The elevator moved down slowly. Amara jabbed the button again though the polished steel box had already sealed her fate, humming floor by floor through the sterile quiet of Sterling Enterprises.
Her reflection glared back at her from the mirrored walls pale under fluorescent glare, eyes ringed with fatigue she hadn't yet earned, lips pressed tight. She didn't recognize herself. This wasn't the woman who used to laugh at Jade's too loud jokes, or the woman who once believed hard work was enough to open doors. This was a woman hunted, caught between predators.
Damian's words clanged in her head: This isn't just business. This is survival.
Then Adrian's mocking applause replayed like a jeer.
When the elevator sighed open in the lobby, Adrian was already there.
"Were you following me?" she snapped.
He leaned against a marble column, too casual, hands in his pockets, tie loosened. "Relax. I didn't install cameras in your apartment." His grin widened. "Yet."
"Charming." She strode past toward the revolving doors, but he fell into step beside her, shadowing her pace.
Outside, the night felt sharp, wind funneled through the Sterling tower plaza, snapping at her coat, sending discarded wrappers dancing like restless spirits. The city's buzz lay just beyond car horns, laughter spilling from late bars but here, beneath the looming tower, it felt like another world.
Adrian tilted his head, studying her as though she were a puzzle piece that refused to fit. "You know what I like about you, Amara?"
"I'm not interested."
"That." He pointed at her, mock salute with one finger. "That fire. Most people flinch around Damian. They scramble to please him. But you… you push back. And that makes you useful."
Her spine stiffened. "Useful to who?"
"To yourself." He leaned close enough that his breath brushed her ear, silk wrapped around a blade. "Unless, of course, you'd rather be Sterling's next pawn."
She froze mid-step, his shadow overlapping hers. "What do you want from me, Adrian?"
The smirk faltered. For a beat, something colder gleamed through. "The truth. Damian's not invincible. He bleeds. And when the board decides to cut him down, you'd better be standing on the right side."
Her pulse spiked. "And that's supposed to be your side?"
Adrian straightened, smirk snapping back like armor. "Think about it."
He backed toward the street, voice trailing like smoke: "You won't survive this game clinging to Sterling. You'll survive by being smarter than him."
A cab roared by, headlights bleaching his features. When the light passed, he was already melting into the city's sprawl.
Amara stayed rooted on the steps, wind cutting at her. Damian's warning and Adrian's threat tangled in her mind like twin snares. For the first time, she wondered if Damian's sharp edged words had been less of a threat and more… a plea.
Back in her apartment, the city hummed through thin walls. Amara shed her blazer, but the tension clung stubbornly to her shoulders. She sank onto the edge of her bed, staring at the file she'd delivered, still replaying the way Damian's voice had dipped when he'd said her name.
Not Miss Blakes, Not assistant, Amara.
Her stomach churned.
She stretched out, but sleep refused. Every time she closed her eyes, images overlapped Damian's shadow across the skyline, Adrian's smirk under harsh lights, her own reflection in mirrored steel.
At 3 a.m., she gave up, sitting by the window, watching the city lights blink and fade. Somewhere down there, both men were likely still awake, plotting, circling. She pressed her forehead to the glass. I am not a pawn.
But the night whispered back: Aren't you?
By morning, her exhaustion sat like lead in her bones. Coffee in hand, she met Jade at their usual café before heading in.
"You look like hell," Jade said bluntly, sliding into the booth.
"Thanks."
"Don't thanks me, thanks your under-eye circles. Spill."
Amara stirred her coffee too long, the spoon clinking. "Work. It's… intense."
Jade arched a brow. "Intense like deadlines, or intense like boss from hell who makes you secretly blush?"
Heat crept into Amara's cheeks. She hated it. "It's not like that."
"Oh my God, it is like that." Jade leaned across the table. "Tell me you're not falling for Damian Sterling."
Amara's throat tightened. "He's… complicated."
"Complicated is code for toxic. Run." Jade pointed her spoon like a sword. "Seriously. I've googled him. He devours competition. And women. You're not exactly blending into the wallpaper."
"I don't want to blend in," Amara whispered before she could stop herself.
Jade blinked. "Then what do you want?"
Amara looked out the window. Cars streamed by, sunlight bouncing off glass. What did she want? To prove herself? To belong? Or to unravel the storm in Damian's gaze? She didn't answer. Couldn't.
Jade sighed. "Just don't lose yourself in his world, okay? It chews people up."
Damian's Suspicion
Sterling Enterprises pulsed with its usual ruthless rhythm when Amara arrived. But she felt eyes on her as she crossed the executive floor whispers just beyond earshot, silences that followed her.
When she reached Damian's office, his door was open. He was at his desk, but his gaze lifted the moment she entered, sharp as a hawk.
"You spoke to Adrian."
Not a question.
Her stomach lurched. "He cornered me outside. I didn't"
"You should have walked away." His tone was clipped, but beneath it ran something raw, unguarded. "He doesn't do anything without purpose. If he's circling you, he wants leverage."
Amara squared her shoulders, meeting his gaze. "Maybe I'm tired of being treated like a chess piece in a game I didn't sign up for."
Damian's jaw tightened. For a long beat, silence pressed between them. Then he stood, closing the distance, every step deliberate.
"You're not a piece," he said, voice low. "You're a variable. Unpredictable. That's why Adrian wants you close. And that's why…" His words trailed, but the intensity in his eyes finished the sentence.
Her pulse thundered. The office seemed smaller, shadows crowding the glass walls. "That's why what?" she whispered.
Damian didn't answer. But the weight of his stare said enough.
And Amara, caught between the man warning her and the man watching her, realized survival wasn't just about who she chose to trust. It was about who she was willing to betray.