Opposing counsels

The tension inside Blackwood & Vale lingered long after Roman Ellis walked through the doors.

Vivian could still feel it hours later.

It sat in the air like smoke after a fire — invisible but impossible to ignore.

From her desk outside Damien Blackwood’s office, she watched associates move carefully through the litigation floor, their voices lower than usual, their movements quicker whenever Damien stepped out of his office.

Nobody wanted his attention on a normal day.

Today was worse.

Because Roman Ellis had managed to do something very few people ever accomplished within the walls of this firm.

He irritated Damien Blackwood.

Personally.

Vivian glanced toward the glass office where Damien stood on a call near the windows overlooking Manhattan. His back faced the room, broad shoulders tense beneath a charcoal suit jacket while one hand loosened the knot of his tie slightly.

That alone told her enough.

Damien never loosened his tie before six.

“You’re staring.”

Vivian looked up sharply to find Chloe Bennett leaning against her desk holding two coffee cups.

“I’m working,” Vivian replied.

Chloe handed her one anyway.

“You only look that focused when you’re stressed.”

“I’m always stressed.”

“Fair point.”

Vivian accepted the coffee with a quiet sigh while Chloe lowered her voice conspiratorially.

“So.”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”

“You were going to ask about Roman Ellis.”

Chloe looked offended.

“Well now I definitely am.”

Vivian tried ignoring her, opening the Morrison case files again.

It didn’t work.

“Is he really as ruthless as people say?” Chloe asked.

“Yes.”

“And rich?”

“Very.”

“And unfortunately attractive?”

Vivian took a slow sip of coffee.

“That’s irrelevant.”

Chloe nearly choked on her own drink.

“Oh my God. That means yes.”

Before Vivian could respond, Damien’s office doors opened.

The entire floor straightened instinctively.

Damien walked out with effortless authority, sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms again, expression unreadable as his eyes moved directly toward Vivian.

Not Chloe.

Vivian.

“Conference room. Five minutes.”

Then he disappeared down the hallway.

Chloe stared after him dramatically.

“You know,” she whispered, “one day he’s either going to marry you or ruin your life.”

Vivian nearly inhaled coffee the wrong way.

“Neither of those things are happening.”

“Mm-hm.”

Chloe walked away unconvinced.

Vivian gathered her files quickly before heading toward the main conference room, mentally preparing herself for another brutal strategy meeting.

Inside, several senior attorneys were already seated around the long black table, laptops open, tension visible across exhausted faces.

Damien stood near the screen at the front of the room.

Waiting.

The conversations stopped immediately when Vivian entered.

Not because of her.

Because Damien’s attention shifted toward her the second she walked in.

“Sit,” he said simply.

She took the seat directly beside him.

Unfortunately, that seat always felt hotter than the others.

Damien pressed a button on the remote in his hand, projecting financial reports across the screen.

“Morrison Holdings is preparing for litigation,” he began. “Ellis is positioning them aggressively, which means they’re expecting us to settle.”

One of the senior associates frowned.

“Will we?”

Damien’s expression remained calm.

“No.”

The room fell silent.

Vivian watched him carefully while he spoke.

This was the version of Damien Blackwood the legal world feared.

Sharp.

Composed.

Untouchable.

Every word precise.

Every movement deliberate.

He dismantled opponents with the same calm efficiency other people used to organize paperwork.

“And if Ellis pushes public exposure?” another attorney asked cautiously.

“Then we bury him in procedure before he gets near a courtroom.”

The confidence in his voice should’ve sounded arrogant.

Instead, it sounded inevitable.

Damien turned slightly toward Vivian.

“I want a complete review of Ellis’s previous litigation strategies.”

“I already started.”

His gaze lingered for half a second too long.

“I know.”

Something strange tightened in her chest.

Damien trusted very few people.

But when it came to work, he trusted her completely.

And somehow that felt more intimate than it should.

The meeting lasted another hour before finally ending.

One by one, the attorneys filtered out until only Vivian and Damien remained inside the conference room.

Silence settled heavily between them.

Vivian organized her files carefully.

“You antagonized Ellis today,” she said without looking up.

Damien leaned against the edge of the table.

“He antagonized me first.”

“You could’ve refused the meeting professionally.”

“I did.”

“You threatened him professionally.”

“That too.”

Despite herself, Vivian smiled faintly.

Damien noticed immediately.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“There it is again.”

She looked up. “What?”

“That look.”

“What look?”

“The one that appears right before you decide I’m being unreasonable.”

“You are being unreasonable.”

A pause.

Then, unexpectedly:

“You still stayed.”

The words caught her off guard.

Vivian looked at him fully then.

Damien’s expression remained composed, but something quieter existed beneath it tonight. Fatigue, maybe.

Or something worse.

For a moment, neither spoke.

The city lights reflected softly against the conference room glass around them, rain streaking down the windows behind Damien’s silhouette.

Too close, Vivian thought suddenly.

Everything about this felt too close.

She stepped back first.

“You have dinner with the Harrington board at eight,” she said professionally.

Damien’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

And there it was again.

That strange disappointment she occasionally saw whenever she created distance between them.

Before either could say another word, Vivian’s phone buzzed in her hand.

Unknown number.

She frowned slightly before answering.

“Vivian Cole speaking.”

“Good evening, Ms. Cole.”

Roman Ellis.

Her posture stiffened instantly.

Across the room, Damien noticed immediately.

And watched her carefully.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Roman continued smoothly.

“How did you get this number?”

“I have excellent researchers.”

Vivian walked toward the far side of the room instinctively.

“That’s mildly concerning.”

Roman laughed softly.

The sound was warm.

Easy.

Dangerously charming.

“I actually called for a professional reason.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’d like to request several Morrison documents your firm hasn’t released yet.”

“That request should go through legal channels.”

“It already did.”

“And?”

“And your boss rejected it in under four minutes.”

Vivian closed her eyes briefly.

That sounded exactly like Damien.

“Then I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do.”

“Maybe not professionally.”

Her brows pulled together slightly.

Across the room, Damien’s expression darkened.

He couldn’t hear Roman’s voice.

But he could read Vivian well enough to know the conversation wasn’t ordinary.

Roman continued.

“Tell me something honestly, Vivian.”

The use of her first name felt intentional.

Careful.

Calculated.

“Yes?”

“Is Damien Blackwood always this impossible…”

A pause.

“…or does he save the worst of himself for me?”

Vivian glanced up instinctively.

Directly into Damien’s eyes.

And somehow, standing there between one man on the phone and another watching her silently from across the room, she felt something dangerous begin shifting beneath the surface of her carefully controlled life.

Something complicated.

Something that already felt impossible to stop.

She knew what it was, but can't quite admit it yet.

"Well, every man has his own ways" she answered carefully.

"As expected, you wouldn't give your boss away that easily" he said

"Anyway, I'll keep in touch" he continued before ending the call.