Chapter 2:The Man Who Never Smiles
1779 Words
Blair Stevenson woke before her alarm.
For a few seconds, she didn’t even move. She just lay there staring at the ceiling of her tiny apartment, her heart beating faster than it should for someone who had only just opened her eyes.
Then it hit her.
Her job.
Rain Dacosta.
Her stomach twisted instantly.
She sat up slowly, running a hand through her messy brunette hair. Yesterday had felt like walking into a storm she hadn’t prepared for. Rain wasn’t just strict. He was intense. Sharp. The kind of man who didn’t just expect perfection—he demanded it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And somehow, she had survived.
Barely.
Blair swung her legs off the bed and stood, stretching her stiff arms. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, and she sighed before even checking it. She already knew who it was.
Her mother.
Again.
Blair stared at the screen for a long moment before tapping the message open.
Mom: You left the house like we’re strangers. Is this how you repay everything I’ve done for you?
Her jaw tightened.
Everything she had done for her? Blair almost laughed. Growing up in that house had felt like surviving a battlefield where every word could turn into an argument and every mistake became a crime.
She locked the phone without replying.
“No,” she muttered softly. “Not today. I’m not letting you ruin this.”
Today was important. Today was her second chance—not just at the job, but at her life. If she failed here, she didn’t know what she would do next.
She showered quickly, then stood in front of the mirror in her small room. The dark circles under her eyes were still faintly visible, but her face looked calmer than yesterday.
“You’re not scared of him,” she whispered to her reflection. “You just work for him.”
She tied her hair into a neat low ponytail, picked her simplest black blouse, and grabbed her bag before she could overthink it.
The moment Blair stepped into Dacosta Industries, the same overwhelming feeling returned.
The building looked even bigger today.
The marble floors gleamed like glass, and the employees moved with quiet confidence, like everyone knew exactly what they were doing. Blair swallowed as she walked toward the elevator, trying to ignore the small voice in her head that kept saying, You don’t belong here.
The elevator doors opened, and she stepped in, pressing the button for the 45th floor.
Her heartbeat sped up again as the numbers climbed.
35… 38… 41… 44…
Ding.
The doors slid open, and she stepped into the executive floor once more. It was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that made every sound feel louder than it should be.
She walked straight to Rain’s office, trying not to hesitate this time. Yesterday she had paused outside his door for almost thirty seconds before knocking.
Today, she knocked immediately.
“Come in.”
His voice was calm. Cold. Controlled.
Blair opened the door and stepped inside.
Rain Dacosta was already working.
Of course he was.
He sat behind his desk in a perfectly tailored dark suit, his sleeves rolled just enough to show his wristwatch. His eyes were fixed on his laptop screen, his expression unreadable.
He didn’t look up when she entered.
“Good morning, sir,” Blair said carefully.
No response.
Her fingers tightened slightly around her notebook.
“Good morning, Mr. Dacosta,” she repeated, louder this time.
He finally looked up.
And for a moment, Blair felt like she had just been examined under a microscope.
Rain’s gray eyes moved slowly over her face, then her outfit, then her posture. It wasn’t inappropriate—it was worse. It felt like he was measuring her competence just by looking at her.
“You’re early,” he said.
Blair blinked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good,” he replied simply, then returned his attention to the laptop. “Sit. We’re starting immediately. I don’t repeat instructions twice.”
Blair sat quickly, flipping open her notebook.
“Today,” he continued, “you will organize the files from the New York branch, confirm every meeting for this week, respond to emails that don’t require my direct input, and update the client list. Carefully. If you’re unsure about anything, you ask before making a mistake—not after.”
Blair nodded, writing everything down as fast as she could.
“Yes, sir.”
Rain leaned back slightly, watching her again.
“You write fast,” he said.
“I learn fast too,” Blair replied before she could stop herself.
Silence filled the room.
For a second, she wondered if she had just made a huge mistake.
But instead of getting angry, Rain raised one eyebrow.
“Confidence,” he said quietly. “Let’s see if it’s real or just noise.”
Blair’s cheeks warmed, but she didn’t look away this time.
“I’ll prove it’s real, sir.”
Something flickered in his eyes.
Not kindness. No approval.
Interest.
The morning went by faster than Blair expected.
She worked nonstop—emails, schedules, documents, calls. Every time she thought she had finished something perfectly, she checked it again just to be sure.
But working for Rain Dacosta was like trying to impress someone who already expected you to fail.
At exactly 10:30, he called her in again.
Blair stood in front of his desk, trying to stay calm.
“You confirmed the meeting with Carter & Co.?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. It’s scheduled for Thursday at eleven.”
Rain tapped his pen against the table slowly.
“And the email?”
“I replied, sir. I explained the time change and attached the updated file.”
He stared at her for a few seconds longer than necessary.
Then he opened his laptop and checked.
Blair’s heart pounded loudly in her chest as he read the email in silence.
Please don’t be wrong. Please don’t be wrong. Please don’t be wrong.
Finally, he closed the laptop.
“Correct,” he said.
The word was simple, but Blair almost smiled in relief.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t thank me for doing your job,” he replied immediately. “Just continue doing it properly.”
Her smile faded slightly, but she nodded anyway.
“Yes, sir.”
By lunchtime, Blair’s head was spinning.
She hadn’t stopped working for even five minutes. Not even once.
She walked back to her small desk outside his office and sat down slowly, rubbing her temples.
“You look like you just ran a marathon.”
Blair looked up, surprised.
A young woman stood near her desk, holding a coffee cup and smiling slightly.
“I’m Maya,” the woman said. “Marketing department. And you’re the new secretary, right?”
Blair nodded. “Yes. Blair.”
Maya leaned closer, lowering her voice.
“So… how is he?”
Blair already knew who she meant.
Rain Dacosta.
“He’s…” Blair hesitated. “Strict.”
Maya laughed softly. “That’s a very polite way to describe him.”
Blair smiled a little.
“Was the last secretary really that bad?” she asked carefully.
Maya nodded immediately. “Terrible. She messed up meetings, forgot files, showed up late almost every day. I’m honestly shocked he didn’t fire her sooner.”
Blair exhaled slowly.
So that was why Rain looked at her like she was about to fail at any second.
He wasn’t just being harsh.
He didn’t trust her yet.
“Don’t worry,” Maya said. “If you survived one full day, you’re already doing better than the last one.”
Blair laughed softly, though her stomach still felt tight.
“I just don’t want to mess this up.”
“You won’t,” Maya replied confidently. “You don’t look like someone who gives up easily.”
Blair didn’t answer.
Because Maya was right.
She didn’t give up easily.
She couldn’t afford to.
The afternoon was even harder.
Rain didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t insult her. He didn’t do anything dramatic.
But the pressure of working under someone who noticed everything was exhausting.
At 3:15, he called her again.
Blair walked into the office, holding a file carefully.
“Yes, sir?”
Rain didn’t look up immediately.
“You corrected the client list,” he said.
“Yes, sir.”
“And you double-checked it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you’re certain there are no mistakes?”
Blair hesitated for half a second.
“…Yes, sir.”
Rain finally looked up.
And Blair instantly knew something was wrong.
He turned the file around and pointed at a name.
“This,” he said calmly, “is spelled incorrectly.”
Her heart dropped.
“I— I’m sorry, sir. I’ll fix it immediately.”
Rain studied her face carefully, like he was trying to see how she would react.
“Most people,” he said slowly, “start making excuses when they’re wrong.”
Blair swallowed.
“I don’t have an excuse, sir. I just made a mistake.”
Silence.
Then, surprisingly, Rain nodded once.
“Good. Fix it.”
Blair blinked in shock.
That was it?
He wasn’t yelling?
Wasn’t he angry?
She turned quickly and walked out of the office, her hands still shaking slightly.
But something felt different.
For the first time since she met him, Rain didn’t look at her like she was completely useless.
He looked at her like she was… improving.
By the time the workday ended, Blair felt like she had aged five years.
She shut down her computer slowly and grabbed her bag, stretching her sore shoulders.
As she stood, the door behind her opened.
Rain stepped out of his office.
Blair froze instantly.
He walked past her desk, then stopped.
“You survived the second day,” he said without looking at her.
Blair blinked.
“Yes, sir.”
“You make mistakes,” he continued. “But you correct them quickly. That’s better than pretending you’re perfect.”
Blair stared at him in surprise.
Was that… a compliment?
“Thank you, sir,” she said softly.
Rain finally looked at her again, his expression unreadable.
“Don’t thank me yet. Tomorrow will be harder.”
And just like that, he walked away.
Blair watched him disappear down the hallway, her heart beating strangely fast.
He was still cold.
Still arrogant.
Still impossible to understand.
But for the first time since she met him, she didn’t feel scared of him.
She felt… challenged.
And maybe, just maybe, she was ready for that.
- Writer
