CHAPTER THREE: A DANGEROUS ATTRACTION

“Won’t you come in?”

Damian glanced at the house, then back at me.

“No.”

I smiled. “Why? Are you afraid of meeting my family?”

“It’s late, Ms. Pierce. A strange man showing up at your house at this hour might give your neighbours something to gossip about.”

I laughed softly.

“I wanted you to say hello to my son. His name is Sab.”

Something shifted in his expression, but it disappeared almost immediately.

“Perhaps another time. I’ll see you tomorrow, and we will discuss the $250 million you blackmailed me into supposedly promising.”

I sighed. “You’re not going to make anything easy for me, are you?”

“Should I?”

“Forget it. I’m going inside. I have a little boy waiting for me.”

I reached for the door handle, but he called my attention.

“Ms. Pierce.”

I turned.

He pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to me.

“This is my direct number. Call me if you need to get in touch.”

I examined the card.

“Your direct number?”

“Yes. And it’s confidential. Don’t share it with anyone.”

I smiled mischievously. “So I can call whenever I want?”

He gave me a sideways glance through the rearview mirror.

“Goodnight, Ms. Pierce.”

Before I could say another word, he started the engine and drove away.

I stared after his car, wondering why a man who seemed to despise me had just given me his private number.

Perhaps Damian Kingston wasn’t as easy to understand as I thought.

“You’re not cooperating, Damian.”

Mr. Templeton paced around the office, visibly frustrated.

“I personally carried out extensive research on this woman. I gave you everything you needed to know. All you had to do was allow my team and me to handle the operation.”

Damian remained seated.

“You promised me you wouldn’t confront her.”

“I know what I promised.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

Damian looked out through the glass window.

“If our plans are exposed, we’re finished. Do you understand that?”

“It’s a calculated risk.”

Templeton stopped pacing.

“A calculated risk? You’re putting everything we’ve worked on in danger because of a woman you barely know?”

Damian said nothing.

“I think there’s more to Evelyn Pierce than we’ve discovered,” he finally replied. “Her circumstances are complicated, and I don’t believe she’s telling me everything.”

Templeton scoffed.

“She’s a nail technician, Damian. A nobody. Probably another gold digger looking for a wealthy man to exploit. Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.”

Damian turned towards him.

“I’m beginning to feel something for her.”

Templeton stared at him as though he had just announced the end of the world.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“How long have you known me?”

“Twenty years. Maybe twenty-one.”

“And in all those years, how many times have I ruined a strategic operation?”

“None,” Templeton admitted.

“Exactly.”

“But there’s always a first time. Please, be careful. You’re not dealing with an ordinary situation here.”

Damian leaned back.

“Neither am I an ordinary man.”

Templeton shook his head.

“That’s precisely what worries me.”

The state research laboratory was far from impressive.

Old equipment occupied several corners, while a handful of exhausted researchers worked behind their computers. The place looked nothing like the world-class facility that should have been at the forefront of fighting a deadly disease.

Mr. Russell, the head of the research team, was arguing with one of his colleagues when the elevator doors opened.

I stepped out.

His expression immediately changed.

“Ms. Evelyn? What are you doing here?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“That’s an interesting way to welcome someone.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you want from us.”

“From what I remember, you need money. Unless you’ve suddenly received enough funding to keep this laboratory running?”

He looked away.

“I’ll find a way.”

I sighed.

“Mr. Russell, the last time we spoke, you told me this laboratory might shut down within a month if you couldn’t secure proper funding. So please, don’t treat me like an enemy.”

“I can manage.”

“But can you?”

He rubbed his forehead.

“Ms. Evelyn, I know you’re desperate. I know what your son is going through. But whatever you’re doing to get Mr. Damian Kingston involved frightens me.”

I frowned.

“Why should Damian Kingston frighten you?”

“Because I know him.”

His answer came so quickly that I paused.

“You know him?”

“Very well.”

I looked around the laboratory.

“Then perhaps you should tell me what kind of man he really is.”

Mr. Russell hesitated.

“Most times, I’m not even sure I’m doing the right thing anymore,” I admitted. “But whenever I think about my son, everything else becomes less important.”

He studied me quietly.

“I understand your desperation. But desperation can make people do terrible things.”

I swallowed.

“I came here hoping we could talk about the research. Clearly, this isn’t the right time.”

I turned towards the elevator.

“Ms. Evelyn!”

I ignored him.

“Please, Ms. Evelyn. Don’t leave like this.”

But I kept walking.

He didn’t understand.

Nobody did.

It was easy to lecture a desperate mother about making the right decisions when you had a family to return to, children to embrace, and a life that wasn’t slowly falling apart.

I had Sebastian.

And I was running out of time.

The elevator doors were about to close when a hand stopped them.

I stepped back.

And then I saw him.

Damian Kingston.

My eyes widened.

What was he doing here?

He stepped into the elevator lobby, his gaze fixed on me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

“What are you doing here, Ms. Pierce?” he finally asked.

I folded my arms.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“Do you always answer questions with questions?”

“Only when people ask unnecessary ones.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“I see you’re still in a bad mood.”

“I’m always in a bad mood around rich people who think they can get whatever they want.”

His expression hardened slightly.

“I’m sorry.”

I blinked.

“Sorry?”

“Yes. I may have been too quick to judge you.”

I stared at him.

Was this really Damian Kingston apologising?

“You should be,” I replied.

He shook his head, almost amused.

“You always assume the worst about me.”

“And you always give me reasons to.”

He stepped closer.

For some reason, I suddenly became very conscious of how close we were standing.

His eyes held mine, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

He looked as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

Then his gaze dropped briefly to my lips.

My heartbeat quickened.

“Damian…”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached for my face, and before I could understand what was happening, his lips were on mine.

He kissed me.

I froze.

The billionaire who had spent days accusing me of manipulation was suddenly kissing me in the middle of a state research laboratory.

And the most frightening part?

For one brief moment, I forgot every reason I should have pushed him away.

But what would happen when Damian Kingston discovered that the woman he was beginning to desire was tangled in a conspiracy that could destroy everything he had built?