Damien's black car pulled up to the mirrored entrance of Blackwood Enterprises that was in the heart of the city. The headquarters loomed over the city like a fortress. The building's glass exterior caught the sunlight, casting sharp reflections across the sidewalk. He stepped out, dressed in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit, every line of it all presence and precision.
The receptionist at the front desk stood up a little straighter, stiffening when she saw him. Assistants quickened their pace, phones suddenly pressed tighter to their ears. Executives, already in the middle of hushed conversations, fell silent when he passed. The entire building responded to his presence.
On the top floor, a Monday morning board meeting was underway. The room quieted when Damien entered, calm and unapologetically late. He didn't offer an excuse, he didn't need to. He walked to the head of the long glass table, adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, and sat.
The meeting resumed and a large screen glowed at the front, flashing charts, projections, lines of numbers.
Hargrave, one of the senior board members, cleared his throat. "We need to revisit the strategy for our European expansion. The numbers aren't aligning with market predictions."
Damien didn't look at him immediately. He tapped the screen of the tablet in front of him, skimming a document. Then, he lifted his eyes.
"If you're going to question my strategy, Hargrave," Damien said coolly, "bring something other than your hesitation." Damien said shutting down the objection smoothly and coldly.
A thick silence fell. Hargrave looked down and didn't say a word anymore. The meeting continued without another challenge.
It wasn't until lunch that Damien finally had free time. He found himself alone in his corner office, high above the city. He removed his cufflinks and placed them carefully on the edge of his desk. The sunlight streamed in through the floor to ceiling windows. He adjusted the documents on his neatly arranged desk and then leaned back in his chair.
His mind raced towards Ava.
He remembered how she laughed the night before. He couldn't just forget the way her face lit up at the market. She was starting to pull things out of him he has spent years locking down.
He poured himself a drink from the crystal decanter by the window. He left it in the glass untouched as he stared out over the skyline.
Back at the estate, Ava came downstairs around lunchtime. Emily was in the kitchen, her sleeves rolled up and her brows furrowed.
"Ava," she said, brightening. "Can you help me out? Damien called for lunch, and asked me to send it over to his office. But my little boy is sick again, and I have to go check on him. I can't leave just yet. Can you help me take care of the lunch?"
Ava nodded. "I can take it. No problem."
Emily looked relieved. She packed up the lunch in a neat container and handed it to Ava. Ava drove out to Damien's workplace in one of his cars.
Blackwood Enterprises was as intimidating as it looked online. Its reflective exterior was blinding in the sunlight. Inside, the receptionist barely looked at Ava before waving her toward the elevator.
She hadn't even asked who Ava was. Maybe she assumed she was just another employee or perhaps the help who usually brought Damien his lunch at that time.
Ava took the elevator and stepped out on the top floor. She walked toward the receptionist seated outside Damien's private office.
"I'm here to drop off Mr. Blackwood's lunch," Ava said immediately as she got to the desk.
The woman gave her a once-over. "You'll have to wait."
"It's just his lunch. I just need to hand it to him and I leave."
"And he's in a meeting. You can give it to me or you wait."
Ava hesitated. She didn't want Damien eating cold food so she was about to drop it off but something about the receptionist's tone rubbed her the wrong way. She turned and took a seat, ignoring the woman's visible annoyance.
Several minutes passed and the receptionist kept her eyes on her screen, acting like Ava didn't exist. There was no sign of Damien either.
Then the elevator dinged.
A woman walked out as if the building belonged to her.
She was tall, elegant and had dark lipstick on. Her high heels clicked against the polished floor as she walked. Ava immediately recognized who she was, Selene. Selene didn't even acknowledge the receptionist, she didn't see Ava either.
She walked straight to Damien's door and pushed it open.
Ava stood. "Excuse me? You let her walk in like she owns the place when you just said I had to wait."
The receptionist stared at Ava, irritated and then rolled her eyes. "She's not a common help."
Inside, Damien was stepping away from his desk, about leaving when Selene Marquette entered and stood between him and the exit.
She hadn't changed. Tall, poised, a storm behind her eyes. A woman who knew how to make her presence felt without saying a word.
"Black suits you, Damien," she said with a small smile as she walked towards him. "Still doesn't make you less ghostly."
"Selene. How did you get in?" Damien asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Your staff just let me in. They think we're still together, you know. You disappeared after the engagement broke. I suppose I should've taken that personally."
"You always knew it wasn't real."
She stepped closer. "This new girl. Ava, was it? It also isn't real, is it? How long do you think the illusion will hold?"
Damien's eyes darken. "Leave Ava out of your mouth."
She smiled again, slower this time, like she enjoyed his reaction. "Be careful, Damien. If she breaks before the contract does, you could lose everything. Or you could just come back to someone who gets you."
Then she walked closer to remove the space between them. She placed a hand on his chest, and leaned in.
"You still have me," she whispered. "You always will."
Just then, the door burst open and Ava walked in with the panicked receptionist following closely behind her.
~~~
Ava was about to drop the food and leave after what the receptionist said. Her jaw tightened as she changed her mind and turned. Without a word, she picked up the lunch box and walked toward the door.
"You can't go in there!" the receptionist hissed, jumping to her feet as she rushed to stop her.
But Ava had already reached the door and opened it.
She stood in the frame, stunned as she watched both Selene and Damien in that awkward position.