####Chapter Four: Frustration and Fumes

  Ava sat at her desk the next day, her fingers poised over her keyboard but her mind a million miles away. The heated exchange from the night before lingered in her thoughts, playing over and over like an irritating song that refused to leave her head. She knew Damien was tough, but she had never felt the sting of his disappointment so sharply before. It was like a punch to the gut, and for the first time, she wondered if she had misjudged the level of the game she was playing.

She rubbed her temples, attempting to push aside the nagging frustration that seemed to follow her everywhere. The way Damien had spoken to her, the casual dismissal of her hard work—it was like he thought she was incapable, like she didn’t measure up to whatever impossible standard he had set for her. The more she tried to convince herself it was just his way of pushing her, the angrier she became.

No one has ever treated me like this, she thought bitterly, trying to ignore the resentment building up inside her. I’m not his puppet.

The door to her office swung open suddenly, and there he was. Damien Cross. As cold and composed as always, but there was something different in the way he carried himself today. His jaw was tight, his eyes unreadable, but his usual air of control was more pronounced. As if he had just realized that no one in the office was allowed to breathe without his say-so.

Ava took a deep breath, quickly flipping her attention back to her screen, as though the sight of her work could somehow protect her from the storm that was about to hit.

“Good morning, Ava,” he said in that smooth, authoritative tone of his. It was polite, almost too polite. It made Ava stiffen. She wasn’t used to this. There was no biting sarcasm, no veiled insult—just the disarming calmness of a man who’d walked into a room to take control.

“I’d appreciate it if you could make time for a quick meeting,” Damien continued, not waiting for her response before stepping inside her office. “It’s important.”

Ava blinked, looking up at him with confusion. She knew his workdays were packed, so the sudden shift in behavior caught her off guard. The tension between them had been so palpable in the past few days, it almost seemed impossible to picture them sitting down together without one of them flying off the handle.

“Of course,” she said, trying to sound neutral, even though her stomach twisted in knots. “Let me finish this report, and I’ll be right with you.”

Damien paused, looking at the screen over her shoulder. His gaze lingered there for a beat too long, as if assessing the quality of her work once again. His mouth tightened slightly, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just nodded.

“I’ll be in my office,” he said, turning to leave. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

Ava let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She hated how he could make her feel like a child just with a single glance. She quickly finished the report she had been working on, praying that it was good enough to meet his impossible standards. The clock on her desk ticked by faster than she would’ve liked, and she couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of dread building in her chest.

When she finally made her way to Damien’s office, she knocked once before entering. His back was turned, as usual, and he didn’t acknowledge her presence right away. Instead, he was bent over some paperwork, scribbling notes in that meticulous way of his.

“I’m here,” Ava said, trying to keep her voice even, despite the unease twisting inside her.

Damien didn’t turn around immediately, and for a moment, the silence between them felt like a battlefield. She could hear the quiet hum of the air conditioning and the soft sound of papers being shuffled. He wasn’t looking at her, wasn’t acknowledging her presence in the way he normally did when he was preparing to tear into her. But Ava knew better than to think he was letting her off easy.

Finally, he straightened up and turned to face her. The intense look in his eyes was unnerving, like he was sizing her up. She tried not to flinch under his gaze, but it was difficult. Every time he looked at her like this, like she was a puzzle he couldn’t figure out, it made her feel exposed. Vulnerable.

“You wanted to see me?” Ava said, trying to keep her voice steady despite the nerves that rattled through her. She wasn’t sure if this was just another one of his power moves, or if there was something more going on. She couldn’t tell anymore.

Damien studied her for a moment longer, then sighed. “I wanted to apologize.”

Ava blinked, the words catching her off guard. She had expected him to come in hot, to throw another verbal punch her way, but this? This was... unexpected.

“You apologize?” she repeated, disbelieving. “Damien, are you sick?”

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he studied her with a carefully neutral expression. “I know I pushed you too far yesterday. That wasn’t right.”

Ava had to resist the urge to ask if she had just heard him correctly. Was Damien Cross actually acknowledging that he might have gone too far? It felt surreal. The man who never apologized was standing here, admitting fault. A part of her wanted to seize the moment and ask him all the questions that had been building up in her mind, but another part of her—an instinctual part—was wary. She knew better than to trust him fully.

“Are you... sorry for calling my work a mess?” she asked, testing him. “Or for throwing my reports in my face like I’m incapable?”

Damien’s lips twitched, though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes, I’m sorry for that. It was unprofessional.”

Ava stared at him, trying to gauge if this was some kind of setup. She didn’t trust him. Not after everything. But for some reason, she wanted to believe him. Maybe it was the vulnerability in his voice, or maybe it was the way his gaze softened for the first time since they’d met.

“Why the sudden change?” she asked, not able to stop herself. “What’s going on?”

Damien’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I don’t expect you to understand why I push you so hard, but I’ve realized I may be going about it the wrong way. I know I’m difficult. But you’ve shown me you can handle it.”

The words seemed so out of character for him, so... honest. It left Ava feeling slightly unbalanced. Was this the same man who’d torn her apart just yesterday? Was this a trick? A moment of weakness, maybe?

Ava’s voice came out quieter than she intended. “You’re saying you’re... going to be easier on me?”

Damien leaned forward slightly, his hands clasped in front of him on his desk. He met her eyes, and for a brief moment, there was something almost... human about him.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Ava,” he said, the sharp edge of his usual demeanor creeping back into his tone. “I’ll still expect results, but I’ll give you more space to breathe. Just... don’t disappoint me.”

Ava exhaled, the tension in her body easing just slightly. She hadn’t expected this. Not from him. Not from Damien Cross, the ruthless CEO who made everyone quake in his presence.

“I won’t,” she said, finally letting a hint of confidence return to her voice. “But don’t expect me to work miracles either.”

He gave a small, almost imperceptible smile. “Fair enough. But I to try.”

As she turned to leave, she felt the weight of the conversation settle in her chest. Maybe Damien wasn’t as insufferable as she had once believed. Or maybe this was just another tactic to keep her on her toes. Either way, she was going to have to be careful.

The war between them wasn’t over yet. And she had a feeling that, with Damien Cross, it never would be.

---

  To be continued

please like and comment