THE WRONG ANSWER
1002 Words
Vivian didn’t answer immediately.
And somehow, the silence itself became dangerous.
Roman waited patiently on the other end of the line while Damien stood only a few feet away, motionless enough to make the entire office feel unnaturally still.
Two men.
One waiting for her answer.
The other silently dreading it.
Vivian suddenly hated how aware she was of both of them.
“Dinner,” she repeated carefully into the phone.
“Yes.”
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough to be interested.”
Damien’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly.
Vivian noticed.
Of course she noticed.
She also noticed the unsettling satisfaction in Roman’s voice — like he understood exactly what kind of position he’d placed her in.
And worse?
He sounded intentional about it.
Vivian turned slightly away from Damien instinctively.
“That isn’t a good idea.”
“Because of the case?”
“Because of everything.”
Roman was quiet for a second.
Then:
“You still haven’t said no.”
Damien looked away sharply toward the windows.
That small movement affected Vivian more than it should have.
Because for the first time since she’d started working for him, Damien Blackwood looked emotionally involved.
Not professionally irritated.
Not mildly possessive.
Emotionally involved.
And suddenly the room felt too small.
Roman’s voice softened slightly through the phone.
“One dinner, Vivian.”
Dangerous man.
Dangerous voice.
Dangerous timing.
Yet, she couldn't bring herself to say no, and she dreaded to admit the reason why
Vivian closed her eyes briefly before answering.
“I’ll think about it.”
A pause.
Then Roman laughed quietly.
“That sounds promising.”
“It wasn’t meant to.”
“We’ll see.”
Before she could respond again, the call ended.
Silence crashed back into the office immediately.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Vivian lowered the phone slowly.
Damien still stood near the windows with his back partially turned toward her, one hand resting against his jaw tightly.
He looked furious.
But controlled fury on Damien Blackwood was always worse.
“You’re considering it,” he said finally.
Not a question.
Vivian inhaled carefully.
“It’s dinner.”
“With opposing counsel.”
“With a man.”
Damien turned toward her fully then.
And there it was again.
That look.
Dark.
Sharp.
Possessive enough to make her pulse trip unexpectedly.
“I’m aware of what he is,” Damien said coldly.
Vivian folded her arms tightly.
“You’re overstepping.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
Damien walked toward her slowly again, each step measured.
“You think Roman Ellis asked you to dinner because he enjoys your company?”
Vivian lifted her chin slightly.
“Maybe he does.”
Something dangerous flashed briefly across Damien’s face.
Gone almost immediately.
But she saw it.
“Men like Ellis,” Damien said quietly, “don’t pursue anything without motive.”
“And men like you do?”
The question landed harder than she intended.
Damien stopped moving.
The silence that followed felt sharp enough to cut through skin.
Vivian immediately regretted saying it.
Not because it wasn’t true.
Because it hit something.
For the first time that night, Damien looked less angry and more… exposed.
It vanished quickly beneath composure.
But not before she noticed.
“I’m trying to protect this firm,” he said calmly.
Vivian stared at him.
“That’s not all you’re trying to protect.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Big mistake.
Because Damien’s gaze darkened instantly.
The air shifted.
Again.
Neither looked away.
And suddenly Vivian became painfully aware of:
- how close he was,
- how quiet the office had become,
- and how dangerously personal this conversation no longer felt.
Damien’s voice dropped lower.
“You’re right.”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
“About what?”
“This isn’t just about the firm anymore.”
The confession was quiet.
Controlled.
But devastating anyway.
Vivian’s breath caught slightly.
Damien looked at her like he regretted saying the words the second they left his mouth.
Yet somehow couldn’t take them back.
Thunder rolled outside the windows.
Neither moved.
Vivian should say something.
Professional.
Reasonable.
Safe.
Instead she asked softly:
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
Damien’s jaw tightened.
For a second, she thought he might finally say it.
Finally break.
But Damien Blackwood was a man built entirely from restraint.
And restraint won.
His expression cooled slightly.
“I think Roman Ellis is dangerous.”
Coward.
The thought came instantly.
And judging from the flicker in Damien’s eyes—
he knew it too.
Vivian stepped back first.
Professional distance.
Necessary distance.
“You don’t get to decide who I spend time with.”
“No,” Damien agreed quietly.
Another pause.
Then:
“But I think you’ll regret it.”
The certainty in his voice unsettled her.
Before Vivian could respond, her laptop suddenly chimed loudly from her desk.
An incoming email notification.
She looked down automatically.
Then froze.
The sender line read:
ROMAN ELLIS.
Damien noticed immediately.
Vivian opened the message cautiously.
Inside was a single attachment.
No explanation.
No greeting.
Just one sentence.
You deserve to know who you work for.
Her stomach tightened instantly.
Slowly, Vivian opened the attachment.
A document appeared on-screen.
Confidential legal records.
Old case files.
Private settlements.
Her eyes scanned quickly—
then stopped.
Her blood ran cold.
Damien moved closer immediately after noticing her expression.
“What is it?”
Vivian couldn’t answer.
Because halfway down the document was Damien Blackwood’s name.
Attached to a sealed internal investigation from four years ago.
One involving:
professional misconduct,
abuse of authority,
and the sudden disappearance of a female associate from the firm.
The office suddenly felt freezing.
Vivian looked up slowly.
Directly at Damien.
His face had gone completely unreadable.
Which terrified her more than denial would have.
“Vivian,” he said carefully.
But she stepped back instinctively.
And for the very first time since meeting Damien Blackwood
she looked at him with uncertainty instead of trust.
- Writer
