Chapter 2

Hired into Chaos

“Are you kidding me?” Augusto asked, narrowing his green eyes in pure suspicion.

Eloise crossed her legs, maintaining her impeccable posture. Her dress brushed lightly against the exposed skin of her thighs, and she knew he had noticed, even if he pretended to be made of stone.

“Not at all,” she replied. “I’ve read everything about your company. I know your meeting schedule, and I know you fired your last secretary for serving your coffee with sugar instead of sweetener. And yet, here I am. This isn’t a joke. It’s courage.”

Augusto rose from his chair. Imposing at six foot three, he was pure masculine tension. His tailored black suit molded perfectly to his powerful body, and his penetrating gaze fixed on Eloise as though he could strip away not only her clothes, but every defense she had built around herself.

“Courage can easily be mistaken for insolence,” he said, walking around the desk until he stood directly in front of her.

Eloise rose as well. She was shorter than him, but she never looked away.

She never did.

“Insolence is what you call humanity. I’m simply honest, Mr. Monteiro. You should try it sometime.”

Silence.

A cynical smile curved his lips.

“You’ve gone too far. You’re hired.”

“What?”

“Since you’re so determined to prove you’re different, this is your chance. Be here tomorrow at eight. And don’t be late.”

“I’m never late,” she replied with a defiant little smile.

Augusto walked toward the window, turning his back to her while somehow continuing to dominate the entire room.

“One more thing, Miss Nogueira… I don’t get involved with my employees.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Lucky for you. I don’t get involved with men like you.”

Augusto spun around sharply.

But before he could say anything, Eloise had already left the office.

The sound of her heels echoed down the hallway.

As soon as she passed through the lobby and felt the wind against her face, the defiant confidence she had displayed inside began to fade.

Her steps remained steady, but her stomach twisted with anxiety.

Maybe I went too far… she thought, biting the corner of her lip. But I needed him to notice me.

She had sent résumés everywhere. She had accepted temporary jobs, rejected indecent propositions, and done whatever she could to survive.

But now… her father was getting worse.

His medication was expensive, the rent was overdue, and the burden of keeping everything together rested entirely on her shoulders.

She would not beg for a job.

She had never been the kind of woman who flattered people to get what she wanted.

Quite the opposite.

She preferred to provoke. To unsettle. To make people notice her for exactly who she was—intense, honest, and courageous.

And if she had to face Augusto Monteiro to save what remained of her shattered life… then so be it.

But deep down, something inside her trembled.

Perhaps it wasn’t because of the job.

Perhaps… it was because of him.

⸻

High above the city, on the top floor, Augusto stared at the glittering skyline.

The glass reflected the silhouette of a man who had everything: money, power, fame. An empire built through cold calculation, relentless discipline, and absolutely no room for emotion.

But there was something his reflection did not reveal.

An emptiness.

A name he refused to speak.

A face he tried not to remember.

A taste that still burned in his memory, even after all these years.

I swore I would never let anyone deceive me again.

The scar still ached.

And the arrival of that bold woman, with her defiant eyes and untamable spirit, had stirred something he believed he had buried long ago.

“Damn luck,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes. “Or maybe it’s a curse…”

Eloise Nogueira had just entered his world.

And he had a feeling she wouldn’t leave it unscathed.

Neither would he.