The darkness didn't just fall—it slammed into the small space like a physical weight.
Elena froze. Her hands, which had been pushing firmly against Alex's chest a second ago, instantly lost all their strength. Her breath caught hard in her throat. The walls of the elevator vanished, and everything went completely black. The darkness immediately made her feel like the walls were closing in on her from all sides.
No. Not again. Please, not again.
In an instant, she wasn't in the executive elevator of her former company anymore. Her mind flashed straight back to the worst night of her life—the smoke, the collapse, and the terrifying feeling of being trapped in that small place where it was dark and no one could hear her scream.
Her chest tightened so fast it felt like someone is chocking her throat , squeezing the air straight out of her lungs. She gasped, a small, choked sound leaving her lips as her knees gave out completely.
Alex, who had been bracing himself against her angry push, felt her suddenly slip downward. In the pitch black, he couldn't see her face clearly, but he heard the sharp, ragged way she was fighting for air.
"Elena?" he asked, his voice losing its mocking edge.
"What are you doing? Get up."
She didn't answer. She couldn't. She slide down until her back hit the solid floor, her hands flying to her throat as she tried to pull oxygen into her lungs. It felt like she was breathing in thick dust. Her heart was hammering so fast against her ribs it felt like it would explode. She was trembling so violently that her heels clicked rapidly against the floor.
"Elena, stop playing around," Alex said, his voice dropping lower. He reached down blindly into the dark, his large hand brushing against her shoulder. The moment his fingers touched her, he flinched. Her skin was ice-cold, and she was shaking like a leaf in a storm.
Suddenly, Elena reached up. Her pride, her anger, her hatred for him—all of it completely vanished, burned away by pure, unadulterated terror. She grabbed the fabric of his vest with both hands, clinging to him like he was the only life support left in the world.
"Please," she sobbed, a raw, broken tear finally spilling over her eyelid. She buried her face directly into his chest, her fingers digging so hard into his clothes that her nails hurt. "Please, make it stop. I can't breathe. Alex, please... get me out. Turn on the lights. Please."
Alex went completely confused. The fierce, untouchable woman who had been spitting threats at him just seconds ago was currently falling apart in his arms, weeping and begging for help. For a second, his brain couldn't process the change. But as her heavy, desperate sobs vibrated against his chest, something shifted inside him.
His mind felt blank. He didn't think about his revenge. Without a single thought, he dropped to his knees right in front of her.
He wrapped his large, heavy arms around her shaking shoulders, pulling her firmly against his body. He pressed her head against his shoulder, letting his hand slide up to hold the back of her neck, comforting her.
"Shh. Breathe, Elena. Just breathe," he murmured, his deep voice dropping to a low, steady rumble right against her ear. "I've got you. You're fine. The elevator just stopped. You're safe."
"It's too dark," she choked out, her voice cracking as she squeezed her eyes shut, gripping his shoulders now. "I can't... the air is running out. We're going to get stuck."
"The air is not running out," Alex said firmly, his grip tightening around her to keep her from shaking. "Look at me. Well, don't look, but listen to my voice. Focus on my voice, Elena. Take a deep breath. Calm down okay."
Elena tried. She inhaled, swallowing the smell of his strong perfume. It was the only familiar thing in the terrifying dark. She focused entirely on the heavy, solid warmth of his chest against her cheek, matching her breathing to his slow, steady rhythm.
Slowly, her racing heart began to slow down. Her gasps turned into quiet, shaky breaths, though she still refused to let go of his jacket.
Alex reached into his pocket with one hand, pulling out his phone. He flicked on the flashlight, and a bright beam of white light instantly cut through the darkness, illuminating the small elevator.
Elena blinked, looking up through tear-blurred eyes. Her face was flushed, her nose pink, and her hair was slightly messy. She looked completely undone, totally vulnerable.
Alex stared down at her, his dark eyes intense as he held her close. For a long moment, neither of them moved. The silence between them wasn't angry anymore—it was thick, heavy, and full of an unsaid emotion that scared them both.
Suddenly, Alex's phone buzzed. The screen lit up with Jimmy's name.
Alex cleared his throat, his voice returning to its normal, calm tone as he answered it, though he didn't let go of Elena's waist. "Jimmy. What's the status?"
"Boss, the main power transformer for the executive block blew out," Jimmy's voice came through the speaker. "The backup generators are kicking in for the servers, but the elevator lines are jammed. The maintenance team is already working on it. They have to manually crank the car down to the ground floor. It's going to take about thirty to forty minutes."
"Make it as soon as possible," Alex ordered shortly, then hung up.
He looked down at Elena, who was quickly realizing how close they were sitting on the floor. Her hands were still clutching his shoulders, and her face was practically buried in his neck.
As the initial terror faded, her brain fully kicked back into gear. A hot wave of intense embarrassment rushed over her. She had just cried, begged, and clung to her worst enemy.
Elena violently pulled herself away from him, scrambling backward until her hand hit the opposite wall. She quickly wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands, forcing her face to turn cold again, though her lips were still trembling slightly.
"I'm fine," she said, her voice sharp but breathless. "You can move back now."
Alex raised an eyebrow, slowly standing up and brushing off his trousers. The familiar, mocking smirk slowly crept back onto his face, though his eyes remained fixed on her.
"You're fine?" he asked, leaning his back against the glass wall and crossing his arms. "Two minutes ago you were holding onto me like your life depended on it, PA Vane. You practically ruined my expensive vest with your tears."
Elena stood up too, using the wall for support because her legs still felt a bit like jelly. She straightened her blazer, tilting her chin up despite the lingering fear in her chest. "It was a panic attack. A physical reaction to a past accident. It had nothing to do with you. Don't mistake a momentary lack of oxygen for weakness, Mr. Valois"
"Right," Alex murmured, his eyes darkening with amusement as he watched her try to rebuild her frozen wall. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, scaredy-cat."
For the next twenty minutes, they didn't speak a word. The elevator slowly, jolted downward, inch by inch, until it finally reached the lobby floor with a loud thud. The heavy metal doors slid open, and the bright, warm light of the ground floor lobby flooded in.
The moment the gap was wide enough, Elena didn't hesitate. She grabbed her bag from the floor and marched straight out of the elevator. She didn't look back at him. She didn't say thank you. She ignored the confused looks from the night security guards and walked straight out of the glass building, shifting her car into drive and speeding away into the night.
Alex stepped out of the elevator at a slower pace, watching her car disappear down the main street. He reached up, slowly touching the spot on his shoulder where her wet face had been resting.
A slow, highly satisfied smile spread across his lips.
He had been trying to find a way to break her pride for weeks, to find the weak spot under that cold CEO mask. Tonight, she had handed it to him on a silver platter. He finally knew how to make the untouchable Elena Vane bend.
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly through the massive glass windows of the executive floor. Elena stood in the kitchen pantry, her face pale but her expression completely blank. She had barely slept three hours last night, her mind replaying the embarrassing elevator scene over and over again.
She poured the dark espresso into a clean porcelain cup, adding exactly two sugars and a dash of oat milk—the exact combination Alex had demanded yesterday afternoon. She was going to make sure this coffee was so absolutely perfect that he wouldn't have a single excuse to make her redo it.
She walked into his office, her heels clicking with a steady, confident rhythm. She set the cup down gently on his desk.
"Your morning coffee, Mr. Valois," she said, keeping her voice completely professional, as if last night had never happened.
Alex was reading a document, but the moment the cup touched the desk, he set his pen down. He picked up the cup, took a slow sip, and swallowed.
He raised his eyebrows, a look of pure amusement dancing in his dark eyes.
"Perfect," Alex said smoothly, leaning back in his chair.
"Temperature is right, sweetness is correct. See? You're a very fast learner, Elena. I knew you had it in you to be a proper assistant."
Elena didn't blink. "If there is nothing else, I will return to my desk to finish the shipping compliance files."
"Hold on, not so fast," Alex murmured, his voice dropping to that low tone that always made her defensive. He rested his elbows on the desk, looking up at her with a highly teasing smirk. "Aren't you going to ask me how my night was? Because my shoulder is actually a little sore this morning. It turns out holding a crying, trembling woman for twenty minutes in a dark elevator really strains the muscles."
Elena's hands tightened into fists at her sides, but she refused to let him see her get flustered. She looked him dead in the eye, her voice like ice.
"I don't recall asking for your help, Mr. Valois. If you felt strained, you should have left me on the floor. And as I said, it was a medical reaction. If you want to use my temporary vulnerability to satisfy your massive ego, go ahead. But don't mistake a lack of oxygen for real weakness. I can still destroy your logistics network with a single click."
Alex let out a low laugh, clearly thrilled that she was fighting back instead of hiding. "There she is. The angry bird is back. I was worried the scaredy-cat from last night had permanently taken your place."
"The only thing you should worry about is your own business, Sir," Elena snapped, turning on her heel and marching out of his office before he could say another word.
By 2:00 PM, Elena felt like her head was going to split open. A massive, pounding headache had started behind her eyes, a direct result of her lack of sleep and the intense stress from the night before. The bright light of her computer screen was making her eyes water, and she could barely focus on the numbers in front of her.
She rubbed her temples, letting out a heavy sigh. She needed a break from her desk, and she desperately needed some aspirin or a strong cup of tea to get through the rest of the day.
She stood up and took the elevator down to the large employee cafeteria on the fifth floor. The area was relatively quiet since the lunch rush was already over. She walked over to the beverage counter, ordering a hot black tea.
"Elena? Hey, are you okay?"
Elena turned her head, seeing Marcus walking toward her from the seating area. He looked genuinely worried, his jacket thrown over his arm.
"Hey, Marcus," Elena said, forcing a small, tired smile onto her lips.
"Man, I heard about what happened last night after I left," Marcus said, stepping closer, his voice full of guilt.
"The power grid blew out right after I took the stairs. Someone told me you got stuck in the executive lift for nearly half an hour. I feel so bad, Elena. If I had just stayed and walked with you to the main lobby, you wouldn't have been trapped in there alone."
Elena shook her head, taking her hot tea from the counter. "No, Marcus, don't worry about it at all. It wasn't your fault. The building's maintenance is the issue, not you. I'm completely fine now."
"You look really pale," Marcus noted, his eyebrows knitting together as he looked at the dark circles under her eyes. He reached out, his hand gently touching her arm in a friendly, comforting way. "Look, if you're feeling sick from the shock, I can talk to the tech team and handle your data inputs for the afternoon. You should go home and rest. That Valois guy is a monster for making you work today anyway."
Elena let out a soft, genuine chuckle, feeling a bit touched by his loyalty. "Thank you, Marcus. That's really sweet of you. But I can handle him. I just need this tea to kick in."
Upstairs, on the top floor, Alex Valois was standing by the large glass railing that overlooked the open-atrium design of the lower floors. He had gone out to grab a file from the central archive, but his eyes had automatically drifted downward toward the cafeteria.
The exact second his gaze landed on Elena, his body went cold.
She was standing next to Marcus again. And Marcus's hand was directly on her arm.
Alex's grip on the folder in his hand tightened so hard the cardboard bent. He watched as Elena laughed at something the man said—a real, soft, effortless laugh. She never looked at him like that. When she looked at him, her eyes were full of fire, hatred, and absolute defiance. But with this random guy, she was completely relaxed, letting him touch her skin like it was nothing.
A dark, violent rush of pure, possessive jealousy exploded in Alex's chest, far worse than the night before. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. He didn't understand why he was feeling this way, and he honestly hated it. He had sworn to destroy her family's name, to take everything she owned. He was supposed to hate her.
But seeing another man close to her made his blood boil. He couldn't stand it. He wanted her total attention, even if that attention was pure hatred directed at him. She belonged in his space, under his rules, looking only at him.
Without a word, Alex turned around, his boots slamming heavily against the floor as he stormed back into his private office. He picked up his desk phone and violently pressed the extension for her desk.
It rang twice before her tired voice answered. "Yes, Mr. Valois?"
"My office. Now," Alex growled, slamming the phone back down on the receiver.
Two minutes later, Elena walked into his office. Her headache was throbbing violently now, and she was holding her cup of tea like a shield. She looked at his face and immediately knew something was wrong. His dark eyes were entirely black with anger, his posture stiff as he sat behind his desk.
"You called?" she asked coldly.
"Where is the European shipping route compliance file?" Alex demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerously sharp register. "I gave you that folder two hours ago. Why isn't it on my desk?"
Elena frowned, her own anger flaring up through her exhaustion. "Alex, that file contains over three hundred pages of legal cross-referencing. It takes at least five to six hours to process that amount of data correctly. I told you I was working on it."
"You're not working on it," Alex snapped, standing up from his chair and leaning his hands flat on the desk, looming over her. "You've been spending your time downstairs in the cafeteria, gossiping and flirting with the tech pool staff while my company's operations are being delayed."
Elena's eyes widened in pure disbelief. "Flirting? I went down to get a cup of tea because I have a massive headache! I talked to a colleague for exactly three minutes!"
"I don't care about your excuses, Elena!" Alex roared, his voice bouncing off the glass walls. "Your attention is clearly not on your work. You're too busy looking for sympathy from other employees, playing the victim because you can't handle a real workload. If you're going to be my personal assistant, your focus needs to be entirely on my tasks, not on socializing in the hallway."
Elena stepped closer to the desk, her face flushing with absolute rage. She slammed her tea cup down, her voice shaking with fury. "Do not talk to me about my work ethic! I have worked myself to the bone for this company long before you used your dirty billions to buy out the board. I am not playing the victim! I am doing my job despite the fact that you are running a childish psychological war against me!"
"Then prove it," Alex growled, his eyes locking onto hers with a wild, uncontrollable intensity. The jealousy in his chest was driving his actions now, completely overriding his usual calm logic.
He pointed a long finger toward the empty corner of his massive private office, right next to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Since you can't seem to stay focused while sitting outside, you will work where I can monitor you every single second," Alex commanded, his voice dropping to a low, absolute decree. "Pack up your laptop, your files, and your personal things. Your desk is moving inside my office. Right now."
Elena froze, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at him in absolute shock.
Trapped in his office. Every single day. Every single minute. Under his direct, suffocating gaze.
"You can't be serious," she whispered, her voice tight with horror.
"I am entirely serious, Ms. Vane," Alex murmured, a dark, victorious smile slowly returning to his face as he looked down at her. "Move your things. Welcome to your new workspace."