Chapter 7 SEVEN

Chapter 7:

The doors opened with a ding sound and she felt the chill as soon as she stepped out of the lift. Ava pulled her coat closer around her, attempting to mask her feelings as much as the warmth she so craved. Damon's office loomed ahead, the frosted glass revealing nothing of the storm that brewed inside. She could already feel the weight of his words from their last meeting still pressing on her chest. It's been days since they last spoke, but the passion was still burning.

She stopped walking and her face was filled with apprehension as she stood in front of the door. Why was she here again? Damon had a way of dragging her back, no matter how many barriers she put up between them. She inhaled deeply, gripping the handle firmly before she entered the office.

The lighting in the room was dimmed and the furniture and fixtures used were of a modern design. The sound of Damon's voice cut through the silence. He screamed on the phone, his voice was very audible and every word was very clear. He was facing the other way, but she could tell he was stiff all over.

She didn't interrupt. Instead, she stood there, watching him. It was rather peculiar to observe him in such a state; helpless, though he did not seem to be aware of her presence. He was not the perfect man she used to think he was. There was no way he could mask the cracks anymore; they were all over him. And the more she saw, the more it scared her how much she felt.

Damon put down the phone and spun around, his gaze immediately going straight to her eyes. He didn't seem surprised to see her. If anything, it was as though he had been waiting for her all along. If anything, it was as if he had been expecting her all along. He said nothing for a moment, his eyes searching her face as if he were trying to get into her head, her heart.

She broke the silence first. "You said you needed me."

It wasn't a question. Ava had learned that with Damon, directness was often the best approach. He didn't respond well to hesitation.

Damon stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Just his being around was enough to make it impossible to ignore the budding attraction that was between them. It was always there, smoldering in the background constantly, even if they feigned blindness towards it.

"I can't do this alone," he whispered. The words had meaning and for the first time, there was no conceit in them-just raw, unfiltered truth.

Ava felt her heart racing, but she did not let herself show it on her face. She could not allow him to know the impact of his admission on her. 'What do you want from me, Damon?' I'm not your fixer."

"I'm not asking you to fix anything," he said, his voice low and his gaze intense. There was something else there too-desperation? She wasn't sure. "I just need you to stay."

Stay. That single word was said and left them both hanging, with implications she was not prepared to discuss. She fidgeted on the spot, clutching her arms across her breasts. "And what does staying involve, exactly?"

His jaw clenched and for a second, he looked down as if trying to find the right words to say. "Lucas isn't playing fair," he finally said, his voice filled with resentment. "I underestimated him."

Ava had suspected as much. She had known Damon long enough to understand when his control was slipping. But hearing him admit it? That was new. "What's he done?"

"Lucas is trying to turn everyone against me," Damon continued his voice hardening. "Investors, board members... even people I thought were loyal."

She could see the stress in his eyes, the load on his shoulders. This was not just business to him. This was personal. "You're losing your grip."

He didn't flinch at her bluntness, but there was a flicker of something; pain, perhaps, that crossed his features. "Not yet."

Ava tilted her head, studying him. "But you will unless you change something."

He looked at her eyes quickly, his eyes were bright like knives. "That's why you're here."

She could not help but notice that he was putting so much on her.

The weight of his empire, his legacy, his very survival-it was all being pushed onto her, even if he didn't say it outright. But that's how Damon operated. He never said what he truly felt, and never revealed more than necessary. He just expected people to follow, to fall in line.

And for some reason, Ava always found herself doing just that.

"Damon, I don't know if"

"Don't," he interrupted his voice suddenly harsh. "Don't say you can't. You know damn well you can."

She swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around her arms. He was right. She did know. She said that was what she feared most. "All right, what is it that you would like me to do?"

He stepped nearer and she could sense his heat, and his gaze was on her. "I need your help to outwit him." You've seen the way he works. You know how he thinks."

It was true. Lucas was predictable in some ways, but only to those who knew him. And unfortunately, Ava knew him better than she wanted to admit.

"You're asking me to betray him," she said quietly.

Damon's jaw clenched. "I'm asking you to choose."

Damon's words seemed to physically strike her in the chest, leaving her breathless. He always had the ability to challenge and provoke her, pushing her to use her brain and do things she never thought possible. And this was the most difficult of all. She had worked with Lucas before. She had respected him, even if they had their differences. But now Damon was asking her to turn her back on that. To side with him.

"I can't do it" she whispered.

He gently placed his hand on her arm and she could feel goose pimples all over her body. "I need you, Ava."

It wasn't just about the business. She could see that now. This was about more than Lucas or Blackwood Enterprises. This was about them, about whatever was simmering beneath the surface between them. And yet, despite all this and all the confusion and uncertainties, she felt that she wanted to stay.

Following a brief pause, she responded softly, "I will consider it."

Damon gazed at her, and his demeanor softened, revealing a sense of relief in his eyes for the first time in a while. "That's all I ask."

But as she said the words, she realized it was a lie. There was no time for thinking about it. The decision had already been made.

Lucas sat in his dimly lit office, looking at the documents on his tablet with a small smile on his face. Everything was going according to plan. Damon's empire was falling apart and soon it would all belong to him.

The game was far from over but Lucas had always been a patient man. And patience, as they said, was the key to victory.