Snow on Warm Hands.
Several elite employees were gathered in the large boardroom, it was clear the company was holding a high level meeting. The executives were present, and everyone was on their best behavior.
Damien sat quietly, as usual, listening to the reports with a lazy, almost indifferent demeanor. Beside him, Eva sat upright, diligently jotting down every detail, fully focused and engaged.
Soon it was Eva's turn to give her presentation. She gently pushed her chair back and rose to her feet. Damien, who had been quietly observing from the corner of his eye, couldn't help but notice how put-together she looked today dressed in a crisp blue blouse and fitted white trousers. She looked every bit the professional.
Curious, and admittedly a bit bored, Damien glanced down to see what kind of shoes she was wearing, silently hoping she had ditched the torturous heels from before. But to his surprise, she was still wearing them. How foolish, he thought to himself. Still, he looked away, telling himself it wasn't his concern.
Until he saw it.
There, on the chair where she'd been sitting, was a faint red stain. And as she took a step forward toward the front of the room, his eyes caught a darker blotch seeping through the back of her white trousers.
Damien froze. His eyes widened slightly he recognized what it was immediately. He had a younger sister, after all.
Without thinking, he reached out and gently grabbed Eva's wrist, stopping her mid-step. "Wait," he said under his breath, his voice low but firm, laced with an urgency Eva couldn't yet understand.
"This meeting is adjourned," Damien announced abruptly, his voice slicing through the room.
A murmur of surprise rippled through the boardroom, but no one dared question him. The executives began to file out one after the other, glancing around in confusion but too professional or too afraid to linger.
Eva blinked, clearly bewildered. "Is something wrong, sir?"
Damien turned to her slowly, raising a brow.
"Is something wrong?" he echoed, his tone sharp with disbelief. "You really don't know?"
He exhaled harshly, running a hand through his hair before leaning in slightly, his voice low but cutting.
"You don't know where the problem is? I could say you are the first most scatterbrained, oblivious, human being I have ever met in my entire life. Always looking like you just rolled out of a cluttered storeroom, no sense of order, no self-awareness. You can't even take proper care of yourself, and yet you walk around like the world owes you something."
How do you mean, sir?" Eva asked, her brows furrowing in genuine confusion. She couldn't think of anything she might have done to provoke his anger.
Damien leaned forward, his tone sharp. "How do I mean? Are you serious right now?" he snapped. "Take a good look at yourself, Eva. Now."
She glanced down, still uncertain, until her eyes landed on the crimson stain. Her entire body froze. The color drained from her face, and she felt like the ground might just open up and swallow her whole.
"I, I'm so sorry," she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. "I was so caught up with my mom yesterday, I didn't have time to focus on myself."
Damien exhaled sharply, clearly trying to rein in his frustration.
""Just fix it," he muttered "I don't want a careless, self-neglecting, half-present PA shadowing me around. Let this be the first and last time something like this happens, Eva. Can you imagine? I had to cancel an entire meeting because of you. Unbelievable."
He snatched up his files and turned to leave, but before he could reach the door, Eva suddenly reached out and gently grabbed his hand.
Damien stared at her, startled, trying to make sense of her boldness. "What now?" he asked, clearly irritated.
"Sir, I can't go outside looking like this," she said softly, eyes lowered in embarrassment.
"So?"
"Can you, just this once, be a little nice and help me out?" Her voice was small, almost pleading, and for a moment, Damien didn't know how to respond. He just stared at her, his expression unreadable.
"Make your point clear," he said at last.
"I, I could really use some help."
"And how is any of that my problem?" he replied flatly.
"Actually, I was wondering if you could maybe, erh, call Sophia for me? My desk mate?" she offered hesitantly.
But Damien immediately remembered the sick leave Sophia had submitted that morning, she wasn't in today.
He scoffed, yanked his hand free from Eva's grip, and walked away without another word.
Later, Damien stormed back into the meeting room, his expression dark. He dropped a paper bag on the table beside Eva with a loud thud, then turned and walked out, without saying a word, though not without shooting her a glare so sharp, it could cut through steel.
If looks could kill, Eva might not have lived to open the bag.
Curious and confused, she peeked inside. To her utter shock, she found a pack of sanitary pads, a neatly folded set of clean clothes, and surprisingly, a pair of flat shoes. Her lips parted slightly in disbelief as she stared at the contents. She looked up, her expression soft and puzzled, completely unsure what to make of it.
Meanwhile, in his office, Damien sat behind his desk, eyes fixed on a glowing screen while flipping through documents. Eric stood across from him, hesitant.
"Sir, your mom called again."
"What does she want?" Damien asked flatly, not even glancing up.
"Seraphina."
"Not interested," he replied sharply, cutting Eric off mid-sentence and continuing to sign documents as if the topic itself was an annoyance.
"Sir," Eric began carefully, folding his arms, "have you ever considered, maybe giving her a chance?"
"Never!" Damien snapped.
"But you go on vacations with her, you buy her gifts, and you even sleep with her. Boss, your house is practically her second home. If you don't want her, then why lead her on?"
Damien scoffed in disbelief. "What? Lead her on?"
His voice grew sharper. "Are you serious right now? I've never led her on. She's the one forcing herself on me!"
He tossed the file onto his desk with a thud.
"Aren't you there too? Don't you see what she's doing? She practically the one forcing herself on me, Eric. Every single time. She and my mother, and even my sister, they've all been setting me up for years! You think I don't see it? How she's been scheming with my mom and sister to corner me at every turn. How the hell is that my fault?"
His voice rose with frustration and then let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head.
"And don't even get me started on several times she's played her sneaky little games just to get close to me"
"The other day, my mother sent away my actual plus-one and made sure Seraphina went with me to the gala instead. Last minute. She always plays these little games, worming her way into my plans, my space, my life."
He paused, jaw clenched, eyes burning with resentment.
"I want nothing to do with her. Absolutely nothing. So please, get that into your thick skull."
"Seraphina is so wrapped around you. If she ever hears what you just said, she'd probably fall apart, might even threaten to take her own life. But if you ask me, maybe you should give her a chance. She's not that bad.
"Not interested," Damien replied flatly, his eyes glued to the document in front of him, clearly too busy to spare Eric a glance.
Eric sighed. "So, what do I tell your mom when she calls again? I've run out of excuses."
"I couldn't care less. Tell her whatever you like."
"Sir, can't you at least take the day off? You haven't had a single night's rest since the whole situation with Miss Eva, and now you're buried under all this work."
Just then, a soft knock came at the door. Before either man could respond, the door creaked open and in walked Eva.
"Speak of the devil," Eric muttered under his breath.
"Good morning, sir," Eva said softly.
Damien looked up, his expression dark and unreadable. Then, with a sharp edge to his voice, he replied,
"Excuse me? You don't just barge into my office without explicit permission. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir. I'm really sorry," she replied, her tone apologetic.
"You're always sorry," he muttered with a scoff, already returning his attention to the documents in front of him.
"Um, actually, I came to thank you for yesterday, and for earlier" she added hesitantly.
"You're welcome. You may leave now," he said briskly, not sparing her another glance.
Eric raised a brow, utterly baffled by Damien's behavior. One moment he was out there buying pads and clothes for her, and the next he was coldly dismissing her like she meant nothing. This man definitely has more mood swings than a pregnant woman, Eric concluded silently, shaking his head in disbelief, he said nothing only watched the tension simmer between the two.
Eva felt incredibly small as she stood there, nervously twisting her fingers. Her lips parted like she wanted to speak, but no words came out.
After a moment, she turned and began walking toward the door. Just as her hand touched the handle, she paused, head lowered, clearly torn by indecision.
Then, as if summoning courage from deep within, she turned back and walked quietly toward Damien's desk. She stopped in front of him, still avoiding his gaze, and bowed her head respectfully.
Damien looked up from his work, brows furrowing slightly as he studied her. Something about her posture made him pause. What now? he wondered silently.
"I didn't know how else to say thank you.. so I got this," Eva mumbled, gently placing a small, elegant bag on Damien's desk. Without waiting for a response, she turned and practically bolted out of the office.
Damien scoffed, watching her retreat. He hadn't even noticed she was holding anything when she walked in, clearly, she had been hiding it. His eyes lingered on the door a moment longer, curiosity beginning to nibble at him.
He glanced at the bag. What could possibly be inside? Eric, too, leaned slightly, trying to sneak a peek, but was caught in the act when Damien looked up sharply.
With a sigh of disbelief, Damien grabbed the bag and tossed it into the trash without a second thought, then returned to his paperwork like nothing had happened.
Eric shook his head in silent frustration. At this point, he wasn't even surprised. 'Damien Lopez, the most paranoid, emotionally barricaded man I've ever met.'
"You can leave now," Damien said flatly without looking up.
"Okay sir, I'll be outside if you need anything," Eric said smartly before stepping out.