The door closed with a slight click, but to Damian it sounded like a gunshot splitting the morning in two. He remained standing behind his desk, arms crossed and his gaze fixed on nothing, trying to bring order to the chaos that Selene Montero had left behind.
The powerful Alpha didn't understand. What the hell was wrong with him when it came to that woman?
He had worked with dozens of brilliant employees. He had fired the incompetent without batting an eye, praised the bold, and rewarded the loyal. His instinct never failed him, and his authority was unquestionable.
Until she appeared.
From the first day, her presence had unsettled him. Not because of the obvious —her intelligence, her ability, her composure, her beauty— but because of what he couldn't name without feeling vulnerable. There was something in the way she looked at him, in the way she spoke to him bluntly, that touched a fiber he didn't know he would ever have exposed.
The girl irritated him more than anyone else could. Every word she directed at him with that defiant firmness made his blood boil. But at the same time... she was fascinating to him.
He remembered her with absurd clarity. The way her lips pursed when she thought. How she straightened up when speaking, as if refusing to occupy less space than she deserved. The scent of her perfume, barely perceptible, had followed him several times even after she left the office, like a sensory trap that left him uneasy.
"Damn it!" he muttered, running a hand over the back of his neck when the fleeting thought that he liked the woman wormed its way into his mind.
"Why her?" he wondered.
He had never had a partner, at least not a stable one. It was assumed that all werewolves, upon reaching adulthood, found their destined partners with whom they established an unbreakable, unique, one might say magical bond. But that had not been his case, and as time passed and he did not find her, he resigned himself, and swore not to be carried away by anyone. He had built walls, not only as an Alpha, but as a businessman. He understood from the experiences of others that excessive desire was a dangerous distraction, especially when it was intertwined with respect and admiration.
And yet, there he was.
Annoyed, agitated... and absurdly tempted.
Selene's accusation had hurt more than he admitted. Had he been unfair to her? Had he used his power to keep her at bay, just because he couldn't stand what she made him feel?
"What if I told you that I don't have a problem with your work, but with... you?"
He remembered his own words and cursed himself for having said them aloud. He had crossed a line. And she had not only not been intimidated, but had struck back with dignity and composure.
An ironic smile appeared on his lips.
The stubborn Montero.
He didn't know what he was going to do with her.
But what he did know... was that he wasn't going to be able to ignore her.
Damian was still by the window, with a glass of whiskey in his hand, even though it wasn't even eleven in the morning, when he heard the door open without warning. He didn't need to guess who it was.
"It's not a good idea to enter my office like that," he growled without turning around.
"Luckily it's me, and not a journalist or a labor inspector," Marcus replied with a sly smile as he closed the door behind him. "Did you know that half of your argument with Selene could be heard from the hallway, right?"
Damian clenched his jaw. He said nothing.
Marcus dropped into one of the armchairs in front of the desk and watched him silently for a few seconds, as if assessing where to begin.
"Look, I don't usually get involved in your decisions," he began in a calm tone. "You're the Alpha, the CEO, and the guy with the worst reputation for patience I know. But with that girl…" he paused, "you're being a complete idiot."
Damian turned slowly, without losing his composure.
"Is that what you came to tell me?"
"No, I also came to ask you why you're shooting yourself in the foot," Marcus added, leaning back further. "That woman is brilliant. The proposal you rejected was exactly the same one that Alan presented to you, and you gave him the go-ahead. You can't say it was for strategy."
"I don't like her defiant attitude," Damian blurted out wearily.
"Really? Since when is that a problem for you?" Marcus retorted with a raised eyebrow, and his mind began to work tirelessly. "Unless what bothers you isn't her attitude... but how she makes you feel."
The silence that followed was dense.
"I don't have time for nonsense, she makes me feel nothing but irritation and annoyance," Damian muttered, although his voice no longer sounded so firm.
"It's not nonsense. You have to change your approach with her. You can't keep rejecting everything she proposes just because she drives you crazy. That's not leadership, it's denial. And believe me, it's going to blow up in your face if you don't do something."
Damian frowned at him. In other circumstances, he would have sent him to hell. But Marcus was not only his right hand. He was his pack brother, his most loyal friend.
"And what do you propose? That I invite her to dinner and apologize with a glass of wine?" he said sarcastically.
"Propose a new meeting. Really listen to her this time. Give her space to speak without feeling like you're going to shoot her down with a look. Show her that you're not a tyrant with a tie," Marcus said, standing up. "Or at least... that you know when to admit your mistakes."
Damian looked down at the still-full glass. He reflected in silence.
"I'll think about it," he finally admitted.
"That's already a miracle coming from you," Marcus said, patting him on the shoulder before leaving. "Oh, and one last thing!... don't underestimate her. Selene Montero is not like the others. And if you keep playing the Alpha male just to hide that you care... you're going to lose her."
When the door closed again, Damian was left alone. But this time, not with his pride. But with an idea running through his mind:
Maybe, just maybe... Marcus was right.
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