CHAPTER 11: BEST PEOPLE.
1631 Words
Vivienne woke up the next morning with one thought on her mind.
I am in trouble.
Not because of the anonymous messages.
Not because someone had threatened her.
Not even because Damien had told her not to go anywhere alone.
It was because of the kiss that almost happened.
She buried her face in her pillow.
“Why did I say yes?”
Her phone rang.
She groaned and reached for it without looking at the screen.
“Hello?”
“Vivienne!”
She immediately sat up.
That voice.
“Maya?”
“Finally! I have been calling you since yesterday.”
Vivienne glanced at the screen.
Seven missed calls.
“Oh.”
“Oh?” Maya repeated. “That's all you have to say?”
“I was busy.”
“Busy doing what?”
“Working.”
“Until when?”
Vivienne hesitated.
Maya immediately caught it.
“Wait.”
Silence.
“You were with someone.”
Vivienne closed her eyes.
“Maya…”
“You were!”
“It wasn't like that.”
“Who?”
Vivienne sighed.
“Damien.”
There was complete silence on the other end.
Then—
“THE Damien?”
Vivienne pulled the phone away from her ear.
“Yes.”
“The Damien Sterling?”
“Yes.”
“The billionaire CEO you told me has the personality of a locked door?”
“Maya!”
She laughed loudly.
“I knew it!”
“You knew what?”
“I knew there was something going on.”
“Nothing is going on.”
“Then why were you with him last night?”
Vivienne hesitated.
“We had dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Just dinner?”
Vivienne stared at the ceiling.
“He took me to a rooftop.”
Maya screamed.
Vivienne immediately pulled the phone away again.
“Stop shouting!”
“A ROOFTOP?”
“Maya!”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Did he kiss you?”
Vivienne became quiet.
Maya gasped.
“He did!”
“No!”
“He almost did!”
“Oh my God.”
Vivienne covered her face.
“We almost kissed.”
“Vivienne!”
“I know.”
“You like him.”
Vivienne didn't answer.
Maya's voice softened.
“You like him.”
Vivienne slowly smiled.
“I think I do.”
---
Across the city, Damien sat in his office, staring at his computer without actually reading anything.
He had been doing that for almost ten minutes.
The door opened without a knock.
“Still pretending to work?”
Damien didn't look up.
“Get out.”
A man laughed.
“Good morning to you too.”
Damien finally looked up.
Adrian Cole stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face.
They had been friends for years.
Long before Damien became the man everyone knew.
Adrian was one of the few people who could walk into Damien's office without an appointment.
And one of the even fewer people Damien didn't immediately throw out.
“Why are you here?” Damien asked.
“To see my favorite miserable billionaire.”
“I'm busy.”
“No, you're distracted.”
Damien's expression hardened.
Adrian walked over and dropped into the chair opposite him.
“I know that face.”
“What face?”
“The face you make when you're thinking about a woman.”
Damien said nothing.
Adrian's eyebrows rose.
“Oh.”
“Don't.”
“You are thinking about a woman.”
“Adrian.”
“Who is she?”
“No one.”
Adrian laughed.
“Damien Sterling doesn't get distracted by no one.”
Damien leaned back.
“It's complicated.”
“That's worse.”
Damien looked toward the window.
“Her name is Vivienne.”
Adrian's smile disappeared slightly.
“Vivienne?”
“Yes.”
“The new assistant?”
Damien looked at him.
“How do you know her?”
“I've seen her around.”
Adrian studied his friend.
“You actually like her.”
Damien didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Adrian leaned back.
“Wow.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“I've known you for years. I've watched women throw themselves at you, and you've rejected every single one.”
“They weren't the right person.”
“And she is?”
Damien's expression softened.
“I don't know.”
Adrian smiled.
“That's the problem, isn't it?”
Damien looked at him.
“What?”
“You're starting to care before you've figured out whether it's safe to care.”
Damien's jaw tightened.
Adrian noticed.
“Something happened.”
“Someone is threatening her.”
The humor disappeared from Adrian's face.
“What?”
“Anonymous messages. Packages. Someone is watching us.”
“Does she know?”
“Some of it.”
“And you're still seeing her?”
Damien looked at him.
“Yes.”
Adrian sighed.
“You've always been stubborn.”
“I'm not leaving her alone because someone wants me to.”
“That's not what I'm saying.”
“I know.”
Adrian studied him for a moment.
“Then what are you going to do?”
Damien looked down at his phone.
“I'll find out who's behind it.”
---
Later that afternoon, Maya arrived at Vivienne's office.
She walked in wearing oversized sunglasses and carrying two shopping bags.
Vivienne stared at her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Taking you to lunch.”
“I have work.”
“You always have work.”
“Maya…”
“Five minutes.”
Vivienne sighed.
“Fine.”
Maya smiled triumphantly.
As they walked toward the elevator, Maya leaned closer.
“So…”
“No.”
“I haven't even asked anything.”
“I know you.”
Maya laughed.
“Fine. I'll wait until lunch.”
They reached the lobby.
And that's when Maya noticed Damien.
He was standing near the entrance, speaking with Adrian.
Maya stopped walking.
“Oh.”
Vivienne followed her gaze.
Her heart immediately skipped.
Damien looked up.
Their eyes met.
The serious expression on his face softened.
He excused himself from Adrian and walked toward them.
“Vivienne.”
“Damien.”
His eyes moved to Maya.
“And you are?”
Maya smiled brightly.
“Maya. Her best friend.”
Damien nodded.
“Maya.”
She looked him up and down.
Then smiled.
“So you're Damien.”
Vivienne groaned.
“Maya.”
“What?”
Damien's lips twitched.
“It's nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
Maya glanced between them.
Then she smiled knowingly.
Vivienne immediately recognized the look.
“Don't.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You're thinking loudly.”
Adrian approached them.
“Damien.”
Then he looked at Maya.
“And who is this?”
Maya turned.
“Maya.”
“Adrian.”
They shook hands.
Adrian looked at Vivienne.
Then at Damien.
Then back at Vivienne.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“Oh.”
Damien frowned.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Maya laughed.
“I like him.”
Vivienne looked at her.
“You've known him for three seconds.”
“Exactly. He seems entertaining.”
Adrian grinned.
“Finally, someone appreciates me.”
Damien sighed.
“I regret bringing you into this conversation.”
“You didn't bring me. I came willingly.”
Maya laughed.
For the first time in a long while, Vivienne felt completely relaxed.
Four people stood together in the middle of the lobby, laughing.
For a few minutes, there were no threats.
No secrets.
No hidden photographs.
Just normal people enjoying each other's company.
And Damien noticed something.
Vivienne looked happy.
Really happy.
He found himself smiling simply because she was.
---
That evening, Maya and Vivienne sat in a small café near her apartment.
Maya stirred her drink.
“So, tell me everything.”
Vivienne smiled.
“There isn't much to tell.”
“That's a lie.”
Vivienne sighed.
“He's different when we're alone.”
“How?”
“He's softer.”
Maya listened.
“He listens to me. He jokes with me. Sometimes I forget he's Damien Sterling.”
Maya smiled.
“And you like that.”
“Yes.”
“Does he like you?”
Vivienne looked down.
“I think so.”
“You think?”
“He told me I was important to him.”
Maya's smile widened.
“That sounds like a man who likes you.”
Vivienne smiled.
Then her expression slowly changed.
“But there's something else.”
“What?”
“Someone is threatening us.”
Maya's smile disappeared.
“What?”
Vivienne explained everything.
The envelope.
The messages.
The rooftop.
The warning.
Maya listened carefully.
When Vivienne finished, she reached across the table and took her hand.
“You're not dealing with this alone.”
Vivienne smiled faintly.
“I know.”
“Good.”
Maya squeezed her hand.
“Because if anyone tries anything, they'll have to deal with me first.”
Vivienne laughed.
“You?”
“Yes, me.”
“You can't even open a jar without asking for help.”
“That's irrelevant.”
They both laughed.
But neither noticed the man sitting at a table across the café.
He had been watching Vivienne since she arrived.
His phone rested on the table.
He lifted it.
Took a photograph.
Then typed a message.
She is with her friend.
A reply came almost immediately.
Good.
Another message followed.
Let them get comfortable.
The man looked toward Vivienne.
Then toward Maya.
His expression remained calm.
Because soon, neither friendship nor love will be enough to protect her.
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