Chapter 1
When their eyes met, Emily was transfixed. Her heart sped up. It became harder to breathe. Her eyes, her entire body, were no longer under her control. She was shocked but somehow not surprised. She felt cracked open, too exposed, too out of control.
She hadn’t felt this way about anyone before. But the man in front of her wasn’t just anyone. He was the thorn in her side, the bright red light that guided all her actions, the bane of her existence. He was the love she regretted and the memory she’d give everything to get rid of.
He was Sebastian Raux.
Emily couldn’t believe what her life had come to. Working with her mortal enemy? The guy she planned on never even sharing a city with will now be in her office all the time? Invading her sanctuary, her escape, her life?
What even was the point of being the CEO’s daughter if she couldn’t block the hiring of the devil personified? But her father straight up refused to hear anything against Sebastian’s hiring. She hated and loved her father for being fair, never letting Emily take her massive privilege lightly.
But today? Today, she was angry, angrier than the day she prepared a presentation for her father on why hiring the backstabbing coward was a bad idea. The first ten slides were dedicated to how he was a traitor and an abandoner. Her father had laughed through the entire thing.
Emily’s blood boiled as Sebastian made his way towards the makeshift center stage in the main hall. The light comingin from the open glass wall on one side made him look almost regal, an angel taking his place in heaven. She should discuss keeping the sunlight blocked to avoid any future deception.
She watched Sebastian move casually through the halls, covered in pictures of the team from different events. His intense eyes never strayed from her face for more than a few seconds as he greeted everyone on the way like a celebrity. His blue pants and jacket brought out his eyes. The missing tie, his sharp jaws, and carefully curated bed hair did not make his gaze softer.
Emily’s hair falling on her face suddenly felt too annoying, so she pulled it behind her ear. When that wasn’t enough, she put it in a bun over her head. She folded her hands in front of her chest to stop herself from messing with her hair more. What did she normally do with her hands?
Sebastian’s eyes didn’t let up. Then slowly, as if this entire situation was the most amusing thing in the world, he smiled. His entire face changed into the carefree, safe boy Emily once knew.
Her hands fell back to her sides. But she couldn’t help notice the dimple that popped on his right cheek. A new addition that reminded her she didn’t know or trust the person in front of her.
“I don’t think I can even begin to find words for how happy I am to be joining you guys here,” he addressed everyone, holding his gaze a second too long at Emily, his smile never wavering.
“When Emily and I were interns here, working side by side as Senior Marketing Managers was literally our dream,” he continued, completely unbothered by everyone’s eyes shifting to Emily or by Emily’s heart growing heavier by the second, like something was crushing her.
“It’ll be a pleasure to take this company to new heights with my best friend and the prolific leader she has grown into,” he said.
Applause broke around them, and people were looking at Sebastian like he was God’s gift to the world. How could they not tell how full of shit he and his speech were? Was her team not smart? Did she need to make some staff changes? Then, she remembered how Sebastian had successfully conned her for years, too, memories floating through her head like a slideshow. Yeah, her team was fine. It was Sebastian’s charm that was deceptive.
Because he was wrong. This was not the same place anymore. Emily had made sure of that. Slowly but steadily, she had changed everything. It wasn’t easy. She couldn’t just ask her father to shell out for a renovation, so she was sneaky. She changed small details, the colors of the walls, the signs on the doors, and the art on the walls. She made this place, not just home for her, but for everyone who worked here.
Now, it was laid bare to the enemy.
But Emily was a professional, so when Sebastian finally got around to standing in front of her after personally greeting his adoring audience, she put on the fakest smile.
Inside, she wanted to scream, but she shook his hand, her skin burning at every place they touched. “It’s nice to have you on the team, Mr. Raux,” she said politely. When she tried to take her hand back, he tightened his grip.
“Is it?” he asked and winked before letting her hand go.
Emily opened her mouth, but no words came out. Yes, they were not friends anymore, definitely not the ‘best friends’ he had proudly proclaimed. But they were going to work pretty closely for the foreseeable future, seeing as her father had literally laughed off her complaints. The least they could do was pretend to be polite.
All she felt was anger, and it was a good thing she’d forgotten words because she couldn’t go off on him here. It wouldn’t just give him the reaction he was clearly angling for, but also give her gossip-hound team something to be annoying about for at least a couple of years. She was still paying for the pancake incident at the team brunch last year.
So, Emily just turned around and gestured to Candace to join them. “Mr. Raux, this is Candace. She’ll guide you with everything you need to get started.” She introduced them like the professional she was.
“Oh, I was hoping you’d at least give me a tour before we get to work,” Sebastian had the audacity to say.
“Well, sorry to disappoint. I have work to get to,” she snapped, still keeping the smile on. “I’ll see you around,” she said and left before Seb could come up with more outrageous demands.
Sebastian, not Seb! She meant Sebastian.
Emily kept herself busy throughout the day and didn’t let herself think at all. Not about how her entire life was a warzone right now. Not about how her heart was breaking all over again because of a man who didn’t seem to care that he broke it the first time around. Not about how underprepared she was for all of it.
No, her entire mind was singlemindedly focused on the budget in front of her.
Wait, where was the budget? Right, she had moved on to checking the social media calendar already!
