Curves,claws and contracts

Kitchen Wars

2:17am. Cole Penthouse Kitchen.

Amara opened the fridge. Empty. Except for sparkling water and one sad lemon.

"Are you serious?" she muttered. "A billionaire and no food?"

"There’s a chef," Damian’s voice came from the dark.

She screamed and dropped the lemon. "You scared me!"

He was in sweatpants and a t-shirt. No suit. No armor. Just a man with messy hair and shadows under his eyes.

Insomniac.

"Couldn’t sleep?" she asked.

"Couldn’t eat," he countered, nodding at the empty fridge. "You yell at my housekeeper again?"

"She told me I couldn’t have coffee after 8pm. Like I’m a child."

"She was following my orders."

"See? This is why I hate you. You control everything."

"I control nothing!" He slammed a cabinet. "Not the press. Not Victor. Not the fact that my wife hates me."

The word "wife" hung there.

Amara grabbed a mug. "I don’t hate you."

"Could’ve fooled me."

"I hate what you did in court. I hate that you’re cold. I hate that you make me feel..." She stopped.

"Feel what?"

"Nothing." She poured water. "Forget it."

He moved closer. "Say it."

"Why? So you can use it against me later?"

"I don’t do that."

"You did it to my client!"

"That was business." He was inches away now. "This is different."

"How?"

"Because I see you." His voice dropped. "You don’t back down. Not to me. Not to anyone. It’s... annoying."

Amara laughed despite herself. "Annoying?"

"And brave. And smart." He looked away. "It’s a problem."

The kitchen lights flickered. Then the power cut out.

Darkness.

Both froze.

Then his phone lit up. Victor again.

_Cut the power. Cut the smiles. You have 24 hours to sign over the merger shares or I release everything. -V_

Damian cursed and turned on the flashlight. "We need to go. Now."

"Go where?"

"Safe room."

As they ran down the hall, alarms started. Red lights.

In the safe room, door sealed, Amara was breathing hard. "He cut the power to the whole building?"

"He’s escalating," Damian said. "This isn’t just about the merger anymore. It’s about us."

"Us?"

"He wants to break us." Damian looked at her. Really looked. "Don’t let him."

For a long moment, they just stared at each other in the emergency light. Enemies. Partners. Something else.

The power came back on 20 minutes later. False alarm.

But neither of them mentioned how close they’d stood. Or how Damian’s hand had found hers in the dark.