Chapter 5: Her first day
702 Words
Amara woke up the next morning determined to forget everything that had happened.
The mysterious messages.
Her mother's strange behavior.
Kian's obvious reluctance to answer her questions.
Today, she was going to focus on work.
Nothing else.
At least, that was the plan.
“Good morning,” Mrs. Carter said when Amara arrived.
“Good morning.”
“You're early.”
Amara smiled. “I'm trying to impress my boss.”
Mrs. Carter laughed.
“Trust me, that's impossible.”
“That's encouraging.”
“You'll get used to him.”
“Does anyone actually get used to him?”
“Not really.”
Amara laughed as she settled behind her desk.
The morning was surprisingly normal.
She organized emails, updated schedules and helped prepare documents for an afternoon meeting.
For the first time since she started at Blackwood Holdings, she wasn't thinking about Kian.
Until her desk phone rang.
“Amara.”
His voice.
Of course.
“Yes, Mr. Blackwood?”
“Bring me the financial reports from last quarter.”
“Which ones?”
“All of them.”
She paused.
“All?”
“Yes.”
“That's about four hundred pages.”
“I can count.”
Amara stared at the phone.
Was he serious?
“Anything else?”
“Coffee.”
She blinked.
“Coffee?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
There was a brief pause.
“Black.”
“That's it?”
“Yes.”
“Sugar?”
“No.”
“Milk?”
“No.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
She hung up.
Five minutes later, she stood outside his office holding the reports and a cup of black coffee.
She knocked.
“Come in.”
She walked inside and placed everything on his desk.
“Your reports.”
Kian looked at the stack.
Then at the coffee.
“You remembered.”
Amara frowned.
“You gave me exactly three instructions.”
“I give many people instructions.”
“I know. You're very talented at it.”
He looked at her.
She immediately realized what she'd said.
“I meant—”
“I know what you meant.”
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
It disappeared almost immediately.
“Thank you.”
Amara nodded.
She turned to leave.
“Wait.”
She looked back.
Kian picked up one of the reports.
“You made a mistake here.”
Her stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Page thirty-two.”
She took the document and checked it.
He was right.
A number had been entered incorrectly.
“Oh.”
She looked embarrassed.
“I'll fix it.”
“Do that.”
She turned toward the door.
“And Amara?”
“Yes?”
“Don't be afraid of making mistakes.”
She stared at him.
“That doesn't sound like something you would say.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“Why?”
“Because you look like someone who fires people for breathing too loudly.”
For two seconds, Kian simply stared at her.
Then he laughed.
It was brief.
Unexpected.
And it completely changed his face.
Amara found herself staring.
She had never seen him smile before.
Kian noticed.
The smile disappeared.
“Was there something else?”
“No.”
She quickly left.
The moment she returned to her desk, Noah leaned toward her.
“Did he fire you?”
“No.”
“Did he yell?”
“No.”
“Did you survive?”
“Apparently.”
Noah nodded seriously.
“Congratulations. You're officially one of us.”
Amara laughed.
For the rest of the afternoon, work went smoothly.
But just before she left, she received another message.
This time, it wasn't from the unknown number.
It was from her mother.
Don't trust Kian Blackwood.
Amara stared at the screen.
Then she looked through the glass wall toward Kian's office.
He was standing by the window, his back toward her.
As if sensing her eyes, he turned.
Their gazes met.
Neither looked away.
And for the first time, Amara wondered whether the person she had been warned about was actually the man standing across the office...
Or the people warning her about him.
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