*Isabella's POV*
I went to his office to give him the edited report, my mind a blank slate of professionalism. I needed to keep this simple, clean. No room for emotional landmines.
I explained the miscalculations I'd noticed and corrected, the new information I'd added, my voice steady and sure. I was in my element here, in my power suit of spreadsheets and projections.
When I was done, he leaned back in his big leather chair, a slow, impressed smile spreading across his face. "Damn, you're so fucking smart," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I don't know why I keep an entire finance department. I should close it off, you can do all their work." he added, a smirk playing on his lips, making me smile.
"Is it weird that I'm turned on right now?" he asked, his eyes darkening slightly.
"No, not weird at all," I said, a knowing smirk spreading across my face.
"Do you have any idea what it's been like for me? For two years now? There's more to you than your pretty face and a sexy body. Every time you amaze me with your work skills, I wanted to make you mine," he said, his voice dropping to a low, serious rumble that vibrated right through me.
"And right now, Ms. Williams, I want the same thing." he added.
"I never thought you were attracted to me, Damien," I said, blushing.
"Oh, I was so fucking attracted," he said, a dry, humourless chuckle escaping his lips. "I was from the first time I saw you at the interview. But I don't go around chasing employees. It's part of who I am."
"Yeah, me too. Sleeping with my boss wasn't on my things-to-do before thirty list," I said. "And I have to admit, if it wasn't for Jacob..." I was saying when he cut me short.
"I know," he said, his voice soft.
"I can't say I'm sorry, though." I said and swung a leg over his lap, straddling him, making him chuckle as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "You know we have a client coming here in less than thirty minutes, don't you?" he said, his hands resting on my hips.
I simply leaned in, kissing his neck, feeling his pulse race under my lips. "You minx," he said, a low groan escaping him.
"Give me a kiss, or I won't stop," I said, smiling mischievously.
The kiss was slow and passionate, a deep, exploring dance that was different from all the others. It wasn't just hungry or possessive; it was... tender. And in that kiss, he said a lot, things he didn't say out loud. He wanted me, not only my body, but my knowledge, my ideas, my company, my presence. My soul, with all my fears and my joys, just as much as I wanted him.
And I was sick of being with him and pretending everything is fine just because he came to my room each night. I wanted more. I wanted all of it. I can't do this anymore. I can't just pretend.
When we pulled apart, I settled in the chair across from him, the big, imposing desk now a barrier between us again. The air was still thick with our kiss, but I needed to shatter this peace, to push past it.
"what happened to you, Damien?" I asked, my voice softer than I intended, laced with a vulnerability I fucking hated.
"what, nothing happened to me, what do you mean." he asked, his guard already snapping back into place.
"I don't think it's because your mother died or that you became a CEO at a young age," I said, leaning forward, my hands clasped in my lap. "I've known you for years but i don't really know anything about you. Jacob mentioned something about you hiding in Raleigh." I watched his face for a flicker, anything, but it was a stone mask. "And I really don't want to be the clingy girlfriend that digs through the internet to stalk you. But you make me want to. I want to know more about you. you cant blame me, we spend so much time together and I feel like I don't know you. Why are you so closed of. Tell me something, anything."
"I don't know what you mean. I'm not hiding, and what you see is what you get," he said, his voice cold, dismissive. It was like talking to a brick wall. A very handsome, very frustrating brick wall.
"do you have friends? what about your passions" i pressed on, refusing to let him retreat. "Jacob said you were in love. who was she and what happened with her? I want to know everything" I went on, pushing, knowing I was treading on dangerous ground.
Isabella..." he began, his voice a low warning, when suddenly another voice cut him of, a woman's voice, sharp and impatient.
"I'm sorry Mr Lancaster but this cannot wait." Conny, One of the many women who work for him and probably wants him, said, stepping into the office without a second thought.
Fuck. The door. The fucking door is always unlocked.
"Miss Bailey, I have a client visit in twenty minutes. This better be short," he said, his voice back to that cold, clipped CEO tone that made my stomach clench. He didn't even look at her, his eyes still on me, a silent apology in their depths.
She nodded, but her gaze slid over to me, dripping with a condescension that made my fucking blood boil. "Isabella, do you mind?" she asked, turning her sickly sweet smile towards me, like I was an intern she could dismiss.
"Yes, I do," I said, my voice flat, my chin held high. I wasn't going anywhere.
"Isabella can stay," Damien said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "She is my assistant." The emphasis on 'my' was a clear, territorial claim.
I saw Conny's gaze flutter, a flicker of annoyance in her perfectly made-up eyes. "I prefer to tell you this in private," she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as she brought a hand up to gently scratch her neck.
What the hell was happening? That gesture... it was too intimate, too calculated for a simple business chat. A cold knot of suspicion formed in my stomach.
"Okay," I said, standing up abruptly. The last thing I wanted was to be a pawn in whatever game she was playing. "I'll go wait and receive Mr. Dupont." I turned and walked out of his office, my back straight, my head held high. But inside, my mind was racing. What the fuck was that about? And why did I suddenly feel like I was the one who had just been dismissed?