Olivia

The boardroom felt charged with the aftermath of the meeting. Papers shuffled, laptops clicked shut, and chairs scraped against the polished marble floor. I watched as executives and advisors from both companies filed out one by one, their whispers fading into the background. But I didn't care about them. My focus was on the one man who had yet to leave.

Dimitri Stavros. 

I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my face, but I refused to look. I had won, and the victory was sweet. A small, triumphant smirk tugged at the corners of my lips, and I could almost taste the frustration rolling off him. He wasn't used to losing, especially not to someone like me, a woman, younger, and in his eyes, inexperienced. But that was his mistake, underestimating me.

The heavy silence was broken by the click of the door as the last person left the room, leaving just the two of us. I heard him move. The scrape of his chair sent a shiver down my spine, and my smirk faltered when I saw him standing, his tall, imposing frame shadowing the dim light that poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows. His jaw was clenched, his broad shoulders tense. He looked furious.

I took a slow step backward, instinctively trying to create space. But he was already moving, stalking toward me, each step purposeful and filled with barely controlled rage. 

As he advanced, I retreated, my back inching closer to the wall with every step he took. My heart raced. I could hear it pounding in my ears, but I refused to show fear. I had just bested him in the meeting. I wouldn't let him intimidate me now. 

But then my back hit the cold, unyielding surface of the wall. There was nowhere else to go. 

Dimitri's shadow loomed over me as he stepped even closer, his tall frame towering above mine. He placed his hands on either side of my head, caging me in. His face was inches from mine, so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body, smell the faint scent of expensive cologne. 

I looked up, meeting his stormy eyes, and I could see the anger swirling beneath the surface. His handsome face was a mask of fury, his jaw still clenched tightly, his eyes darkening with every second.

"You think this is over?" he growled, his voice low and menacing. He leaned in, his lips brushing against my ear, the roughness of his breath sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. "I will make you pay," he whispered, his tone deadly, "with your back on my bed."

My breath caught in my throat, and my heart skipped a beat. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to speak, though my voice trembled. "That's never going to happen."

Dimitri pulled back just enough to look me in the eye, his gaze burning with intensity. His lips curled into a dark, almost predatory smile. "Let's see then," he said, his voice a lethal promise.

Without another word, he pushed off the wall and stormed out of the boardroom, leaving me standing there, breathless, my legs shaky, my heart pounding. 

I had won the battle. 

But the war?

The war had only just begun.

CHAPTER ONE

Two Worlds Apart

Olivia

Growing up as the youngest in the Carter family, I always knew that life wasn't going to hand me anything on a silver platter. I watched my parents, Mikeson and Charlotte Carter, work themselves to the bone to build Carter Wave Solutions from nothing but a dream and an empty bank account. Dad used to say that our family came from the school of hard knocks, and boy, was he right. Nothing about our journey was easy.

We didn't grow up rich. Comfortable, sure, but there were days when I'd see the stress etched on my dad's face, the long hours he put into his work, the countless sleepless nights. Mom would do her best to keep the household running smoothly, but even she got tired sometimes. They had to juggle building a company and raising three daughters, Avery, Savannah, and me.

Avery and Savannah were always more focused on family life. Avery, the oldest, married Justin Knowles right after college, and now they have three kids together. She's content with their cozy little family business, and honestly, I don't think she's ever been interested in Carter Wave. Savannah followed in similar footsteps, marrying Ben Guthrie and settling into a quiet life working at our parents' bakery. I'm proud of them, but I never wanted that for myself.

From a young age, I knew I wasn't like them. I didn't dream about weddings or kids, I dreamed about boardrooms, about deals and negotiations. I wanted more. I craved the challenge, the adrenaline that came with making decisions that mattered. I wanted to be the one steering the ship, not just watching from the sidelines.

Dad noticed that about me early on. He'd catch me eavesdropping on his business calls or sneaking into his home office, staring at all those papers I didn't fully understand. When I was old enough, he'd let me sit in on 

meetings, teach me the ropes. He believed in me, and that's why, when he retired, he didn't hesitate to hand the company over to me. I became the CEO of Carter Wave Solutions at twenty-five, and every day since, I've worked to make sure I deserved that title.

It hasn't been easy. Being a young woman in a male-dominated industry is like fighting a battle with one arm tied behind your back. But I don't back down. I never have. Men like to think they can intimidate me, talk over me in meetings, question my decisions, make side comments about my looks or my age. I just smile, shut them down with facts, and move forward. They don't know who they're dealing with.

Still, there's pressure. With my parents retired and focusing on their bakery, and my sisters happy in their little family bubbles, it feels like the weight of our entire legacy is on my shoulders. Carter Wave Solutions is a multimillion-dollar green tech company, and the responsibility to keep it thriving, no, to make it better than it's ever been, rests with me. I won't let them down. I can't.

Some days, I think about what it would've been like if I had a brother, someone to share the load, someone who might've been more suited for this. But then I remind myself, I am made for this.