Chapter 2: The Proposal That Sounded Like an Insult (Part 1)
1141 Words
Aria Bennett stared at her assistant as though she'd suddenly forgotten how to speak English.
"What did you just say?"
Mia swallowed. "Mr. Damien Ashford requested a private meeting."
"I heard that part."
Aria leaned against the edge of the conference table, crossing her arms.
"What was the ridiculous part that came after it?"
Mia hesitated.
"He said... he wants to ask you to marry him."
Silence blanketed the boardroom.
Then laughter erupted.
Not nervous laughter.
Genuine amusement.
One executive nearly dropped his tablet while another covered his mouth to suppress a grin.
Aria herself laughed the hardest.
"So..." she said between breaths, "...the great Damien Ashford has finally lost his mind."
The room relaxed with her.
No one believed the message could possibly be genuine.
Ashford Global and Bennett Dynamics had been rivals for six years. Every major bid, every acquisition, every international expansion—if one company wanted it, the other was already waiting.
Their rivalry had become legend in the business world.
Aria and Damien had met exactly four times.
Every meeting had ended in disaster.
Or victory.
Depending on who was telling the story.
"The answer is no," Aria said, picking up the acquisition report she'd been reviewing before the interruption.
Mia didn't move.
"He said you'd say that."
Aria looked up again.
"And?"
"He said to tell you he'll still be waiting."
A slow smile curved Aria's lips.
"Persistent."
"Or arrogant."
"The two usually come together."
Her board chuckled.
Aria returned to the screen displaying Bennett Dynamics' latest triumph.
The government infrastructure contract was more than another win.
It was proof that Bennett Dynamics had surpassed Ashford Global in a market Damien had once dominated.
She had expected retaliation.
A counteroffer.
A media campaign.
Perhaps even a lawsuit.
Not...
A marriage proposal.
"Schedule tomorrow's meetings," she said.
"And decline Mr. Ashford's invitation."
"Politely?"
Aria smiled.
"No."
---
On the top floor of Ashford Tower...
Damien stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
His hands rested inside his pockets.
His expression remained unreadable.
Behind him, his assistant, Ethan Cole, quietly cleared his throat.
"She refused."
"I expected that."
"You also said she'd refuse politely."
Damien finally turned.
"Did she?"
Ethan chose his next words carefully.
"Not exactly."
Damien raised one eyebrow.
"She laughed."
A dangerous silence filled the office.
Not because Damien was angry.
Because he almost looked...
Interested.
"She laughed?"
"Yes."
"In front of her entire board."
"Yes."
Damien nodded once.
"Good."
Ethan blinked.
"Good?"
"If she'd accepted immediately, I'd have questioned my judgment."
He walked toward his desk.
"The woman I need isn't intimidated by me."
Ethan placed a slim folder on the polished surface.
"Everything we have on Aria Bennett."
Damien opened it.
Not because he needed an introduction.
He already knew who she was.
Twenty-eight.
Founder and CEO of Bennett Dynamics.
Net worth exceeding three billion dollars.
Graduated at the top of her class.
Never involved in a public scandal.
Never linked romantically to anyone for longer than six months.
Built her empire without inherited wealth.
She fascinated investors.
She irritated competitors.
And she refused to lose.
He flipped another page.
Photographs.
Business conferences.
Award ceremonies.
Charity events.
Each image captured the same thing.
Confidence.
Not arrogance.
Certainty.
She entered rooms expecting respect.
Not asking for it.
Damien closed the file.
"Arrange another meeting."
"She already declined."
"I wasn't asking."
---
At precisely six o'clock that evening...
Aria exited Bennett Dynamics' headquarters.
The summer air carried the fading warmth of the afternoon.
Her driver opened the rear door of the car.
Before she could get inside...
A sleek black Rolls-Royce Phantom glided to a stop beside hers.
Every passerby slowed.
Luxury vehicles were common in the financial district.
But not like this one.
The rear door opened.
Damien Ashford stepped out.
His charcoal suit looked as though it had been tailored directly onto him.
He didn't hurry.
He never needed to.
Power had its own pace.
Aria sighed.
"Apparently, no means 'follow me outside' in your dictionary."
Damien stopped a comfortable distance away.
"I asked for ten minutes."
"I declined."
"So I came to you."
She folded her arms.
"You're proving every rumor I've heard."
"And those would be?"
"That you're incapable of hearing the word 'no.'"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I heard it."
"And ignored it."
"Correct."
Aria couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or impressed by his honesty.
She settled on annoyed.
"I have somewhere to be."
"So do I."
"Then this conversation is over."
She turned toward her car.
"Miss Bennett."
She paused despite herself.
Damien's voice wasn't loud.
It simply carried authority.
He stepped closer, though still respectful of her space.
"I'll be direct."
"I certainly hope so."
"I want you to marry me."
Several pedestrians nearby slowed their pace.
One woman openly gasped.
Aria stared at him.
Waiting.
Surely there was a camera.
Hidden microphones.
A publicity stunt.
Nothing.
His face remained perfectly serious.
"You rehearsed that?" she asked.
"No."
"You should have."
Her eyes narrowed.
"What exactly makes you think I'd agree to marry my biggest competitor?"
"Because it benefits both of us."
She laughed again.
"There it is."
"What?"
"The billionaire answer."
Damien remained silent.
"You wealthy men always think everything has a price."
"Everything has value."
"Not the same thing."
"For people like us..."
His gaze never left hers.
"It usually is."
Aria's smile disappeared.
"For people like me?"
"You built an empire."
"I built it."
She emphasized the word.
"I wasn't handed one."
Something flickered behind Damien's calm exterior.
Respect.
Perhaps for the first time in years...
Someone had challenged him without fear.
"I know."
"Then you know exactly why I'd never marry you."
"Because you hate me."
"Among other reasons."
"What are the others?"
She stepped closer until only a few feet separated them.
"The first time we met, you called my company 'ambitious but temporary.'"
"I was wrong."
"The second time, you tried to buy Bennett Dynamics."
"It was a business offer."
"It was an insult."
"The third time, you attempted to outbid me."
"I won."
"You cheated."
"I negotiated."
"The fourth time..."
She smiled sweetly.
"I embarrassed Ashford Global in front of every major investor in the country."
Damien held her gaze.
"Yes."
"And now you want to marry me?"
"I do."
Aria shook her head slowly.
"No."
This time she didn't laugh.
She simply opened her car door.
"I'll save you some time, Mr. Ashford."
She slipped into the back seat.
"My answer tomorrow will still be no."
The door closed between them.
As her car disappeared into evening traffic...
Damien remained standing exactly where she had left him.
Ethan approached carefully.
"Should I cancel?"
Damien watched the taillights vanish into the city.
"No."
"What now?"
A slow smile spread across his face.
"The proposal was never the negotiation."
He adjusted his cufflinks.
"The negotiation begins tomorrow."
- Writer
