Chapter 9: The First Clash (Sienna)

I approached quietly, my boots making no sound on the heavy runner rug. As I reached the entrance, the smell hit me first: the sharp, metallic scent of fresh sweat, hot rubber, and raw adrenaline. I carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The private gym was absolute carnage.

Heavy steel dumbells were scattered like fallen artillery across the rubberized mats. A massive squat rack leaned at an unnatural angle, its primary support frame bent from where a bar loaded with massive weight plates had been violently thrown against it. Shards of a broken full-length mirror glinted across the floor, catching the fluorescent lighting like jagged teeth.

And in the center of the destruction stood Jaxson.

He was drenched in sweat, his dark hair plastered to his forehead, his chest heaving with deep, ragged gulps of air. He wore only a thin gray tank top and dark athletic shorts, exposing the thick brace strapped around his right knee a knee his surgeons had explicitly warned would be permanently ruined if he put heavy pressure on it before full recovery.

Yet there he was,his face was contorted in a grimace of pure agony, his jaw clenching so hard sweat poured down his spine, soaking through his shirt. He was attempting to push a stack of plates using his injured leg, his body trembling violently under the impossible load. A sickening, wet pop sound came from his joint as his leg wobbled, threatening to buckle entirely.

"Jaxson, stop " The words tore from my throat before I could stop them.

I moved forward, ignoring the danger of the broken glass beneath my shoes. I grabbed the emergency safety pin on the rack and slammed it into place just as his leg gave out completely. The iron plates crashed down onto the safety bars with a loud metallic sound, locking the weight an inch from crushing his leg.

Jaxson collapsed backward against the padded bench, clutching his right knee with both hands. A low, gut-wrenching groan escaped his lips, his head falling back against the leather as he fought the searing wave of pain. Sweat dripped off his jawline onto his chest.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was his heavy breathing. I stood over him, my hands still gripping the cold steel frame of the machine, my own chest heaving as adrenaline surged through my veins.

Then, his eyes opened.

They were dark, storm-tossed, and filled with a cold, terrifying rage. He looked up at me, not with relief, but with absolute hate. The calmness that had flashed across his face vanished into pains.

"Who the hell gave you permission to come up here?" His voice was raspy, and calm.

I took a deliberate step back, forcing myself to absolute calmness. I smoothed down the lines of my clothe,with panic. I couldn't let him see me shake. If he saw weakness, he would tear me apart.

"The front door was unlocked," I replied smoothly, keeping my voice steady, even, and thoroughly professional. "And considering the noise you were making down here, I thought someone was being murdered."

Jaxson let out a harsh, bitter laugh that held no humor at all. He gripped the edges of the bench and forced his upper body upright. Every movement was clearly agony, but he refused to show it, grimacing as he unbuckled the knee brace with aggressive,unsteady moves. His hands were filled with blood , the knuckles bleeding from where he had struck the iron earlier.

"You shouldn't have come, Sienna," he growled, swinging his legs around to sit on the edge of the bench. He didn't look up as he spoke, his fingers tightly massaging the inflamed tissue around his kneecap. "You have no business here. None."

"I have every business being here," I said, stepping closer despite the dark energy coming from him. "Your board of directors are panicking. The stocks dropped four points after news broke of your sudden disappearance. You left the firm without a managing lead during the most critical merger of the decade, Jaxson. I drove three hours through a blizzard because someone needs to handle the fallout before everything you built collapses."

Jaxson’s hands stilled on his knee,painfully, he slowly rose to his full height. He towered over me, a dark shadow cast across the bright lights of the gym,looking straight into my eyes.

"You think I care about the board?" he sneered, leaning down until his eyes were level with mine. "You think I give a damn about four stock points?"

"You used to," I retorted, standing my ground without flinching.

"You built that firm from nothing. You don't get to burn it to the ground just because you're having a breakdown in your glass castle."

His dark eyes flashed with a dangerous light. A cold, cruel smile curved his lips, though it never reached his eyes.

"Always so logical. Always so dedicated to the company," he whispered, his tone dripping with mockery. He took another step forward, forcing me back against the frame of the cable machine. "Tell me, Sienna... did my dear uncle draft that speech for you before he left town?

Did Arthur script every single line, or did you improvise the part about my breakdown?"

My breath caught in my chest, but I kept my face utterly blank. "This has nothing to do with Arthur."

"Doesn't it?" Jaxson sneered, leaning in closer, his voice dropping to a icy murmur that sent a chill straight down my spine. "You think I'm blind? I know why you're really here. You aren't here to save me, Sienna.

You're here because Arthur sent his favorite little spy to check if I'm finally broken beyond repair. He wants to know if I'm incapacitated so he can execute his buyout."

"That is not true, and you know it," I said, my voice cutting through the space between us like a scalpel. "I came here on my own. I came here because despite your intolerable behavior, I actually care about preserving what you worked for "

"Lies," he spat, the word slicing through the air like a blade. He gripped the edge of the steel machine beside my head, trapping me between his arm. "You’ve been on his payroll since day one you came in here. Your work was to come and fix my knee but you suddenly started being an eye to another man.

"I have spent the last two years protecting this my empire from his crash" l snapped, as anger flared in my chest. "I covered for your mistakes, I only came here to fix your broken knee,but here I am trying to fix your entire life.

Jaxson stared at me, for a second,i saw hesitation in his eyes, a shadow of the man who never trusted me.

Then,his expression turned to stone.

"Get out," he said softly.

"Jaxson"

"Get out of my house, Sienna," he repeated, his voice , trembling with an unspoken rage that promised total destruction if pushed further. He pulled back, turning his back on me as he grabbed a towel from the floor to wipe his bloody knuckles.