TAMED BY MY ALPHA BOSS

The first time I heard the name Damian Blackwood, I was sitting outside the executive interview room with a rejection letter already written in my head. I had been waiting for forty-three minutes, and I knew because I had checked the clock so many times that I could probably have memorized every movement of its second hand. My palms were damp despite the cold air-conditioning, and the folder containing my résumé was beginning to feel embarrassingly warm against my knees. Around me, three other applicants sat with the kind of confidence I wished I possessed. One woman wore a designer suit that probably cost more than my monthly rent, while the man beside her casually discussed a business trip to Paris as though traveling across continents were something people did every weekend. I looked down at my simple navy skirt and white blouse and suddenly became painfully aware of how different I was from everyone else waiting for the same opportunity. Then Emily leaned toward me. She had been sitting across the waiting area since I arrived, and although we had never properly introduced ourselves, she had already found enough reasons to make me feel like I didn't belong. "You know they're looking for an executive assistant, right?" she asked, her eyes moving slowly over my clothes. I forced a polite smile. "Yes. That's why I'm here." Her lips curved, but there was nothing friendly about the expression. "I know. I just thought you might have misunderstood the position." I frowned. "What do you mean?" She glanced toward the enormous glass doors separating the reception area from the executive wing. "Wellspring Group doesn't usually hire people without experience for positions like this." "I'm aware." "Then you must have an impressive connection." "I don't." That answer seemed to amuse her. "Really?" "Really." She leaned back in her chair. "Then I wouldn't get your hopes up." I looked at her for a moment, trying to decide whether she was deliberately being cruel or simply one of those people who enjoyed reminding others of their place. Either way, I refused to give her the reaction she seemed to be waiting for. "I didn't come here expecting anything," I said quietly. "I came because I was invited to an interview." Her smile disappeared for half a second. Then she laughed. "Good luck, Elena." I hadn't told her my name. That was the first thing that made me uncomfortable. The second was what she said next. "You'll need it. Because you're not getting this job." I should have been offended. Instead, I found myself strangely determined. Maybe it was because I had spent too many years being told that certain things were beyond my reach. I had grown up watching my parents struggle to keep our family afloat, and I had learned early that opportunities didn't knock twice just because you weren't ready the first time. I had worked through university, accepted every part-time job I could find, graduated near the top of my class, and applied to dozens of companies before Wellspring Group finally invited me for an interview. I wasn't going to walk away because a stranger had decided I wasn't good enough. The executive doors opened. "Miss Field?" I stood immediately. "Yes." "The managing director is ready for you." My heart began pounding. I glanced at Emily. She was still smiling. "Good luck," she said. This time, I could hear the challenge in her voice. I walked into the interview room. Twenty minutes later, I walked out with a job offer. I thought the hardest part was over. I was wrong. --- "You're joking." Those were the first words Emily said when she saw me leave the interview room. I stared at her. "I'm sorry?" Her eyes dropped to the folder in my hands. "Did they actually hire you?" I smiled despite myself. "Apparently." She stood so quickly that her chair scraped against the floor. "But you just went in there." "I know." "You were barely inside for twenty minutes." "I noticed." She looked genuinely confused, and for the first time since I had met her, I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. "Congratulations, Elena." The words came out stiffly. "Thank you." She stepped closer. "What exactly did they hire you for?" I hesitated. "Executive assistant." Her expression changed. Not surprise this time. Anger. I recognized it immediately. "You?" I didn't answer. She laughed under her breath. "That's impossible." "Apparently it isn't." I walked past her before she could say anything else, but her voice followed me. "You won't last a month." I stopped. Slowly, I turned around. Emily folded her arms. "You heard me. You won't last a month." Something inside me hardened. "I hope you enjoy proving yourself wrong." Her eyes narrowed. "This isn't a joke." "Neither am I." For the first time, I saw something flicker behind her eyes. Hatred. It disappeared almost immediately, replaced by a smile. "Welcome to Wellspring Group." I didn't know it then, but those words would become the beginning of the biggest battle of my life. --- My first official day at Wellspring Group began with a warning. "Rule number one," Mrs. Collins said as we walked through the executive corridor. "Never enter Mr. Blackwood's private office without permission." I nodded. "Understood." "Rule number two: his schedule is confidential." Another nod. "Rule number three: if Mr. Blackwood asks you to do something, you do it immediately." I glanced at her. "Does he come to the office often?" She stopped walking. For a moment, she simply looked at me. Then she continued. "Not often." I waited. "How often?" "Sometimes once a week." "Sometimes?" "Sometimes once a month." I blinked. "Then how am I supposed to assist him if he isn't here?" Mrs. Collins gave me a strange look. "That's the question every new assistant asks." "Every new assistant?" She didn't answer. Instead, she opened the door to my office. It was smaller than Damian Blackwood's enormous executive suite but still more luxurious than any workspace I had ever owned. A large desk stood in front of the windows, overlooking the city. A computer sat perfectly centered on the polished surface, beside a telephone, a leather notebook, and a small brass nameplate. ELENA FIELD — EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT I stared at it. For a moment, I forgot everything else. I had actually made it. All those nights studying. All those applications. All those moments when I wondered whether I was good enough. They had led me here. I touched the nameplate with my fingertips. "This is really mine." Mrs. Collins smiled. "Don't get too comfortable." I laughed. "Why?" She looked toward the closed door across the hallway. "Because working for Damian Blackwood is nothing like working for anyone else." There was something in her tone that made my smile fade. "What is he like?" She was quiet for a moment. "Brilliant." "Okay." "Demanding." I nodded. "Intimidating." I nodded again. "Unforgiving." That one made me swallow. "And?" She looked directly into my eyes. "Very difficult to fool." Before I could ask what she meant, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen. Her expression immediately changed. "Excuse me." She stepped away to answer. I turned toward my desk and began organizing the files waiting for me. Five minutes later, the phone on my desk rang. I froze. Nobody had given me an extension. I picked it up cautiously. "Hello?" There was silence. Then a man's voice came through the receiver. Deep. Calm. Cold. "Elena Field?" I straightened. "Yes?" "Come to my office." My eyes moved toward the closed black doors across the hallway. "But..." The line went dead. I stared at the phone. My heart began racing. Mrs. Collins hurried back into the room. "What happened?" I looked at her. "Mr. Blackwood just called." She froze. "He did?" "Yes. He asked me to come to his office." For the first time that morning, Mrs. Collins looked genuinely worried. She slowly turned toward the black doors. Then she looked back at me. "That's impossible." "Why?" Her face had gone pale. "Because Mr. Blackwood isn't in the building." I stared at her. Neither of us spoke. Then the telephone rang again. This time, I didn't want to answer it. Because somewhere behind those locked executive doors... I could hear footsteps. And someone was walking toward my office.