Chapter 16 – He Started the Game
900 Words
City lights shimmered across the glass walls, sharp enough to feel like edges. Evelyn stood by the window, arms loosely crossed, watching the streets far below. From this height, everything looked smaller than it used to. Problems included.
Once, she had been trapped inside that chaos, crushed by expectations she never chose. Now she stood above it, untouched.
A knock broke the quiet.
“Come in.”
Her assistant stepped in, holding a tablet. “Miss Mahendra, Orion Logistics has postponed the meeting.”
Evelyn didn’t turn. “Postponed?”
“Yes. They cited an internal issue.”
A faint curve touched her lips, not quite a smile.
“I see.”
She didn’t need details. There was only one person who would interfere with this precisely.
Rafael Knight.
Her fingers tapped once against her arm, thoughtful rather than tense.
“So he finally made a move.”
“Should we pressure them?” the assistant asked carefully.
Evelyn shook her head. “No. Reschedule it.”
The assistant hesitated. “They’re a key partner.”
“That’s exactly why we don’t push,” Evelyn replied, her tone calm but decisive.
Confused, the assistant nodded and left.
Silence returned.
Evelyn exhaled and walked back to her desk, her pace unhurried. Rafael wanted to play this game. That was fine.
He just didn’t understand the rules yet.
She didn’t compete for small wins.
She ended games.
Across the city, Rafael stood by his window, one hand in his pocket.
“Did they delay it?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. Orion Logistics has postponed indefinitely.”
A faint smirk appeared.
“Good.”
He finally looked up, eyes sharp with interest. “Let’s see how long she stays calm.”
His secretary hesitated. “Sir, this could damage long-term relations.”
Rafael’s voice dropped. “Do I look like I act without reason?”
“No, sir.”
He turned back to the glass, studying his own reflection.
Evelyn Mahendra.
The name carried weight now. Not the quiet woman who once waited for him, hoping for attention that never came.
This version of her had presence. Control.
And something far more dangerous.
She no longer needed him.
The thought didn’t irritate him.
It intrigued him.
The next morning, Evelyn entered the conference room with steady steps. Her heels echoed against marble, precise and unhurried.
Executives were already seated, their expressions tight.
She took the head seat. “Let’s begin.”
One of them cleared his throat. “Miss Mahendra, we have a problem.”
She glanced up. “Explain.”
“Several suppliers have increased their prices. Significantly.”
Another added, “Some have refused to cooperate entirely.”
Evelyn leaned back, fingers lightly intertwined. Her expression didn’t shift, but her eyes sharpened.
So he escalated.
“How many suppliers?” she asked.
“Most of them.”
Of course.
Rafael wasn’t disrupting randomly. He was tightening the pressure, layer by layer.
“Continue negotiations,” she said.
The room fell silent.
“That’s all?” someone asked, unable to hide disbelief.
Evelyn tilted her head slightly. “What do you suggest?”
“We could confront Knight Group directly.”
“No.”
The refusal was soft but final.
“We adapt.”
She stood, collecting her tablet. “Prepare alternative suppliers. Quietly.”
Understanding replaced tension in the room.
This wasn’t passivity.
It was control.
Across the city, Rafael listened to the report in silence.
“She didn’t respond?” he asked.
“No, sir.”
“No countermeasures?”
“None.”
Rafael leaned back slowly, fingers tapping once against the armrest before stilling.
Interesting.
Most would have reacted by now. Called him, negotiated, or at least shown resistance.
Evelyn did none of that.
She simply… continued.
As if his actions didn’t matter.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“She’s waiting,” he murmured.
The secretary frowned. “For what?”
Rafael’s gaze darkened.
“For me to go too far.”
And the unsettling part was that he might.
Back in her office, Evelyn reviewed the reports one last time before closing the file.
Everything was unfolding as expected.
Delays.
Pressure.
Nothing unexpected.
Except for one detail.
Rafael hadn’t targeted Hayes Group directly.
He was circling.
Testing.
A faint smile appeared.
“So you still have limits,” she murmured.
For now.
That wouldn’t last.
Men like him didn’t stop at half measures. Eventually, restraint turned into obsession.
The room grew quiet again, but this silence wasn’t empty.
It was waiting.
“Miss Evelyn,” her assistant’s voice came through the intercom, hesitant. “There’s a visitor”
The door opened before permission was given.
Evelyn didn’t look up immediately. She finished signing the document in front of her, closed the file, and finally lifted her gaze.
Rafael Knight stood there.
Closer than before.
More dangerous than before.
No distance left between them.
“You’re becoming predictable,” she said calmly.
Silence lingered for a breath.
Then he stepped further inside.
“And you’re becoming difficult.”
His voice carried something new. Not just control.
sharper.
personal.
Evelyn leaned back slightly, studying him with quiet interest.
So this was it.
The moment he stopped pretending it was just business.
Outside, the city continued as always, unaware of the shift happening behind those glass walls.
Inside
The game had changed.
And this time
Neither of them intended to lose.
- Writer
