Chapter Twenty-One

The boardroom felt charged with the aftermath of the meeting. Papers shuffled, laptops clicked shut, and chairs scraped against the polished marble floor. I watched as executives and advisors from both companies filed out one by one, their whispers fading into the background. But I didn't care about them. My focus was on the one man who had yet to leave.

Dimitri Stavros.

I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my face, but I refused to look. I had won, and the victory was sweet. A small, triumphant smirk tugged at the corners of my lips, and I could almost taste the frustration rolling off him. He wasn't used to losing, especially not to someone like me. A woman. Younger. In his eyes, inexperienced. But that was his mistake: underestimating me.

The heavy silence was broken by the click of the door as the last person left the conference room, leaving just the two of us.

I heard him move. The scrape of his chair sent a shiver down my spine, and my smirk faltered when I saw him standing. His tall, imposing frame shadowed the dim light pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows. His jaw was clenched, his broad shoulders tense, his hands curled into tight fists at his sides.

He looked furious.

I took a slow step backward, instinctively trying to create space. But he was already moving, stalking toward me, each step purposeful, filled with barely controlled rage.

As he advanced, I retreated, my back inching closer to the wall with every step he took. My heart raced. I could hear it pounding in my ears, but I refused to show fear. I had just bested him in the meeting. I wouldn't let him intimidate me now.

But then my back hit the cold, unyielding surface of the wall. There was nowhere else to go.

Dimitri's shadow loomed over me as he stepped even closer, his tall frame towering above mine. He placed his hands on either side of my head, caging me in. His face was inches from mine.. so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body, smell the faint scent of expensive cologne.

I looked up, meeting his stormy eyes, and I could see the anger swirling beneath the surface. His handsome face was a mask of fury, his jaw still clenched tightly, his eyes darkening with every second.

His voice was low and lethal when he spoke. "You think this is over?" His breath was rough, heated. "You humiliated me. Tarnished my name. In front of the entire world, you painted me as a criminal, stripped away my power, reduced me to nothing." His fingers curled into fists against the wall, his whole body radiating barely restrained violence.

I swallowed hard, but I refused to look away.

He leaned in closer, his lips brushing against my ear, his breath scalding against my skin.

"I will make you pay for this," he whispered, his voice dripping with dangerous promise. "With your back on my bed… and your legs spread wide open for me." His lips curled into a dark, almost predatory smile. "And it will be the sweetest revenge I've ever tasted."

My breath caught in my throat, and my heart skipped a beat. I forced myself to glare at him, my voice trembling but firm. "That's never going to happen."

Dimitri pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, his gaze burning with raw intensity. Then, without another word, he pushed off the wall and stormed out of the boardroom, leaving me standing there—breathless, my legs shaky, my heart pounding.

I had won the battle.

But the war?

The war had only just begun.