're learning.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
“Apparently.”
She turned toward the elevator.
“Karma.”
She stopped.
Damian's expression had changed.
The warmth was gone.
“Don't go looking for things that don't concern you.”
She held his gaze.
“Then don't leave them where I can find them.”
Silence.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Karma stepped into the elevator.
The doors closed.
Damian remained in the hallway.
His jaw tightened.
Because Karma didn't know the truth.
She didn't know that seven years ago, he had been standing outside Blackwood House when her father disappeared.
She didn't know that Damian had spent years believing Karma Hart was dead.
And she definitely didn't know that he'd recognized her before she ever said her name.
To everyone else in this building, Karma Hart was exactly what her résumé claimed she was.
A new executive assistant.
Nothing more.
And Damian intended to keep it that way.
Until he discovered why she had come back.
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