Chapter Text
The first thing that Liona Evernight watched as she entered his office was silence. She felt it in every bone of her body. It was how the receptionist pressed the keys on her laptop, to the usual whispers of office workers, and how mechanically the elevators shut. Everything here felt in control of no one but the eldest CEO of Blackstone Meridian.
She swiftly made her way to the elevator, ignoring the polished white tiles and potted indoor plants on her way. Her index finger pressed the 21st floor button, and she was dragged to the floor by the machine.
Even before she could knock on his door, a voice came in - “Come in.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear and came face-to-face with the infamous CEO. He sat on the chair, as if he didn’t demand any attention. It was attention itself that craved him. Neat, expensive Saint Laurent suit embodied him. His set up soft hair fell on his forehead. With sharp features and obsidian eyes, he looked at her in a way that could instantly make your spine shiver if you had ever done anything wrong to him. Even sitting down didn’t make him look smaller. If anything, the chair made him look more controllable.
“Liona Evernight, sir,” she bowed a little, keeping her CV on his table.
“Sit,” he commanded with his iciness.
Liona could tell by the way he was flipping through the pages of her CV that he wasn’t just reading it. Out of the corner of his eye, he was watching her every move. That’s why they called him The Demian Vinci
“Impressive,” he said. It was his way of talking. Short sentences, not too much smile. He was not a guy for long talks. “You are starting today. You are already an hour early. I like it. However, here’s the question: why did you decide to work for me? I know you have already answered this question in your interview, but I want to hear it for myself.”
“To build up my career, and to-,”
“Don’t hide anything, darling,” he smirked.
Liona widened her eyes, knowing that her cover was about to be pulled up.
“Sir, I think you are misunderstanding, I-”
“You’re choosing your words too carefully. Intelligent women do not work here,” he said, putting my CV on his table, instead of slamming it.
“I am not afraid of difficult work,” she said.
“You should be,” he said, warning her.
Liona analysed him longer. The files described how cold, manipulative and fearful he was, but all the files failed to describe how it felt to sit in front of this observant man. By the ripe age of 28, he was like this.
“That confidence,” he spoke again. “Do you practice it every day in front of the mirror?”
“It comes naturally, because I believe what I am doing.”
“Good answer,” he said, leaning back into his chair. “I don’t care about degrees, Liona. The people who work for me are either very loyal or just too afraid. What are you, Liona?” he questioned.
“A diligent employee,” she answered back. She was neither a loyal puppy nor a woman who feared powerful men like him.
“Define loyalty, Miss Evernight.”
“Loyalty means not to ask unnecessary questions,” she began, taking a moment to choose her words carefully. “It means staying inspite of having no hope to thrive for your purpose.”
“Judging your answer, I think you already know this isn’t just a normal company,” he smirked.
“Every powerful place has secrets,” she answered back.
For the first time, he heard his rich chuckle. It felt good, intimidating in a way. She understood that Demian Vinci had found her new interest, and it was her, his new Assistant, Liona Evernight.
“You’re more interesting than the last 189 persons who last sat on this chair.”
Liona did not ask questions, and at that very moment, Demian realised that Liona Evernight was something else. She wasn’t here to just work for him. And strangely, Demian wanted to keep her close.
“I’m looking forward to working with you, Evernight. I wish your enterprise to thrive well,” he smirked, walking out of his room, nodding. It was a message to her that he knew.
The Government was not spying on him; it was he playing with them, and Liona Evernight had a mission. A mission born out of the finest flames of the phoenix, and she would accomplish it by burning him. There wasn’t any or or either. She was determined to win.
Liona spent most of her day seeking help from other staff to settle in. She arranged her desk - stacks of purple pens in a red cup. Sticky notes on the white board, some had motivational quotes, and others had short notes from her boss’s personal schedules. Demian had sophisticated tastes: only 1.5 cubes of sugar in his Black Ivory Coffee. He maintained a strict lunch schedule, which contained rice with roasted chicken breast and yoghurt.
Demian Vinci had left the office earlier that day. Taking advantage of this situation, she began executing her mission. With the excuse of work, she stayed till 11 o’clock and moved swiftly to the control room. The guards outside were vulnerable and tired. She put on her black suit dress with a mask, and sprayed a chemical sedative on them.
She entered the room, scaring the employees. Her eyes fell upon a brave young man whose hand climbed up the wall beside to reach for a red button. Without a second thought, she first sprayed the chemical on the man’s face and then inside the room.
After a while, she sat in front of the main computer, and with her expertise in coding skills, she hacked into his system. She embedded viruses that could give information about his illegal dealings to the government. She had full trust in the Cyber department. She did not need to worry about getting caught, as it was impossible.
She climbed the second step of her mission smoothly. Maybe her first step, which was meeting Demian Vinci, was full of suspicions, but she had shown her best performance on the second one.
Before leaving, she made sure to spray the healing medicine on each member. They would wake up having no memory of what happened. She had cleared the CCTV footage and made sure to leave no mark of her, not even a single strand of her hair.
It was 2 a.m. when she walked with weary steps towards her apartment. To her surprise, the flat opposite hers, which had been vacant for nearly two years, had a resident now. It was a young man whom she found testing out the keys of the lock of the main door. A couple of cute kuromi keychains hung from his pocket, which was a contrast to his sharp, tattooed hands.
Her eyes trailed down his hand. Liona Evernight was always searching for mystery and hidden cryptic messages. Tattooed men were either very dangerous or incredibly stupid. It is always either of the two, neither something in between. She had always enjoyed playing the Detective. But who knew that she wasn’t the prey this time?
“Anything wrong, miss?” the young man asked, finally straightening his spine and looking up at her.
She struggled hard to control the red hue spreading on her cheeks. The man standing in front of her had a dual feature. On the upper side, he was nothing but a cute boba ball with sparkling eyes and mischief adorning his lips. The faint scar on his left cheek made him look sharp.
However, as someone's eyes scanned below the neck area, their brain would give them only one adjective and a noun to describe him: gym rat.
He was powerfully built with abs visible from his sticky and sweaty white t-shirt. The buttons fought for their lives. The sleeves ran out of their breathe to fit onto his biceps.
“Well…,” she was confused about what to say. She could not give him the impression that she was a creep, staring at him like she hadn’t seen a shirtless man before. Quit that, she actually hasn’t… yet. “I am Liona Evernight. I stay on the flat just opposite to yours,” she extended her hand towards him for a shake.
“My my… have I become a beast?” he asked, shaking her hand. Looking at her confused look, he clarified, saying, “I never knew a Beauty would be my neighbour,” he laughed.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t try. I’m a tough nut to crack.”
“Who said about trying? I already know I won,” he laughed, entering his flat. “Goodnight…”, his eyes looked at the name plate placed beside her door. “Liona Evernight,” he smirked, closing the door.
On entering her bedroom, she let out a breath of relief. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the two incredibly dashing men she had met today.
Maybe her life wasn’t bad at all…