My day was off to a steller start.
First, my morning coffee betrayed me by scalding my tongue. Then, my assistant, Claire, reminded me I had a meeting with Blackwood Enterprises in two days, a meeting I was supposedly "prepared" for but had conveniently forgotten. And now? I was standing in the middle of my office, staring at the same email for the Thurs time, trying to deciohere whether Damien Blackwood's "looking forward to our next discussion" was a veiled threat or just his way of saying "see you soon."
Spoiler alert: It felt like a threat.
"Do you think he practices looking terrifying in front of a mirror?" I mused aloud.
Claire looked up from her desk, utterly unimpressed. "You mean Damien Blackwood? The same man who made an entire board resign because someone misused a company car? No, I think it's natural."
"Natural, huh?" I leaned back in my chair, twirling a pen between my fingers. "So, what you are saying is he was born with that icy death glare?"
"Probably perfected it in kindergarten," she quipped. "Verlt his first words were, 'You are fired.'
I snorted, nearly dropping the pen. Claire, bless her snarky little heart, was the only person in my life who could match my sarcasm blow for blow.
"Still," she added, tapping her keyboard, "you've got to admit, the man's terrifying and annoyingly handsome. Like, who gave him the right to look like a greek god and act like Satan's accountant?"
"Don't remind me," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "It's bad enough I have to deal with him professionally. I don't need the added distraction of his stupidly perfect face."
"Stupidly perfect face. Hehe," Claire repeates with a grin. "Sounds like someone has a crush."
I shot her a glare. "Don't make me fire you."
"You would be lost without me."
She wasn't wrong, so I changed the subject.
******
Later that afternoon, I found myself once again stepping into the sleek, glass-walled kingdom of Blackwood Enterprises. The air was thick with tension as executives scurried around like ants in the presence of their king.
And there he was, seated at the head of a conference table, looking like he had just stepped out of a billionaire-themed photoshoot. Damien Blackwood didn't just command trhe room; he owned it.
"Miss Sterling," he greeted without looking up from his tablet. "You are early. How uncharacteristic."
I plastered on my sweetest, fake smile. "I live to surprise."
The faintest smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, but it disappeared so quickly I thought I had imagined it.
As I settled into my seat, a junior executive entered, carrying a tray of coffee. He was young, nervous, and clearly overwhelmed by the pressure of being in the same room as Damien Blackwood.
"Coffee, sir?" the junior asked, his hands trembling slightly as he extended the cup.
Damien raised an eyebrow but said nothing, taking the cup without so much as a thank you. The junior turned to me next, and I couldn't resist.
"Ah, my hero," I said, clasping my hands dramatically. "You've saved me from caffeine deprivation. I will name my first born after you."
The poor guy turned beet red, nearly dropping the tray as he stammered something unintelligible.
Damien's sharp gaze flicked to me, his expression unreadable. "Are you always this... theatrical?"
"Only on days that end in 'Y'" I shot back, taking a sip of my coffee.
He didn't laugh, of course not, but I swore I saw his lips twitch again. Twice in one day. A record.
The meeting dragged on, with Damien meticulously dissecting every detail of our upcoming project. His intensity was both impressive and exhausting, like watching a masterpiece chess player strategize ten moves ahead.
"Miss Sterling," he said suddenly, snapping me out of my caffeine-fueled daydream. "Your thoughts?"
On what? Oh no. Had I just zoned out during one of his monologues?
"Uh..." I scrambled for something coherent. "I think it's bold.
Damien raised an eyebrow. "Bold?"
"Yes," I said, nodding with as much confidence as I could muster. "A bold strategy. Innovative. Groundbreaking, even."
The room went silent.
Damien stared at me, his expression unreadable, before turning to one of his assistants. "Schedule a follow-up with Miss Sterling to review her.... groundbreaking insights.
I swallowed hard. Was that sarcasm? Probably. Did I care? Not really. I had survived another round with the devil himself, and that was victory enough.
****
As I left the building, my phone buzzed with a message from Claire.
Claire: How did it go?
Me: What do you think?
Claire: Hehe. Did he fire you with his death glare?
Me: Not yet. But there's always a next time.
I smiled at myself as I slipped my phone into my bag. Damien Blackwood might be the most infuriating, intimidating man I had ever met, but I wasn't about to let him intimidate me. I would intimidate him instead.
Because I'm the Villainess
Game on, Mr Blackwood. Game on.