FIRST CLASH
1022 Words
CHAPTER 12
By noon, the entire executive floor was terrified of Jaden. nobody laughed or spoke loudly.
Even the sound of keyboards had softened into nervous little taps while employees avoided eye contact with the glass office at the end of the hallway.
Tara was exhausted. Absolutely exhausted.
She had slept barely three hours after staying up most of the night fixing reports for a client presentation Jaden suddenly demanded at midnight.
And somehow—nothing she did was ever enough. Her inbox dinged again.
Tara opened the email and nearly slammed her laptop shut.
FROM: JADEN VALE
Subject: Incorrect Data, Redo everything.
Her eye twitched. She stared at the message in disbelief.
She had checked every single number twice. Finance had approved them an hour ago.
Before she could stop herself, Tara grabbed the files and stood up from her desk.
Across the office, Ethan noticed immediately. His expression screamed don’t do it. But it was too late.
Tara marched straight toward Jaden’s office with anger burning in her chest.
The assistant outside his office looked horrified when Tara pushed past her without knocking.
Jaden stood beside the massive windows overlooking the city, one hand in his pocket while the other held his phone.
He turned slowly. His cold gray eyes landed on her instantly.
“What is this?” Tara demanded, throwing the file onto his desk.
Jaden lowered his phone calmly.
“An instruction.”
“These reports are correct.”
“They’re unacceptable.”
“No,” Tara snapped, “you’re just impossible.”
Silence. Jaden’s gaze sharpened.
“Excuse me?”
Tara realized what she had said and for the first time in months…she did not care.
“I worked on these reports all night,” she continued angrily. “Every department approved them before they reached your desk.”
“And yet they still failed my standards.”
Her frustration exploded completely.
“Maybe your standards are the problem!”
The air inside the office changed instantly.
Jaden stepped toward her slowly. Most people backed down when he looked at them like that.
Tara didn’t.
“You’ve been treating everyone like garbage all week,” she said. “Especially me.”
“You’re emotional.”
Tara laughed sharply.
“Of course. That’s the excuse men like you always use.”
His jaw tightened.
“You’re crossing a line.”
“Then fire me.”
The words stunned even her. Jaden stared at her carefully now.
“You think I want to fire you?” he asked quietly.
Tara blinked.
“What?”
“You heard me.” His voice dropped lower.
“You’re one of the few people in this company who actually challenges me.”
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
For a second, something dangerous flashed across his face.
Not rage but something hotter, something that made Tara’s pulse stumble unexpectedly.
Jaden moved closer again until barely two feet separated them. The tension became suffocating.
“You think you know me?” he asked softly.
“I know enough.”
“You know nothing.”
His voice was calm now, but somehow that felt worse.
“I know you enjoy controlling people.”
“And I know,” he countered immediately, “that you pretend not to care what I think while constantly seeking my approval.”
Tara froze.
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
His eyes stayed locked on hers. She turned to leave.
“Sit down.”
The command in his voice stopped her immediately.
Slowly, Tara faced him again.
“I’m not one of your employees right now,” she said carefully.
Jaden’s eyes darkened.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
The words hit her harder than they should have.
The room suddenly felt too small and too warm, neither of them moved or looked away.
Tara hated how aware she became around him. Every breath, every glance and every tiny shift in his expression.
And somehow, the angrier she became with him the more dangerous the attraction between them felt.
Jaden walked toward his desk slowly while loosening his tie.
“You’re distracted lately,” he said.
Tara crossed her arms defensively. “Maybe because you keep targeting me.”
“I push you because you can handle it.”
“You push everyone.”
“No,” he said immediately. “Not like I push you.” The honesty in his voice shocked her.
Tara stared at him carefully now.
“What does that mean?”
Jaden didn’t answer right away.
For the first time since she met him, he almost looked uncertain. Then his expression hardened again.
“It means I expect excellence from you.”
“That’s not all.”
A long silence filled the office. Jaden looked at her in a way he never had before.
Not like a boss or like an enemy but something deeper.
“Tara,” he said quietly.
Her heart skipped. The way he said her name felt intimate.
“You infuriate me,” Jaden admitted softly.
Tara swallowed hard.
“Good.”
“No,” he murmured. “Not good.”
The atmosphere shifted again. Suddenly every breath felt louder.
Every inch between them felt charged.
Tara’s pulse hammered painfully as Jaden stepped closer one final time.
Now they were standing impossibly near each other. She could smell his cologne and felt the heat radiating from him.
“This is exactly why people are terrified of you,” she whispered.
“And yet you’re still standing here.”
Her breath caught. Before she could answer, her tablet slipped from her hands unexpectedly.
Both of them reacted instantly. Their hands collided while reaching for it.
The second their skin touched—everything exploded inside Tara’s head.
A flash, bright lights. A dark luxury hotel room. Heavy rain against glass windows. A man’s voice and her voice.
A kiss—Tara gasped violently and stumbled backward.
The vision vanished instantly. Her breathing turned uneven.
Jaden’s expression changed immediately.
“Tara?”
But she barely heard him.
Because suddenly she recognized the man in the memory.
Jaden.
- Writer
