Daryn looked at the extension on his office desk. The button was flashing red. He clenched his jaw and went to pick the call. “What do you want Maya? I asked you not to call me.” he said rudely. 

A honeyed voice came from the other side, “Daryn, my father has asked me to go for a family dinner along with you. All my family members will be present and so it is very important that you accompany me. Please darling, come with me.” Maya knew that Daryn would fall for this tactic. “The dinner is tomorrow.” 

​​

Daryn was extremely irritated. He was aware that Maya used these tricks to get him close to her and show to the public that they were strong as a pair. This in turn meant that leaving her would be such a huge issue that no one could imagine. She got on his nerves. But this time he had to make a choice. 

He became silent for a few seconds trying to rein his rising blood temperature. Then he snarled and dismissed her, “Don’t ask me to accompany you anywhere. You know that I don’t want to go.” 

“You can’t do this to me, Daryn,” Maya pleaded. “We have to show that we are a couple to everyone. My parents really want to see you.”

“I am not going,” he said, challenging her as to what she would do about it and slammed the phone down. 

Once again Reyna knocked on the door. “Mr. Silver, you have two appointments back-to-back with business delegates from Nigeria and with your brother.” 

Darny had this solid urge to go and meet Dawn. “Send them in,” he said and buttoned his shirt up. He pushed down his feelings and prepared for the meeting. His breathing came in rasps when his wolf resisted his decision. 

The door opened and two men in business suits walked in. “Hello Mr. Daryn.” 

Daryn greeted them, rose from his chair and guided them to sit on the sofas of his office. 

— 

Meanwhile, Dawn was guided to the office of the Finance Department. There were rows and rows of white cubicles on that floor. The floor of the office was covered with a maroon carpet. The assistant’s desk was right in front of the first cube. Five rooms for Managers were located on the left side. It was very quiet. As she walked she could feel other employees watching her. But she kept her head down. Stay low, stay low. Do your work and get out. Rick took her to a cubicle towards the end, numbered 51. “Today I am going to send you some easy reports to work upon. You can become familiar with the office. From tomorrow, you can start with your project.”

“Okay,” Dawn nodded nervously as her gaze flitted around. Her cubicle’s left wall was shared with another employee who smiled as soon as she looked at him. He waved her a ‘Hi!’ She smiled back. 

Rick started to leave when she asked him in haste, “Can you tell me which floor is the Project Department?”

Rick turned to see her and asked with a frown on his face, “Why?” 

Dawn stared at him blankly, throwing off his question. Her heartbeat increased. She lied. “My brother’s friend is working there. So I thought of meeting him during the lunch hours.” 

Rick narrowed his eyes as if trying to read her intentions and then said, “It’s on the tenth floor.” 

“Thanks,” she replied with a nervous smile. 

“But you better be here after the lunch is over. Don’t fool around,” his voice was stern, like a Principal chiding a schoolgirl. 

“Yes I will,” she replied. 

As soon as he left, Dawn sat down and exhaled all her anxiety. In the next one hour, she was sent the emails and details to work upon and she became completely immersed. It was a fairly easy task, which she was sure she would finish by the end of the day. But in the meantime, she had to go to the Projects Department and start digging details about the gaming company. She stretched her toes and got up from her place. She peered at the cubicle on her left and asked, “Where can I get coffee from?”

The boy looked up and beamed at her. “The refreshment room is on the right of the cubicle twenty.” 

“Thanks,” she said quietly. She needed a coffee and had to go to the tenth floor. Collecting her wallet from the purse, she ambled to that place. A vending machine was installed there. She fed five dollars to it, took out a can, left the room cat-like and walked to the elevator. There was no one present there thankfully. She went to the tenth floor. She stepped out in the aisle that led to the office. However as soon as she looked up towards the office, she saw Rick through the glassdoor talking to a man while walking in her direction. Her hands trembled. She clutched her skirt. Panicky, Dawn immediately took an about-turn and walked back the elevators. She had to go back to her office. 

— 

The meeting continued for the next two hours, in which Daryn forced himself to not show his anxiety. He would listen to the business delegates and then suddenly he would find himself wondering what she must be doing. His whole body prickled with all the restraints he was forced upon himself. As soon as the delegates left, Daryn jumped up to his feet and walked out of the office. 

Reyna shot a shocker at him and said, “Sir, you have a meeting with Mr. Neal Perry and Mr. Caleb. They have identified the workers whose performance had gone down.”

Daryn couldn’t wait for a minute now, let alone for the meeting. “Tell them that I will be thirty minutes late,” he said curtly. Or may not even join. His wolf wanted to be there with her, to see her. He stepped into his private elevator and pressed the button to the first floor in a hurry. Cursing himself, he punched the seventh floor button. Impatiently, he waited to reach it when suddenly his door opened at the tenth floor. He almost growled at who even dared to think of using his elevator and prevented him from going down his prey. The metal elevator strained against the wires and stopped. The door opened with a ‘ting’ and what he saw in front of him, made his knees go wobbly. Dawn was standing there. She stared right into his face. 

This had to be her worst day. She was escaping from Rick and fell right into the arms of the devil himself. Daryn was in the elevator. She stumbled back. “Shit!” she muttered under her breath. His shirt buttons were open till his chest and she could clearly see the tattooed moon. His shirt outlined a muscle of his chest. His smell filled her nostrils. She gulped. He looked like a predator. 

She pressed her lips hard. What do I do? Her eyes darted to her right at Rick. He was still walking in her direction. She was about to get caught and he might become suspicious. Without thinking much, she darted inside and the elevator’s door closed. 

Not believing his luck, Daryn moved to the side to make room for her. He was alone with her. His breath stopped and his cock hardened thinking what it would be like to have her thrown against the wall.

“G- good morn- morning,” Dawn stuttered. She was in the lift with the big, bad CEO of the Silver House. Could anything worse happen? This was one thing she wanted to avoid like plague and this was what happened – he knew of her presence in his Company. She cursed Azura internally. Why the hell did she agree to this deed?

She anticipated sparks, a red face and mockery and going to jail. Grabbing the rail, she backed a little, thinking about what could happen. Her breathing became ragged. Her heart slammed against the ribcage as she continued to stare at the werewolf. Her plan had failed even before it started. 

The elevator didn’t stop at the seventh floor. 

Her phone pinged.