HIS OFFER

Dinner started quietly, it wasn’t awkward or forced like I had expected the initial minutes to be, it was just controlled.

Damien hadn’t rushed to speak the moment I sat down, instead, he had leaned over and poured me a glass of wine. His movements were smooth and natural, like a man who had obviously done this over a thousand times.

He slid the glass over to me. When he was done, I glanced down at the sparkling wine, but I didn’t touch it.

His lips curled slightly, “Cautious,” he noted with a nod.

Of course, I would be. The last time I had accepted a drink from an alpha, I had died. There was no way I was going to drink from the glass until I had watched him drink from his.

“I just prefer the word selective,” I replied,

That earned me a soft chuckle from his lips.

“That I can work with.”

He made a show of taking his own glass of wine and pouring it down with one massive gulp. I smiled, and it was only then that I picked up my glass and took a sip.

For a moment, neither of us spoke again. The night lights of the city stretched endlessly behind him, and I could tell he was watching me. Not openly, but he was measuring and accessing me.

When I was done with the first glass of wine, I picked up the menu, though I already knew what I wanted,

“Order whatever you want,” he said in a casual tone, “There’s absolutely nothing there that you can't have.”

I glanced up at him with raised brows, “You know, that sounds less like a suggestion and more like a statement,”

“Can’t it be both?” Damien asked, “After all, I do own the restaurant.”

My brows furrowed at that statement. I had not known that, not even in my past life. But it makes sense now how he was able to get the top floor of the largest restaurant in the city transformed in just a few hours.

I placed down the menu and ordered something simple. He followed immediately after, not even glancing at the menu as he spoke to the waitress. When the waitress left, the silence returned, but this time it was different, sharper.

Damien leaned back slightly in his chair, his fingers were resting lightly against the armrest as his gaze was locked onto mine.

“You have changed.” he said after a minute,

I didn’t flinch, I had expected someone to notice the difference in the way I was now acting, so I had an answer ready if anyone asked.

“You know you said that earlier, right?” I asked, taking a slow sip from my glass,

“And now that I am sitting across from you, I mean those words now more than ever.”

I held his gaze, “People change all the time,”

“Not like this though,” he said, shaking his head, “Not overnight.”

There was a pause as I stared blankly at him.

Then, he leaned forward and smiled,

“I heard you rejected Alpha Adrian today,” he continued, “Why? Most women would kill to get that proposal.”

I let out a sigh, but said nothing.

He took it as a hint that the topic was off limits, so he moved on.

“What I don’t understand though, is what you were doing at the trade center. And why were you asking questions about so many herbs?”

My fingers rested lightly on the table, “You checked up on what I was doing?” I asked,

“I have to be observant,” he replied with a shrug, “That is the hallmark of a good leader.”

I kept silent, so he asked again, “Can you tell me why?”

I leaned back slightly and crossed on leg over the other, “About Adrian, I rejected him for a simple reason.” I paused and looked into his eyes, “I don’t want him.”

That was it. There was no explanation or elaboration.

Damien was taken aback for a moment, then, he nodded and accepted the answer.

“Fair enough,” he replied,

I did not reply about what I was doing at the trade center, I was about to when our food arrived.

Damien shifted the conversation to surface level talk. The more we spoke, the more I realized he was really easy to talk to.

There was no pressure or expectations in the way he spoke. He did not try to dominate the conversation like most alphas I knew would. Instead, he subtly guided it. At some point during the meal, the topic shifted again, and he asked a question that made me freeze in place.

“What do you want, Nyssa?”

I took in a deep breath and looked up at him, “What do you mean?”

“I am asking about the long run,” he clarified, “Not tonight, not this week.” His gaze sharpened, “Tell me, what are your goals?”

That question lingered, not because I didn’t have an answer for it. I did, but because the answer I had was not one I could spill.

Instead, I tilted my head and gave him the best answer I could, “Independence,” I finally said,

His eyes flickered, and I could see interest being sparked in them,

“Independence from?” he asked,

“Everything,” I replied, “And profit too.”

That earned me a smile, “There it is,” he said, still smiling, “I wonder when you were going to talk about it.”

I studied him for a moment before beginning to speak,

“What would you say if I tell you I have exclusive information that one very important herb is going to be scarce in the next few months,” I began, my tone shifting, “And that I plan on stocking up on that herb before it happens, so I can make a profit.”

“How do you know that?” he asked, intrigued now as he leaned forward on his seat,

I shifted from his question without answering it, “I have already identified suppliers and weak points.” I continued, “You asked me what I want? What I want is to be able to control the market when that happens.”

His gaze didn’t leave mine, “So, what’s stopping you from doing that?” he asked,

“Capital,” I answered simply, “I have enough to start, but I do not have enough to dominate.”

Silence fell between us again, but this time, he was being focused.

“If what you are saying is true, and you are right, then this is not a small play.”

“No,” I agreed, “It isn’t.”

“It is risky,” he noted again,

“That’s if my information is wrong, and I am pretty sure it isn’t.”

Those words made him pause,

“You speak with so much certainty, it is a little unnerving.” he said quietly,

“Because I am certain,”

He studied me for a moment before smiling, “I can tell you are not just trying to make money,” he whispered, “You are building up to something, something bigger.”

I held his gaze, but said nothing. That was reply enough for him.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. Finally, he smiled,

“How about this,” Damien said with a calm voice, “How about I give you three million dollars to start?”