Chapter 4: Rested

Chapter 4: Rested

Damien's POV

Damien hated mornings.

For the past three years, waking up had felt less like rest and more like surviving another night. Most mornings came with a migraine clawing behind his eyes, half-finished whiskey, wine and pills prescribed by his doctors discarded on the bedside table, and enough exhaustion to make even breathing feel irritating.

Today felt wrong.

The elevator doors opened onto the executive floor of Voss Industries and the receptionist nearly dropped her tablet.

“G-good morning, Mr Voss.”

Damien barely glanced at her. “Morning.”

The poor girl looked startled enough by the response that his brows creased.

Interesting.

Usually by 8AM someone or something would have irritated him and ruined his mood enough to deserve termination.

Today the constant pressure inside his skull was gone. Not reduced or fogged but Gone.

And that should've raised more concerns 

He walked past rows of glass offices and tense employees, adjusting the cuff of his black suit while fragments of last night replayed in his mind against his will.

Warm skin.

Lavender.

Strawberries.

The slow rhythm of breathing against his chest.

His jaw tightened.

Annoying and slightly flustered.

He stepped into the conference room precisely at eight-thirty. Every executive at the table straightened instantly.

Elias sat near the far end with a tablet in his hands. Their eyes met briefly and Damien noticed the exact moment his assistant knew.

He looks rested.

“Begin,” Damien said calmly, taking his seat at the head of the table.

The meeting started.

Quarterly projections

Profit margins.                                                                                                                                         

Pending acquisitions.

Normally these meetings dissolved into someone disappointing in one way or another within the first twenty minutes.

Today he simply listened.

Which somehow made the room more tensed

Halfway through a financial presentation, Damien realized something else.

His hands weren't shaking, normally by this time he would've drank his eigth cup of coffee to starve off the exhaustion.

The discovery distracted him long enough that he completely missed part of the report.

“…and the investors from Singapore are requesting confirmation before Friday,” one executive finished nervously.

“Fine,” Damien replied absentmindedly.

Silence.

Several people blinked.

No yelling.

No threats.

No public humiliation.

Elias lowered his eyes slightly, hiding what looked suspiciously like disbelief.

Damien noticed.

Unfortunately.

“Is there something amusing, Elias?”

“No sir.”

“Then why do you look confused?”

A dangerous question in any other circumstance.

Elias chose his answer carefully. “You seem to be in a better mood today.”

The room went still.

Nobody breathed.

Damien leaned back slightly in his chair. “Are you all so accustomed to incompetence that basic professionalism now surprises you?”

Immediate panic.

Several executives started speaking at once.

“No sir....”

“Of course not......”

“We didn't mean.....”

“Enough.”

Silence dropped again instantly.

Damien exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Strange.

Usually by now irritation and annoyance would've already started creeping beneath his skin, making him lash out at anyone, Instead there was only… quiet.

Not peace exactly.

But close enough to make him uneasy.

The meeting ended forty minutes later with everyone escaping the conference room faster than necessary.

Everyone except Elias.

The door clicked shut behind the last executive.

Silence settled between them.

Damien continued reading through a report without looking up. “you can speak now Elias .”

Elias hesitated.

Then:

“Liora said you slept.”

There it was.

Not accusation.

Not judgment.

Concern for his sister was obvious in his tone.

Damien placed the report down slowly.

“I did.”

Elias nodded once, though tension still sat visibly in his shoulders. “And this arrangement is still… working?”

The word arrangement sounded careful.

Too careful.

Damien's expression cooled slightly. “You seem overly interested in my personal affairs.”

“With all due respect sir, my sister is involved in your personal affairs.”

Touche and fair.

And Damien disliked that it was fair.

“She signed the contract willingly.”

Elias looked like he wanted to argue with the word willingly but thought better of it.

Smart man.

Instead he said quietly, “Liora doesn't complain much. Even when she should.”

Something uncomfortable twisted briefly in Damien’s chest before disappearing just as quickly.

He ignored it.

“She'll be compensated exactly as agreed,” Damien replied flatly. “And whatever exists between your sister and I stays outside this office. No discussions with staff. No gossip. No speculation. do you understand”

“Understood.”

Damien picked up another file, signaling the conversation was over.

Elias turned toward the door before pausing.

“She looked exhausted this morning.”

The words lingered after he left.

Damien stared down at the paperwork in front of him without actually seeing any of it.

Exhausted.

He remembered the stiffness in her body during the night. The way she'd stayed rigid even half asleep, like relaxing around him would somehow be dangerous.

A faint irritation moved through him.

Not at her.

At himself.

This arrangement was supposed to solve one problem, not create new ones.

His gaze shifted unconsciously towards his wrist, checking the time unconsiously.

Even now, if he focused enough, he could still catch the faintest trace of lavender lingering there.

He shook his head, it was basically impossible for him to still smell her.

His chest tightened unexpectedly.

By noon Damien had checked the time six separate times.

By three, he'd rescheduled a dinner meeting he'd attended every Thursday for the past four years.

By six-thirty he was already leaving the office.

Elias noticed immediately.

“So early sir? we still have that meeting with......” he asked 

Damien slipped on his coat smoothly. “you can reschedule it till tomorrow ”

“ The Board meeting at nine. Investor call at eleven.”

“Move the investor call.”

Elias blinked. “To when?”

“Earlier.”

There was a brief pause.

Then realization crossed Elias's face slowly enough to be almost painful.

Damien was reorganizing his schedule, something that he had never done before,  the Damien Voss he knew could work throughout the entire night. and now he was slowly changing his routine to accommodate Liora.

Damien saw the exact second his assistant understood that.

Neither man acknowledged it.

“Goodnight, Elias.”

“Goodnight, sir.”

The drive home felt longer than usual.

Not because of traffic.

Because for the first time in years, Damien found himself anticipating something.

No.

Someone.

And that realization was far more dangerous than insomnia had ever been.