CHAPTER FIVE
1527 Words
The file slipped from Miriam’s hand.
The documents scattered across the floor, some sliding beneath the chairs.
“Oh!”
“Ouch.”
They both bent down at the same time.
“I’ve got it,” Miriam said quickly.
“I can help.”
Their hands reached for the same paper.
Their heads collided.
“Ouch!” Miriam hissed.
She slowly looked up.
And froze.
Damian was right in front of her.
Too close.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved.
His deep blue eyes held hers, and something about the way he looked at her made her forget what she had been doing.
Miriam’s gaze dropped briefly to his lips before she caught herself.
Why was she looking at him like that?
She quickly looked away.
Damian, however, didn't.
There was something familiar about her face. Something he couldn't place.
Then Miriam noticed it.
A small birthmark behind his left ear.
Her breath caught.
She knew that mark.
Her eyes widened.
No.
She stared at him again.
The face was older. Sharper. More handsome.
But those eyes...
That birthmark...
Her heart slammed against her chest.
“Damian?”
The name slipped out before she could stop it.
His brows drew together.
“You know me?”
Miriam pushed herself to her feet.
“No.”
She shoved past him and hurried down the hallway.
Damian stood there, completely confused.
“What the hell just happened?”
He looked down.
One document remained on the floor.
He picked it up.
The moment he saw the company name at the top, his expression changed.
He folded the paper and walked back into his suite.
---
Miriam shut her door and leaned against it.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“It can't be him.”
But deep down, she already knew.
Damian Cole.
The same Damian Cole who had made her years at Wells High College miserable.
He had been a senior, feared by almost everyone.
He bullied students because he could.
Humiliated them because he enjoyed it.
And whenever anyone tried to stand up to him, somehow, he always got away with it.
Miriam and her friends had learned one simple rule back then:
Avoid Damian Cole.
Whenever they spotted him walking toward them, they disappeared.
And now he was here.
Of all places.
She dragged a hand down her face.
“High school was hell.”
She swallowed.
“And now the devil is back.”
But there was something else bothering her.
He hadn't recognized her.
And somehow, that frightened her even more.
---
Damian poured himself a drink.
He sat on the couch and opened the document he'd picked up.
At first, he read casually.
Then his eyes stopped on one particular company name.
His entire expression hardened.
That company.
He remembered them.
Years ago, when D&C was still struggling to establish itself, they had deceived him in a business deal.
He had never forgotten.
Damian's jaw tightened.
He dropped the document onto the table.
“Interesting.”
He took another sip of whiskey.
But his mind wasn't on the company anymore.
It was on the woman who had looked at him as though she'd seen a ghost.
Miriam.
Who was she?
And why did she know his name?
---
Miriam changed into something comfortable and sat before the mirror.
She wiped her face, trying to calm herself.
“Maybe I'm wrong.”
She stared at her reflection.
“Maybe it's just someone who looks like him.”
She desperately wanted that to be true.
She picked up her file and began checking the documents again.
Then she stopped.
Her eyes moved over the pages once.
Twice.
Her heart sank.
The investor's fund document was missing.
“What?”
She searched the bed.
Nothing.
Her bag.
Nothing.
The table.
Nothing.
“Oh, shit.”
She remembered the lobby.
The papers had scattered there.
And Damian had been helping her.
Miriam jumped up.
There was only one person who could have it.
She rushed out of the suite.
---
The side lobby was empty.
Miriam searched beneath the chairs and around the table.
Nothing.
Her mind raced.
The cleaner?
No.
Damian?
Her stomach tightened.
“It has to be him.”
She hurried to the reception desk.
“Excuse me!”
The receptionist looked up.
“Good evening, ma'am.”
“Which room is Damian Cole staying in?”
The receptionist's expression immediately changed.
“Mr. Damian Cole?”
“Yes.”
“I'm sorry, ma'am. His stay here is private.”
“Please.”
Miriam lowered her voice.
“I need to speak with him. It's extremely important.”
The receptionist hesitated.
“It concerns a document.”
A few seconds passed.
Finally, the receptionist quietly gave her the suite number.
Miriam thanked her and hurried away.
---
She stopped outside Damian's door.
Her hand hovered over the doorbell.
She knew exactly who was on the other side.
The boy she had feared.
The man she had just discovered was the same boy.
Miriam took a breath.
Then knocked.
Inside, Damian looked toward the door.
His expression tightened.
He placed his glass down and walked over.
The door opened.
Miriam's confidence disappeared for a second.
Damian's presence still had that effect.
Cold.
Powerful.
Intimidating.
But when he saw her, something in his expression softened.
“Come in.”
Miriam stepped inside.
“Sit.”
“I won't stay long.”
Damian raised an eyebrow.
“Then say what you came to say.”
Miriam glanced toward the table.
The document was there.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You have it.”
Damian followed her gaze.
“This?”
“Yes.”
“The investor's fund document?”
“Did you read it?”
He didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Miriam's anger flared.
“You're still the same.”
Damian slowly turned his head.
“The same what?”
“The same arrogant person who thinks other people's boundaries don't matter.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“You seem to know me very well.”
“I know enough.”
“But I don't know you.”
Miriam went quiet.
Those words hit harder than she expected.
She reached for the document.
Damian handed it to her.
“I've gone through it,” he said.
Miriam checked the pages quickly.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“Then why did you read it?”
“Because I saw something interesting.”
His voice became serious.
“You have a problem.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
Damian stepped closer.
“Your investor isn't your biggest problem.”
Miriam's face changed.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean someone is deliberately trying to destroy your company.”
Her fingers tightened around the file.
“And you know who?”
“I might.
“Then tell me.”
Damian smiled.
“I'm offering to help.”
“I don't need your help.”
“You will.”
“I said I don't.”
She turned toward the door.
Damian's voice stopped her.
“There is one condition.”
Miriam slowly turned around.
“What condition?”
Damian looked directly into her eyes.
“A contract marriage.”
Miriam stared at him.
For a moment, she couldn't even process the words.
Then she gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
“You want me to marry you?”
“For one year.”
“Why?”
Damian's expression remained calm.
“Because I need something from you.”
Miriam's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“Your shares.”
Her heart dropped.
So that was it.
She had walked into a trap.
Miriam stared at him, trying to understand how he had managed to learn so much about her in such a short time.
Damian picked up his glass.
“You can walk away.”
Miriam turned toward the door.
But his next words stopped her cold.
“Of course, you can.”
He took a slow sip.
“But if you do, by this time tomorrow, the people trying to destroy your company will make their move.”
Miriam slowly looked back.
Damian's eyes were unreadable.
“And when they do,” he added, “you won't just lose your company.”
He paused.
“You could lose everything.”
Miriam's grip tightened around the document.
She stared at him in disbelief.
Then, without another word, she turned and walked away.
The door closed behind her.
Damian watched it for several seconds.
A faint smile crossed his face.
He reached for his phone.
“Find everything on Miriam.”
He ended the call.
But neither of them knew that someone had been watching their encounter from the end of the hallway.
And that person immediately pulled out a phone.
“She's with Damian Cole,” the voice whispered.
A pause.
Then came the reply.
“Then the plan has changed.”
The call ended.
And somewhere in the darkness, someone smiled.
Miriam had no idea that accepting Damian's condition might save her company.
But refusing it might put her life in danger.
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