Chapter four
806 Words
Maya
I wore black.
Not because he told me to.
Because I needed armor.
7:28 AM. Hale Dynamics. 50th floor.
The building was awake now. Coffee. Suits. Assistants who knew not to look at me too long.
My blazer was buttoned right this time. Hair up. Lipstick on. No one would know what happened last night.
No one except him.
His assistant didn't look up. "Mr. Hale said to send you in."
Alone.
Of course.
I pushed the door open.
He was already there. Behind his desk. Suit perfect. Tie perfect. Hair perfect.
He looked like he hadn't slept.
I looked like I had.
Liar.
"Ms. Chen." Boardroom voice. "You're early."
"7:30," I said. "Not 7:31."
He didn't smile.
The office was clean. Too clean. No papers on the floor. No laptop. No sign we'd torn this place apart six hours ago.
Except.
My eyes dropped to his desk.
The drawer was closed.
But I knew what was inside.
Black silk. My tie.
He knew I knew.
"Close the door," he said.
I did.
The click was loud.
"Clause 7," I started. Professional. Detached. "Your personal guarantee. We need terms in writing before-"
"Before what?"
I stopped.
He stood. Slow. Like a man who wasn't sure if he was about to attack or apologize.
He didn't do either.
He walked around the desk. Stopped two feet away. Same distance as last night.
"Did you sleep?" he asked.
"No."
"Good."
My jaw tightened. "You don't get to-"
"Don't get to what?" His voice dropped. "Ask? Because I'm asking, Maya. Did you regret it?"
The question hit like a fist.
I should have said yes.
"No."
His eyes flared. Just for a second.
"Good." He was close now. Close enough to smell the coffee on him. And underneath, the same cologne. The same man. "Because I didn't."
"This is a problem," I said.
"Yes."
"It's a liability."
"Yes."
"It could cost me everything."
He nodded. Once. "I know."
Then why was he looking at me like that?
Like last night wasn't a mistake. Like it was a decision.
"I came here to sign," I said. "To end this."
"Then sign." He gestured to the desk. A new folder. Blank. "Acquisition papers. Chen Analytics is mine by noon."
My stomach dropped.
"That's not-"
"What you want?" He finished for me. "I know."
He opened the top drawer. Not the one with the tie. Another one.
He pulled out a pen. Set it on the folder.
"Sign, and I walk away from you," he said. "Professionally. Personally. Completely."
The air left my lungs.
"That's the deal?"
"That's the deal."
I stared at the pen.
All I had to do was sign. Kill the company. Kill this. Kill him out of my head.
Eighty jobs. My father's legacy. Everything I'd built.
Gone.
Or.
I looked up at him.
He wasn't blinking.
He was waiting.
Like this was the real negotiation. Not the company. Me.
"Or," I said.
His throat moved. "Or what?"
"Or we don't sign."
The room went still.
"The board will destroy you," he said. "They'll say I'm compromised."
"Let them."
"You'll be ruined too."
"Maybe." I stepped closer. One foot. "But I'm tired of pretending I don't want you."
The words were out before I could take them back.
His control snapped.
He was on me before I could breathe.
Not kissing. Not yet. His hands on my arms. Holding me like he was afraid I'd run.
"Maya," he said. My name. Not Ms. Chen. Not a warning. "If we do this, there's no contract. No clauses. No exit."
"I know."
"I can't be soft."
"I don't want you soft."
He swore. And then his mouth was on mine.
Desperate. Furious. Relieved.
Last night was heat. This was choice.
His hands were in my hair, knocking the clip out again. It hit the carpet. Same sound. Different reason.
"The drawer," I managed between kisses.
"I know."
He broke the kiss just long enough to pull it open.
The tie was there. Black. Waiting.
He took it out. Looked at me.
"May I?"
I nodded.
He looped it around my wrist again. Loose. A choice.
Then he backed me into the desk.
Not the glass one from last night. His desk. Wood. Solid.
"7:30," he muttered against my throat. "Board meeting at 8."
"Then we're fast."
He laughed. Dark. Broken. "Maya-"
The office door rattled.
"Mr. Hale? It's 7:45. Board's assembling."
We froze.
Damien didn't look away from me.
"Five minutes," he called.
"Right. Five minutes."
The footsteps retreated.
He pressed his forehead to mine.
"We're insane," he said.
"Yes."
He kissed me once. Hard. Final.
"Then let's be insane," he said.
And he pulled me down onto his desk.
Rule #4 of the boardroom: Never mix business with-
The folder hit the floor.
Papers scattered.
We didn't stop.
- Writer
