THE OFFER
892 Words
*Chapter 2:
The boardroom door clicked shut behind my lawyer.
Silence.
300 people were gone. Now it was just me, Damien, and the 20-foot glass window showing Lagos skyline at dusk. Orange light painted his face. Made his silver eyes look like molten steel.
He hadn’t moved from the head of the table. Hadn’t blinked.
“You’re still my mate,” he said finally. Voice low, rough. Like the word hurt his throat.
I set my briefcase down. Click. The sound echoed.
“Bond’s broken, Damien. You broke it yourself. In front of 300 wolves.”
“Biology doesn’t care.” His nostrils flared. He inhaled sharply. “Your scent. Still the same. Honey and rain. It’s driving my wolf insane.”
My heart kicked against my ribs. But I kept my face blank. Cold. The mask I wore for 3 years.
“I’m not here for biology lessons, Alpha Blackwood. I’m here for the acquisition.” I slid the Starlight Corp file across the table. “My terms. Your signature. Then I leave.”
He didn’t look at the file. His eyes stayed on my face. On my mouth.
“You built Starlight Corp in 3 years,” he said. “From nothing. From ₦2,000.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Impressive. Stupid. But impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“Impressive enough that I don’t want you as competition.” He leaned forward. Hands flat on the table. Veins stood out on his forearms. “I want you where I can see you.”
I laughed. No humor. “You want to control me.”
“I want to understand you.” He stood. 6’3 of pure Alpha dominance. The air pressure changed. “Why come back? Why now? Why me?”
“Because you rejected me.” I met his eyes. Didn’t flinch. “And I don’t forgive.”
His wolf eyes flashed gold for half a second. Then back to silver. Controlled. Deadly.
“Fine.” He picked up my file. Flipped one page. “I’ll sign the acquisition. 2.3 billion naira. Starlight Corp becomes a Blackwood subsidiary.”
My breath caught. That was 3x what I expected.
“Condition,” he added before I could speak.
Of course there was a condition.
“You become my executive secretary. Effective immediately.” He dropped the file. “6 months. You work in my office. You attend every meeting. Every trip. Every dinner.”
I stared at him. “You want me as your secretary?”
“I want you close.” He didn’t pretend otherwise. “So I can figure out why the bond still burns when you’re in the same room.”
Anger flared hot in my chest. “You rejected me. You called me an embarrassment. ‘No parents. No pack status.’ Those were your words, Damien.”
“I was wrong.”
The words hit me harder than the rejection did.
He took one step closer. Then another. Now only the table separated us. His scent hit me – pine and storm and something dark. My wolf, the one I’d locked up for 3 years, stirred and whimpered.
“Sign the contract, Favour,” he said. My name on his lips sounded like a prayer and a curse. “Be my secretary for 6 months. If you still hate me after, I’ll release you. No penalties. Full ownership of Starlight Corp stays with you.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then I walk.” He shrugged like it didn’t matter. Like he wasn’t offering me billions. “And Blackwood Industries will crush Starlight Corp in 6 months. We both know that.”
He was right. I hated that he was right.
I looked at the contract. Then at him. The boy who gave me half his sandwich when I was 8 and crying. The man who rejected me under the full moon.
“You lost the right to ask anything from me,” I whispered.
“I know.” His voice cracked. Just once. “But I’m asking anyway.”
For 10 seconds, nobody breathed.
I thought of those nights sleeping in bus parks. Of eating one meal a day to save money. Of building Starlight Corp with bloody fingers and no sleep.
This was revenge. Right here. Inside his office. Watching him every day. Making him regret.
I picked up the pen.
“6 months,” I said. “Executive secretary. That’s all.”
I signed. Favour Cole. Sharp, angry strokes.
Damien watched my hand move. When I finished, his shoulders dropped like he’d been holding his breath.
“Good.” He took the contract. His fingers brushed mine. Electric. Painful. “8pm. My office. We discuss your duties.”
“That’s after work hours.”
“Exactly.” His mouth curved. Not a smile. A promise. “Boss’s orders, Miss Cole.”
He turned and walked to the window. Back to me. Dismissed.
Like I meant nothing.
Like he hadn’t just shaken the whole room by asking me to stay.
I clutched my briefcase until my knuckles went white.
6 months. In his office. Breathing the same air.
The Moon Goddess had a sick sense of humor.
But fine. If he wanted me close… I’d let him regret it.
_[End of Chapter 2 - To be continued…]_
- Writer
