Ana sat up straight at her desk, her heart hammering against her ribs, her fingers tightening around her pen as she held her breath.
Clara turned her sharp gaze directly toward Ana. "The results of Anastasia Vance’s formal board evaluation are in. She achieved a passing score of eighty-five percent. Effective immediately, she is officially onboarded as a full member of this marketing team."
A sudden wave of relief washed over Ana, her shoulders dropping as a soft gasp escaped her lips.
For a brief second, the floor remained quiet... and then a few of the younger interns began to clap. Within moments, a warm round of applause rippled through the floor, accompanied by a few cheerful shouts from the junior staff.
Ana stood up, a genuine, radiant smile breaking across her face as she thanked her colleagues, feeling the heavy burden of the last two days finally lift off her chest.
She turned to thank Clara, ready to put their tense morning behind them.
Her smile slowly faded.
Clara Reed wasn’t clapping. She stood motionless in the center of the office, staring at Ana with a cold, terrifyingly satisfied expression. Tucked beneath her arm was a second, thick black folder... one that had never been brought up or shown to the board during the evaluation.
As the applause died down around them, Clara took a step closer, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor.
"Congratulations, Anastasia," Clara said softly, her voice barely carrying over the quiet chatter of the bullpen, yet dripping with a chilling promise. "Enjoy the celebration while it lasts. Now let’s see how long you survive your first real assignment tomorrow."
_______________________
The rest of the workday blurred by in a flurry of onboarding tasks and lingering glares from Clara Reed, but as 5:00 PM approached, Ana was officially finished for the day. Her real work on the new project was set to begin tomorrow morning.
Following Damian’s strict rule, Ana rode the executive elevator straight to the penthouse floor.
When she stepped into his grand corner office, the vast, luxurious space was completely empty. Unsure of what else to do, Ana began to wander around, her heels sinking into the plush rug as her eyes drifted over his pristine desk, the books on his shelves, and the sleek modern art lining the walls.
She stepped closer to his desk, curiously leaning over to look at a dark, silver-encased pen resting beside an open leather folder.
Suddenly, the heavy double doors swung open.
Ana gasped, instantly straightening her spine and taking two quick steps back from the desk, her face flushing crimson at being caught snooping.
Damian strode into the room, tall, imposing, and looking as lethal as ever in his charcoal suit. Walking right behind him was another man... tall, sharply dressed in a navy blazer, with a warm, easygoing smile that immediately contrasted Damian’s dark aura.
Damian didn’t say a word about Ana standing by his desk, nor did he reprimand her in front of the company. Instead, his dark eyes simply tracked her, filled with quiet amusement.
The man beside him, however, brightened up the moment he saw her. He walked right past Damian, stepping up to Ana with a wide, friendly grin and extending his hand for a warm handshake.
"Hello Anastasia," the man said smoothly, his eyes crinkling with genuine warmth. "Do you remember me? I was actually at your wedding."
Ana blinked, shaking his hand hesitantly. "I... I barely remember my own wedding," she mumbled honestly, a faint blush dusting her cheeks.
The man let out a rich, hearty laugh. "Fair enough! That spectacle was more of a corporate summit than a wedding anyway. I’m Julian, by the way. I’m Damian’s friend."
Ana’s eyebrows shot up in genuine confusion. She looked between Julian’s friendly face and Damian’s icy, unreadable mask. "Damian has... friends?"
"He’s delusional," Damian confirmed flatly from behind Julian, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned casually against the edge of his desk. "Ignore him, Anastasia."
"Hey! I helped you survive board meetings for five years, Sterling," Julian joked, tossing a grin over his shoulder before his phone suddenly began to buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the caller ID, and sighed. "Ah, excuse me for a moment, you two. I have to take this call from Paris."
Julian gave Ana a polite nod and stepped out toward the private terrace, closing the glass door behind him and leaving them completely alone in the sprawling office.
The silence returned instantly, heavy and charged.
Damian didn’t waste a second. He pushed off the desk and closed the distance between them with slow, predatory steps until he was towering over her. He reached out, his long fingers gently cupping her chin and tilting her face up to meet his dark gaze.
"What were you doing with that curious look on your face, doll?" Damian asked low, his thumb lightly stroking the side of her jaw.
Ana swallowed hard, trying to keep her posture straight. "I was just looking around."
"From next time, refrain from doing so," he instructed, his tone smooth but absolute.
Ana pouted, a spark of her usual defiance flaring up as she glared at him. "I was bored! What do you expect me to do? Sit in the corner like a sad child?"
"Better than being the curious child who gets into trouble all the time," Damian murmured softly.
He tilted his head, lowering his face toward her lips to claim a kiss. But the second his hot breath brushed against her skin, Ana pressed her lips tightly shut, turning her head slightly to the side.
"No," she whispered sharply. "Stay away."
Damian paused, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as a dangerous glint flashed in their depths. "Are you saying no to me, Anastasia?" he dared, his baritone dropping into a quiet, threatening rumble. "There are consequences when you deny me."
"I don’t care," Ana hissed back, her chest heaving as she looked into his eyes. "You never finish what you start! You leave me high and dry and walk away when it suits you. I refuse to be your plaything."
A slow, wicked smirk pulled at the corner of Damian’s lips.
"That’s non-negotiable, doll," he whispered against her jaw. "You are my plaything. And deep down, you enjoy every single second I toy with your body... and your soul."
Before she could spit out another protest, his large hands slid firmly around her waist, trailing downward until his large palm settled low, firmly cupping the curve of her bottom. He squeezed her flesh with a hard, possessive pressure that made Ana gasp sharply... and the second her lips parted, Damian capitalized on the opening.
He slammed his mouth onto hers, invading her with a deep, fierce kiss that stole the very air from her lungs. Ana’s hands came up to his broad chest, pushing against his suit jacket with all her strength, but it was like trying to move a mountain.
Her body traitorously melted against his heat, her knees turning to jelly as his tongue plundered her mouth.
Just as Damian wrapped his arm tighter around her waist to deepen the kiss even further...
BANG.
The heavy double doors of the executive office flew wide open.
"Whoa... didn’t mean to interrupt the domestic bliss!" Julian’s loud, amused voice boomed across the room.
Ana gasped, breaking the kiss with a sudden, panicked jolt. She scrambled backward, her hands flying to her lips as her cheeks flared a fiery red.
Damian didn’t even flinch. He slowly straightened his posture, his dark eyes cutting toward his friend with a look lethal enough to kill an ordinary man.
Julian just stood by the open double doors, leaning casually against the frame with a wide, snarky grin. "You two really need to invest in a lock for that door, Sterling. Or at least put up a ’Do Not Disturb’ sign for the Chairman’s office."
"Julian," Damian growled, his baritone dropping into a deadly, dangerous register. "You have terrible timing."
"Actually, my timing is perfect," Julian countered smoothly, stepping further into the room and completely ignoring Damian’s murderous glare. He turned his bright, friendly eyes straight to Ana. "Word travels fast, Anastasia. I hear you just crushed your board evaluation today and secured your spot on the marketing team."
Ana blinked, smoothing down the front of her skirt as she tried to regain her composure. "Word travels that fast?"
"In this building? Absolutely," Julian chuckled. "And as far as I’m concerned, winning your first ever corporate battle deserves a proper celebration. A few of our old crew are meeting up at the lounge downtown tonight. You’re coming with us."
"No," Damian interjected flatly, stepping up beside Ana and gripping her elbow with possessive authority. "We’re going home."
Ana looked at Damian’s cold, commanding face, then back at Julian’s encouraging grin. He wants to control everything, she thought. Well, not tonight.
"I’d love to come, Julian," Ana said clearly, a triumphant, rebellious smile lighting up her face.
Before Damian could tighten his grip or utter a single word of protest, Ana smoothly slipped her hand out of his hold. She stepped right up to Julian, sliding her arm comfortably through his.
"Lead the way," Ana declared sweetly, turning on her heel and letting Julian escort her straight out of the penthouse office.
Damian stood alone for a single second, watching her walk out arm-in-arm with his best friend without giving him a backward glance. A dark, dangerous smirk slowly pulled at the corner of his lips as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and adjusted his cuffs.
"She’s going to regret this," Damian murmured low to the empty room, his dark eyes glinting with a ruthless, hungry promise as he strode out after them.
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