Boardroom rules

Chapter seven

Maya

I woke up in Damien's shirt.

Again.

Sunlight through floor-to-ceiling glass. His bed. His smell. His arm heavy over my waist.

9:14 AM.

No alarm. No board meeting. No storm.

Just him.

And my phone, buzzing like a wasp on the nightstand.

I reached for it.

47 notifications.

Damien stirred behind me. "Don't."

"Too late."

I unlocked it.

Jenna. 12 texts.

MAYA. CALL ME.

ARE YOU OKAY?

DON'T LOOK AT TWITTER.

Twitter.

I looked at Twitter.

#HaleChen

#BoardroomAffair

#BillionaireAndTheAnalyst

Photo.

Me. Walking out of Hale Dynamics at 8:03 AM yesterday. Hair down. Blazer wrinkled. Mouth swollen.

Another.

Damien. Holding the elevator for me. His eyes on me. Not the doors.

Another.

Us. Last night. Leaving his building. 8:47 PM. My hand in his.

Someone had been watching.

"s**t," I said.

Damien sat up. Saw my screen. Swore.

"Who?

"Paparazzi. Staff. I don't care." I threw the phone. "They're calling it a scandal."

He grabbed my phone. Scrolled. Jaw tight.

"CEO Throws Billion-Dollar Deal For Blonde Analyst"

"Insider: Hale Compromised By Chen"

"Sources Say: It Started In A Locked Office"

Locked office.

Someone knew.

"Damien—"

"Hey." He took my face in his hands. Forced me to look at him. "Breathe."

"I can't." My chest was tight. "My company. Your board. Jenna—"

"I'll handle it."

"You can't handle the internet."

"Watch me."

His phone rang.

CFO.

He answered on speaker. "What."

"Damien." The CFO's voice was thin. "The board called an emergency session. 11 AM. They're voting to remove you."

Damien didn't blink. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"11 AM. I'll be there." He hung up.

I stared at him. "You're going to lose your company."

"I lost it last night," he said. "When I chose you."

The words hit harder than the headlines.

My phone buzzed again.

Jenna.

Video call. Now.

I accepted.

Jenna's face filled the screen. No makeup. Office behind her. "Maya. Are you safe?"

"I'm—"

"Don't lie to me." She saw Damien behind me. Shirtless. In his bed. "Oh, God."

"Jenna, I can explain—"

"No." She shook her head. "I don't need an explanation. I need to know if we're dead."

"What?"

"The partnership. Hale's board is pulling it. They're calling an audit. If this goes public in the filings—"

"It won't," Damien said.

Jenna looked at him. "You don't get to talk. You ruined her."

"I love her."

The room went silent.

Jenna froze.

I froze.

Damien didn't.

"I love her," he said again. To me. Not her. "And I'm not sorry."

Jenna hung up.

The phone went black.

I couldn't breathe.

"Did you just—"

"Yes." He pulled me into his lap. "I love you, Maya Chen. I loved you when you fought me. I loved you when you broke. I love you now when you're falling apart."

"Damien, the board—"

"Let them vote." His forehead to mine. "Let them take Hale Dynamics. I have you."

Tears hit my cheeks. I hadn't even realized.

"This is insane," I whispered.

"I know." He wiped my face with his thumb. "Be insane with me?"

My phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

Text.

We have more photos. $500k or we send them to Forbes. The desk ones.

My blood went cold.

"Damien." I showed him.

He read it. Once.

Then he smiled.

Not a nice smile.

"Good," he said.

"Good?"

"They think they have leverage." He took my phone. Typed.

Send them.

He hit send.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling their bluff." He tossed the phone. "I'm Damien Hale. I don't pay blackmail. I buy the company that's blackmailing me."

"You can't—"

"I can." He stood. Naked. Unbothered. "Get dressed, Maya."

"Where are we going?"

"To your office." He pulled on pants. "To my boardroom."

"Why?"

"Because I'm done hiding." He looked at me. Hair messy. Eyes furious. Certain. "And if the world wants a scandal, I'll give them a wedding announcement."

I choked. "What?"

"You heard me." He walked to me. "Marry me, Maya. Today. Before 11 AM. Then they can't fire me for compromising the company. Because you'll be the company."

It was insane.

It was reckless.

It was exactly what he would do.

"Damien—"

"Say yes."

The phone buzzed again.

The blackmailer.

You're bluffing.

Damien typed back without looking.

Try me.

Send.

He held out his hand.

"Marry me," he said. "Or let them ruin us. Your choice."

I looked at his hand.

At his face.

At the man who lost a billion-dollar company for me in 24 hours.

I took it.

"Yes."

Rule #7 of the boardroom: Never go public.

We were about to break that one too.