CHAPTER 3

Phoebe arrived at the office earlier than usual, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. The scent of fresh coffee lingered in the air, and the city skyline stretched beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathed in the soft light of early morning.

Work. Focus. Routine.

That was the only thing that mattered today.

She tossed her bag onto the desk and powered up her computer, drowning herself in emails, contracts, and meetings. There was no room for distraction. No space in her mind for lingering touches or stolen glances across an auction hall.

Damon Blackwood was a mistake she had already survived once. She wasn't about to let him become one again.

By noon, she had plowed through half her schedule, barely pausing to breathe. A meeting with investors. A strategy review. Lunch at her desk. Efficiency was her weapon, and she wielded it ruthlessly.

"Phoebe?"

She glanced up to find her assistant, Lila, standing hesitantly in the doorway.

"You have a visitor," Lila said carefully.

Phoebe frowned. "I don't take unscheduled meetings."

Lila shifted, uncomfortable. "He… insisted."

Before Phoebe could press further, a familiar voice cut through the room.

"I thought you'd at least hear me out before shutting the door in my face."

Phoebe's entire body went still.

She didn't have to turn around. She knew that voice—knew the way it carried, the quiet authority it held.

Damon.

Of course.

Slowly, she inhaled, pressing her emotions into a tightly locked box before finally turning to face him.

There he was, standing in her office like he belonged there.

He looked the same—effortlessly composed, every inch the man she remembered. Except now, there was something else. A challenge in his gaze.

She met his eyes, refusing to let anything show. "You have five minutes."

He smirked, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "That's more than I expected."

Phoebe folded her arms. "What do you want, Damon?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he studied her, like he was trying to see past the mask she had so carefully put in place.

"You disappeared after the auction," he finally said. "Didn't even say goodbye."

She raised a brow. "And that concerns you?"

"Should it?"

A challenge. One she refused to take.

"I don't have time for this," she said coolly, moving toward her desk. "If this is some attempt to—"

"It's business, Phoebe." His voice was even, controlled. "I'm not here to waste your time."

That made her pause.

Business?

She turned back to him, suspicion flickering in her chest. "You expect me to believe that?"

Damon slid a folder onto her desk. "Read it."

She hesitated, but eventually reached for the folder, flipping it open. Her eyes scanned the contents, taking in the details—a high-profile merger, a deal that carried weight. And his company was directly involved.

Her stomach twisted.

Of course.

Because the universe had a sick sense of humor.

She closed the folder, meeting his gaze once more. "And this involves me how?"

Damon's lips curved slightly. "You'll figure it out."

There it was again. That challenge. That unspoken game they always seemed to play.

Phoebe exhaled slowly, keeping her expression unreadable. She wouldn't let him see how much this rattled her.

She had spent years making sure their paths wouldn't cross again.

And yet, here he was.

No matter how high she built her walls, Damon always seemed to find a way through.