Chapter 2 Terms And Conditions

Chapter 2: Terms and Conditions

The next morning, Aria received the email she hadn't dared hope for. Subject: Offer of Employment – Knight Enterprises. Her stomach fluttered as she clicked it open.

The contract was short but strict. The salary was generous-almost suspiciously so. The job title: Executive Assistant to the CEO. A signature from Damian Knight was already at the bottom, in precise black ink.

She hesitated only a second before signing.

By 9 a.m. the next day, she was standing in his office again, this time on the other side of the desk. Damian barely looked up from his laptop.

"You accepted," he said, as if surprised she had the nerve.

"I did," she said. "Though I wasn't aware I'd be accepting a dictatorship."

He glanced at her, something flickering in his storm-grey eyes. "You'll learn quickly, Miss Bennett. I don't tolerate inefficiency. Or emotional decisions."

"Noted. I don't tolerate being treated like a glorified errand girl."

A faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. Not quite a smile-more like amusement. "Careful. That sounds dangerously close to pride."

"It's called self-respect."

He leaned back in his chair, finally giving her his full attention. "Then let's get one thing clear-you work for me. I give orders. You execute them. No debate, no attitude."

Aria met his gaze evenly. "Understood."

But in her mind, one thought echoed loud and clear:

We'll see who bends first.