Episode 2

The Blackwood Enterprises boardroom was a sleek, modern space, with enormous windows offering a panoramic view of the city. At the head of the table, Damian Blackwood observed those present with his typical hard and impassive expression. Across from him, Selene held her tablet firmly, containing the frustration that was beginning to build inside her due to her boss's constant interruptions or refutations of her proposals.

"With all due respect, Mr. Blackwood," she said, maintaining her composure, "I believe we should focus on a more interactive strategy to attract new generations. Social media offers us a unique opportunity to connect with the public."

Damian crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat with an air of forced patience, looking directly into her eyes.

She didn't look away.

"We don't need connection, Miss Montero, we need results," he replied in a firm voice. "Our company has been built on solid foundations, and I doubt that changing our image to please a volatile audience is the best strategy."

Selene felt a chill run down her spine. His authoritarian tone was unbearable, and although she wanted to confront him, slap him a couple of times to make him see reason, she knew she couldn't. The authoritarian subject was her boss, the owner of the company, the one who could have the security guys throw her out on the street with a snap of his fingers, without giving her a chance to do anything. Still, the girl wanted to argue her strategy.

"But, sir... If you would only give me the opportunity to expand on my proposal..."

"The decision has been made, Miss Montero," he interrupted her, with a cutting look. "We will implement the strategy proposed by the financial team. End of discussion."

The meeting continued for a few more minutes, but Selene barely heard the rest. Her wounded pride forced her to maintain a neutral expression, although inside she was seething with indignation. She still didn't understand why the man rejected her proposals, although he had accepted some before, this was because she had asked her colleagues to present them as their own. The conclusion was that he rejected them because she was the one presenting them.

When she finally left the room, she did so with apparent calm, walking with a firm step to the company cafeteria, where her best friend, Carla, was already waiting for her with a coffee in hand.

"And that face?" Carla asked, raising an eyebrow as soon as the girl was in front of her table.

Selene dropped into the chair in front of her with an exasperated sigh.

"I can't stand it!" Her friend tilted her head trying to understand, although she already imagined what it was about. "Blackwood, I can't stand him!" she blurted out. "He's arrogant, stubborn, and controlling. No matter how hard I try, he always has to have his way in the end."

"Well... he's the boss," Carla said, shrugging. "Did he reject your proposal?"

"Yes, according to him, he doesn't want to risk pleasing a volatile audience."

"That's new," her friend replied. "But don't worry, maybe you're not the only one who can't stand him, if it weren't for the fact that he's unbearably sexy, I'm sure no one would."

Selene rolled her eyes, although she couldn't help but remember those intense blue eyes and that presence that made her feel... too aware of him.

"Oh, but I can assure you that if I give the same proposal to one of the guys, he'll accept it without a peep!"

"Well, friend. Don't stress, better tell me about the guy you met the other night," Carla said changing the subject, and the girl began to tell her about her experience with a young man she met through a social network.

Meanwhile, in Damian's office...

"I don't understand how that woman can be so stubborn!" Damian growled, placing his hands on the desk in his office.

His Beta and childhood friend, Marcus, watched him in silence, hiding the amusement it caused him to see his friend in that state.

"Are you referring to Selene?" he asked mockingly, showing that he knew the girl's first name. "I don't know what you're up to with her, she's a very effective employee, since she's been working with us there have been very good variations within her area."

"Selene?" Damian inquired, ignoring everything his friend had said. "Whatever!"

"I didn't know anyone could get you so worked up."

"She doesn't get me worked up," Damian replied, his voice tense. "I just don't like having my decisions challenged."

Marcus burst out laughing.

"Sure... It's not that you mind being challenged, it's that you mind that she's the one doing it."

Damian didn't answer. He just looked out the huge window, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling that the young human woman affected him more than he was willing to admit.

After her vent in the cafeteria, Selene returned to her office with a firm step, still feeling the heat of rage on her skin. She dropped into her chair and sighed as she turned on her computer. She tried to concentrate on the pending reports, but her mind returned again and again to the meeting.

The sound of the keys echoed in the air as she began to write an email, but her concentration was interrupted by Carla's fingers tapping on the door.

"Are you still upset?" her friend asked from the door, leaning against the frame with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Upset?" the young woman scoffed. "No, not at all. It's just that I love that my boss is a despot who likes to always have the last word."

Carla smiled with amusement.

"And what are you going to do?"

"Keep working and show him that my proposal was better."

Meanwhile, on the upper floor, Damian was trying to focus on the stack of documents on his desk, but his keen hearing clearly picked up the sounds of the building: the murmur of conversations in the hallways, the clatter of heels on the marble floor and, in particular, the unmistakable voice of the girl, even from a distance.

He forced himself to concentrate, leafing through the financial reports with a frown. However, the echo of his discussion with her was still in his head. The way she had faced him, without fear or submission, irritated him... and, at the same time, awakened something inside him that he preferred to ignore.

Marcus, sitting in an armchair in front of his desk, couldn't help but smile as he noticed the rigidity in Damian's jaw.

"You're still upset," he commented with feigned indifference.

"I'm not upset."

"No, of course not," his Beta scoffed. "You're perfectly calm. So much so that you've been looking at the same sheet for five minutes without reading a single word."

Damian slammed the file shut and stood up, heading to the window. From there he could see the bustle of the city, the lights flickering in the distance.

"I don't like it when people question my decisions," he said softly.

Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it's not people in general, but one person in particular. And I think you should find out why. Let's agree that it wasn't Selene's proposal that you didn't like, but that she was the one presenting it."

"That's not true," Damian replied.

"Oh, no? Then why did you accept the previous proposals, knowing that they were hers? Because you can't deny me that those who presented them were not the ones who had devised them."

Damian didn't answer. But in his mind, the image of Selene, with her eyes shining with defiance, remained etched with a clarity that frustrated him more than he was willing to admit.

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