Chapter 9: Their First Clash
1273 Words
The conference room remained silent long after Richard Collins lowered his head in humiliation.
No one had expected the CEO’s newly appointed assistant to expose a senior executive within minutes of her first meeting.
Damien closed the financial report.
“The meeting is adjourned.”
One by one, the executives gathered their documents and hurried out.
Some avoided Aria’s eyes.
Others looked at her with newfound respect.
Richard Collins left without saying a word.
As the conference room emptied, Aria released a quiet breath.
She had done it.
But something felt… off.
She turned toward Damien.
His expression was unreadable.
“Evelyn,” he said.
“Cancel my next appointment.”
“Yes, Mr Ashford.”
“And no interruptions.”
Evelyn nodded before quietly closing the conference room doors behind her.
Only Damien and Aria remained.
⸻
For several long moments, Damien simply looked at her.
Then he spoke.
“What exactly were you thinking?”
Aria blinked.
“What?”
“You investigated one of my senior executives without informing me.”
“I found evidence.”
“That’s not the point.”
She folded her arms.
“Then what is?”
“You acted independently.”
His voice remained calm.
“You involved yourself in company matters without my permission.”
Aria stared at him in disbelief.
“I exposed corruption.”
“You ignored protocol.”
“I prevented someone from stealing millions of pounds.”
“You created unnecessary risk.”
Her patience began to wear thin.
“So you’re angry because I did my job?”
“I’m angry because you could have put yourself in danger.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Danger?”
“I’m already being threatened.”
“I know.”
“Exactly.”
“So why should I stay silent?”
Damien walked around the table until they stood face-to-face.
“This company operates through structure.”
“There are procedures.”
“There are investigations.”
“There are legal departments.”
“You don’t accuse executives during board meetings.”
“I didn’t accuse him.”
She met his eyes.
“I proved it.”
⸻
Damien remained silent.
Aria continued.
“If I hadn’t spoken…”
“…would you have?”
His jaw tightened.
“That’s irrelevant.”
“No.”
“It isn’t.”
She took a step closer.
“You knew something was wrong with him, didn’t you?”
Damien didn’t answer.
“You were waiting.”
“For the right time.”
His silence gave her the answer she needed.
“You were.”
“I was building a stronger case.”
“And while you waited…”
“…he continued stealing.”
His expression hardened.
“You don’t understand how corporations work.”
“No.”
“I understand people.”
The room fell silent.
⸻
Aria’s voice softened.
“When I was little…”
“My father knew every employee’s name.”
“He remembered birthdays.”
“He attended weddings.”
“When one worker’s daughter needed surgery…”
“He paid for it himself.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
“He always said…”
“‘A company isn’t built with money.’
“‘It’s built with people.’”
She looked directly at Damien.
“You know what I saw in that meeting today?”
He said nothing.
“I saw people who were terrified of you.”
“They didn’t speak because they respected you.”
“They spoke because they feared you.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Fear isn’t always a bad thing.”
“No.”
“But loneliness is.”
Those words landed harder than either of them expected.
⸻
Damien looked away toward the city skyline.
“You think you know me after two days?”
“I think…”
She hesitated.
“…you’re carrying the entire weight of this company by yourself.”
He remained silent.
“You trust contracts more than people.”
“You hide behind rules.”
“You push everyone away before they have the chance to leave.”
His expression became unreadable once more.
“You’ve analysed me rather quickly.”
“I didn’t need long.”
She folded her arms.
“You’re lonely.”
The word hung heavily between them.
For the first time since they’d met…
Damien looked genuinely unsettled.
⸻
His voice became colder.
“This conversation is over.”
“No.”
“It isn’t.”
“You criticised how I handled Richard Collins.”
“Fine.”
“Now it’s my turn.”
She looked around the empty conference room.
“Do you know why everyone here walks on eggshells?”
“Because they never know which version of Damien Ashford they’ll meet.”
“The cold CEO.”
“The ruthless businessman.”
“The man who never smiles.”
Damien’s expression remained perfectly controlled.
“You’ve built walls so high…”
“…that even the people trying to help you can’t get through.”
His voice dropped.
“And you’re one of those people?”
“I don’t know.”
She admitted honestly.
“But I know this…”
“If you keep treating people like they’re just employees…”
“…one day you’ll wake up surrounded by hundreds of people…”
“…and still be completely alone.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Painful.
⸻
Damien took a slow breath.
“You’ve crossed a line.”
“So have you.”
“I hired you as my assistant.”
“Not my psychologist.”
“And I agreed to become your assistant.”
“Not your servant.”
Their eyes locked.
Neither willing to back down.
Finally, Damien spoke.
“You’ve been here for less than twenty-four hours.”
“Yet you’ve already broken my house rules…”
“Embarrassed one executive…”
“…and now you’re questioning how I run my company.”
Aria lifted her chin.
“Maybe someone should.”
⸻
The tension between them became unbearable.
“I made a mistake.”
Damien’s words were quiet.
Aria frowned.
“What?”
“I thought we could work together professionally.”
“I was wrong.”
The words stung far more than she expected.
“So that’s it?”
“You regret hiring me?”
“I regret believing you’d follow instructions.”
Something inside Aria snapped.
“You know what your problem is?”
Damien remained silent.
“You think money gives you the right to control everything.”
“It doesn’t.”
“You can’t schedule people’s feelings.”
“You can’t solve every problem with contracts.”
“And you certainly can’t expect everyone to obey you just because you’re Damien Ashford.”
She grabbed the notebook from the table.
“If that’s the kind of assistant you want…”
“…find someone else.”
She turned and strode towards the door.
Just before leaving, she looked back one final time.
“For someone surrounded by thousands of employees…”
“…I’ve never met anyone who looks so alone.”
The door slammed shut behind her.
⸻
The conference room fell completely silent.
Damien stood motionless.
His gaze remained fixed on the closed door.
Several seconds passed.
Then…
To his own surprise…
The corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
A genuine smile.
Soft.
Unforced.
He let out a quiet laugh.
“No one’s ever spoken to me like that before.”
Outside the conference room, Evelyn happened to glance through the glass wall.
She froze.
Her eyes widened.
Mr Damien Ashford…
The man who hadn’t smiled properly in years…
…was smiling because someone had just argued with him.
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