Chapter 8
1288 Words
Two weeks had passed since the spill. Lila still remembered the way Damien Blackthorne’s suit had soaked up the coffee and the deathly silence that followed.
Every time she stepped into the office, she half expected security to be waiting with a box and a forced smile, or a letter on the table, even though Damien told her he wasn't going to fire her.
But she was still here, working as his junior assistant.
That afternoon, she sat with Harper, Jonah, and Mya at a round table near the large windows in the company cafeteria.
"You’ve made it two whole weeks,” Harper said, raising her iced tea like a toast. “I’m honestly shocked. In a good way.”
“Right?” Mya leaned in, her brows raised. “I mean, we all thought you were gone after that coffee situation. Jonah even started drafting your farewell note.”
Jonah, chewing on a fry, shrugged. “I wasn’t gonna send it. Just… prepping.”
Lila let out a laugh, covering her face. “Okay, okay, I get it. I was sure I was done too. I even thought about packing before I came in the next day.”
Harper grinned. “But here you are! Still chirping, still smiling. Honestly, girl, you have nine lives.”
Lila leaned in, voice low. “You’re not the only ones who thought I was done. Some people literally gasped when I showed up on Monday. Like I was a ghost.”
Mya snorted. “I believe it. Word spreads fast here. And the stories people told about Blackthorne…” She gave a dramatic shiver. “He’s fired junior assistants for showing up five minutes late.”
“Or breathing too loud,” Jonah added.
Lila’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
Harper nodded. “Dead serious. The last girl before you? Lasted a week. No one even knows why she got fired. One minute she was here, next minute she was crying in the elevator.”
Lila blinked, the weight of it all finally settling. “So why am I still here?”
“That,” Harper said, pointing her fork at her, “is the million-dollar question.”
“You’re lucky,” Mya said simply. “But also… maybe he sees something in you.”
Lila scoffed. “Like what? A walking disaster?”
Jonah chuckled. “Maybe. But a charming one.”
“Still,” Harper added, growing serious, “just be careful, okay? Not everyone here is your friend. A lot of people smile to your face and talk behind your back. Especially now that people are noticing you.”
“Noticing me?” Lila blinked. “Why?”
“Because you’re still standing after spilling coffee on Damien freaking Blackthorne,” Mya said bluntly. “Some people take that personally. Like it means you got special treatment.”
Lila shook her head. “There’s nothing special about it. I think he just didn’t feel like doing paperwork that day.”
They all laughed, but under the laughter was a quiet truth—Lila had stepped into something bigger than she realized. And whether it was luck or something else, she’d have to stay sharp.
Because surviving here wasn’t just about doing the job.
It was about knowing who was watching.
—-
Lila sat at her desk, scanning the day’s calendar. Her brows furrowed as her eyes caught something off.
Conference Room A – Reserved for Board Meeting – 10 AM
But she had overheard Harper talking just minutes ago about the new client pitch scheduled for the same time, same room.
Her heart skipped. Double-booked?
She clicked through the admin schedule, and sure enough, there it was. A major oversight.
One that could create chaos.
Lila didn’t think twice. She called up the pitch team’s junior assistant, asked for confirmation, and quietly made the adjustment, reassigning the client pitch to Conference Room B, re-sending the invites, and notifying the department heads in charge. She even updated the internal portal to avoid confusion.
No one said anything immediately, so she thought maybe it had gone unnoticed.
But she was wrong.
Later that afternoon, her work was interrupted when Natalia strutted toward her desk, her lips tight and eyes unreadable.
“Mr. Blackthorne wants to see you,” she said sharply, not even bothering with a greeting.
Lila looked up, surprised. “Um… may I ask why?”
Natalia’s eyes narrowed slightly. “No, you may not.” Her tone was clipped, cold.
Lila blinked, heart skipping. “O-Okay. I’ll be right there.”
She stood, wiping her palms on her skirt and taking a steadying breath. The hallway to Damien’s office suddenly felt longer than usual.
When she stepped into the room, Damien didn’t look up immediately. He was reviewing something on his screen.
“Sit,” he said simply, voice low.
Lila sat quickly, straightening her back, her usual smile barely holding steady.
He finally looked at her, and she instantly felt it, his presence. That calm, commanding aura. The way his eyes saw too much.
“You took it upon yourself to adjust the Friday boardroom schedule,” he said, voice unreadable.
“Yes, sir,” Lila said quickly. “There was a double booking. I thought it might cause a problem, so I—”
“You made changes to an executive schedule.”
Lila swallowed, throat dry. “I didn’t mean to overstep. I just wanted to fix the error before it became a problem. I’m sorry if—”
“You’re not in trouble,” Damien said, cutting her off.
She blinked.
“But next time, run it through the proper chain,” he said slowly. “I don’t need people improvising on instinct. Even if you were right.”
Lila nodded quickly. “Yes, sir.”
He stared at her a beat longer, his gaze sharp and unreadable. Lila tried to hold it, but her stomach was in knots. Still, she gave him a bright, slightly nervous smile.
Why did he have to look so perfect sitting there, dark suit crisp, hair neat, jaw sharp enough to cut through tension?
She hated the thought that crept in her mind. This is not the time to think your boss is hot.
“Anything else?” he asked coldly.
“No, sir. Thank you,” she said quickly, rising to her feet.
He said nothing more. Just watched her leave.
As the door shut behind her, Damien turned his attention to his screen briefly before hitting the intercom.
“Natalia. My office. Now.”
Natalia arrived seconds later, her heels loud against the hardwood floor.
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you catch the boardroom scheduling error?” he asked, looking up.
Natalia stiffened. “I… wasn’t aware of it. It must’ve slipped past when I—”
“It didn’t slip past her,” Damien said, nodding toward the door Lila had just exited. “She fixed your mistake.”
Natalia’s face froze for a beat. “It won’t happen again.”
“It shouldn’t have happened at all.” His voice was flat, eyes cold.
Natalia forced a smile. “She shouldn’t be adjusting executive schedules. She’s barely been here for two weeks.”
“She saw the error. You didn’t,” Damien said simply. “If you have a problem with that, then we have a bigger problem.”
Natalia’s smile dropped. “Of course not.”
Damien turned back to his screen, clearly done.
“You’re dismissed.”
Natalia walked out, cheeks burning. She’d been humiliated. By Lila Carter.
The newbie.
Natalia’s jaw clenched.
From that moment, her eyes followed Lila everywhere.
The jealousy had begun.
- Writer
