Aurelia stood outside the glass building for a full ten seconds before stepping in.
Ten seconds too many.
The lobby was quiet in the way expensive places always were, too polished, too controlled. Everything smelled like money and rules. She adjusted her blazer and walked to the front desk.
"I'm here to see Damien Thorn."
The receptionist barely looked up. "Name?"
"Aurelia Rose."
That got attention.
The woman smiled politely. "He's expecting you. Elevator on the right."
Unfortunately, Aurelia thought.
The ride up felt longer than it should have. By the time the doors opened, she had already decided one thing—she was not going to let this man talk down to her.
She walked straight into his office.
The office was just as she remembered, dark, quiet, and intimidating on purpose.
Damien Thorn was standing by the window, phone to his ear.
"Yes," he said calmly. "Reschedule it. I don't care how inconvenient it is."
He ended the call and turned.
Grey eyes met hers.
"You're on time," he said.
"Don't sound so surprised," Aurelia replied, dropping her bag on the chair opposite his desk. "You said not to be late, not to be obedient."
A flicker of something crossed his face, amusement, maybe irritation.
"Sit," Damien said.
She didn't.
"I'm fine standing," Aurelia replied. "Let's get this over with."
He studied her for a moment, then moved to his desk and picked up a file.
"You have an impressive resume," he said. "You also have a habit of quitting jobs."
"I don't stay where I'm disrespected."
"You won't last a week here with that attitude."
"Good. Then we're already aligned."
Silence stretched.
Then Damien smiled.
Not warm. Not friendly.
Dangerous.
"You work for me now," he said. "And I don't tolerate challenges."
"Then you hired the wrong person."
"That," he said, closing the file, "is exactly why I hired you."
Her smile faded. "Excuse me?"
"I want someone who won't nod and smile," Damien continued. "But test me, and I'll make your job unbearable."
"Threats already? We're moving fast."
"Consider it honesty."
She grabbed her bag. "I don't scare easily."
"I've noticed."
She turned to leave.
"Aurelia."
She paused.
"You don't like me."
"You're very observant."
"Good," Damien said calmly. "Because the feeling is mutual."
"Perfect," Aurelia said. "This is going to be hell."
"Exactly."
She walked out, pulse racing.
I already hate this man.
Behind her, Damien watched the door close.
And I'm going to enjoy making this difficult.
Aurelia barely reached her desk when an email popped up.
From: Damien Thorn
Subject: Today
Conference Room B.
Ten minutes.
Bring the quarterly reports. All of them.
"All of them?" she muttered.
Ten minutes later, she walked into the room carrying a stack of folders that felt deliberately excessive. Damien sat comfortably, tablet in hand.
"You're late," he said without looking up.
"I'm early."
"Sit."
She dropped the folders on the table. Papers shifted.
"Careful," he said.
"They slipped."
He finally looked at her. "Did they?"
She didn't answer.
"These numbers are wrong," Damien said casually.
"They're not. I checked."
"Check again."
"They're correct."
He leaned back. "You're confident for someone on their first day."
"And you're controlling for someone who hired me for my brain."
That got his attention.
"Fix the formatting," he said. "Cleaner."
She stared. "That's it?"
"For now."
She gathered the files. "You could just admit you like stressing people out."
"If I did," he replied, "it wouldn't be as effective."
She walked out, jaw tight.
I swear, he enjoys this.
Another notification appeared before she could sit.
From: Damien Thorn
Subject: Meeting. Now.
The executive meeting room was already full when Aurelia stepped in.
Too full.
Conversations stopped. Eyes turned. Damien didn't acknowledge the attention.
"Sit," he said, pointing to the chair beside him.
Beside him.
She sat, uneasy.
"This is a mistake," she muttered.
"Not for me."
The meeting moved fast - charts, projections, voices layered with confidence.
Aurelia listened, slowly realizing she understood more than she expected.
One executive cleared his throat. "The marketing delay...."
"It's not a delay," Aurelia said.
The room went silent.
"And you are?" the man asked.
"Someone who read the full report."
Damien didn't stop her.
"The problem isn't the timeline," she continued. "Three departments are working with outdated data. Fix that, and the issue disappears."
A pause.
"That's… accurate," someone said.
The meeting ended early.
Once the room emptied, Damien spoke.
"You spoke out of turn."
"You put me in the room."
"Don't assume."
"Then don't test me."
He smiled slowly. "Congratulations. You've earned more responsibility."
Her stomach sank. "That wasn't a compliment."
"No," he said. "It was a warning."
She exhaled. "I should've stayed quiet."
"Yes," Damien agreed. "But you won't."
She walked out knowing one thing for sure,
This job was going to be war.