Chapter 13

Emmaline stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Damien calling her from behind.

'What does he want now?'

Squeezing her eyes shut, she exhaled a deep breath to get a grip on herself. Putting up a cold masque, she slowly turned around only to confront the same pair of steel eyes that had divested her peace since yesterday.

Damien’s heart skipped a beat when looked into her blue eyes that were staring at him with confusion. He quickly looked away precluding himself from drowning in them.

Harrumphing, he handed her the envelope and spoke, "Here, take this."

Emmaline frowned, "But Sir-"

"Yeah, I know. You don't want to work here but I don't want to lose an asset of my company." He replied in an earnest tone taking her off guard.

Raking his fingers through his jet-black hair, Damien took a deep breath before speaking, "Look, I know I crossed my line. I am sorry Emma but the truth is that it was a test."

Emmaline was still confused, "A test? For what?"

He let out a sigh, "Yeah I know that's absurd but it's the truth. I didn’t have any intention of making you walk the plank or harassing you. There was a reason why I behaved that way." He spoke in a guilty voice.

Emmaline was still not convinced. Damien leaned towards her ear to whisper something but she quickly jerked back which made him stop on track.

"Hey don't worry. Before you go, I just want to clear up the misunderstanding. Please give me a chance Emmaline. For once hear me out and I assure you that the final call will be yours."

Emmaline was shocked when Damien begged her to hear his damn explanation. Though she was least interested yet she nodded as she didn't want to drag this matter further.

"All right."

Time skips

"I was so frustrated with those cake faces who came for the interview earlier so I opted this way to choose the right one for me. I know I shouldn't have done this but at that moment, it looked fair to me as I was so pissed. To be honest, I was satisfied with your reaction because any decent girl would have done the same but you left before waiting for my explanation. Still, I don’t blame you. But Emma, I swear it wasn't my intention to hurt or humiliate you. Claire had shown me your records but I wanted to test you myself. Wanted to see if you're different from them or not. I know I got carried away but all thanks to you for stopping me and showing me the mirror. For clearing my perception that not everyone is like Kylie."

Damien snickered to lighten up her mood but his smile dropped as Emmaline kept staring at him with a straight face.

'Isn't Princess finding it funny? Damn you DK for making a joke of yourself.'

He was getting agitated by her lack of response but he didn't want to ruin things again. So, he simply shot her a fake smile and spoke softly, "I-I am genuinely sorry Emma."

That caught her attention. Emmaline zeroed her gaze on him. He did sound genuine and this thawed her heart.

She immediately shook her head in denial. "No need. I also shouldn't have slapped you. I am sorry too." She said and humbly bowed at him.

Damien instantly froze on spot. His heart melted like butter and so did his expression at her innocent move.

Emmaline then looked only to find him staring at her fondly. She felt giddy under his intense gaze and quickly looked away, no longer able to look at those sparkling orbs.

Cleaning her throat, she then peeked at Damien and spoke gently, "I should leave now. Thanks for clearing my doubts. Have a nice day." She quickly completed her sentence and without waiting for his reply rushed out of his cabin.

Damien panicked when he saw her running. He immediately grabbed her left wrist in a soft grip.

"Wait, Emma. Don't go please."

He pleaded but Emma this time turned down his request and pulled her wrist out of his grip.

"Sorry Sir but I no longer wish to continue here. Don't think it's because I have some hard feelings for you. I am just doing this for myself and I hope you respect my decision."

She spoke politely and gave him a small smile. Damien didn’t say anything further and moved back. Getting the cue, Emmaline walked out while he simply stared at her retreating figure until she disappeared from his sight.

Damien remained in the same spot lost in deep thoughts for a long time. His grey orbs were fixed on one point while his mind kept reminiscing his encounter with Emmaline.

'Damien, why didn't you stop her? Why did you let her go?' Scar growled in his mind. He was also perplexed as to why he let Emmaline leave when his purpose was to make her stay.

'You told me you would force her to work under you? But you let her leave so fucking easily. If you had planned to give up on her without a fight then why the hell were you creating a ruckus yesterday?'

Scar howled and huffed in frustration.

"Who said I had given up on her?"

His words clammed him up.

'What do you mean?'

Damien let out a dry chuckle and walked towards the window. Removing his suit, he threw it recklessly on the ground before opening the cuffs of his crisp shirt.

"Buddy, how can you judge me so fast? I needed to put up an act to clear my image. See, if Princess would have left just after paying the money, then it was my loss. Her feet wouldn't have been on the ground, she would have been relishing her victory right now. How fucking savage Emmaline Rosaline Dawson is? Slapped the great Damien Knight-the business tycoon of New York, resigned on the same day and then walked away with her head held high after paying for the compensation. Do you think I would ever allow something like that?", He sneered while folding the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows.

“I know she didn’t believe my fake story. It was evident in her eyes but my apology came as a shock to her. She hadn’t expected that the great Damien Knight would apologize to a mere employee, fuck that too a teen. She was relieved and that’s when I knew I was playing well. My apology was the need for time. Maybe right now, she is on top and I am at the bottom but I guarantee you, buddy, at the end of the day, I will be relishing my success and our Princess would be mourning over her decision.” Damien said and let out a devilish laugh which even shocked Scar.

‘What are you planning to do Damien?’, he asked him in a worried tone. He knew something bad was on the horizon as Damien looked so certitude about Emmaline’s return.

Damien scoffed and slid the glass pane. His eyes closed on their own as the soft breeze caressed his face.

“Emmaline is still scared around me and that’s going to be my biggest strength. Her hastiness proved that. How much she was eager to get rid of me but I assure you, she will be back in a day. Right on my feet and would beg me to take her in my company again. And you know what this time I wouldn’t forgive her so easily, I would make her pay. It will be great fun in breaking her, buddy. The countdown has started. Her sky-high ego would today shatter in pieces when she would return to her home with empty hands.”

Scar agape at his response, ‘What do you mean Damien? Stop talking in riddles and fucking spill the beans.’

He raged as he was losing his gourds with his obscure words.

Damien focussed his gaze on the clear sky. His lips twisted in an evil smile as he uttered the next words in a creepy tone.

“Emmaline won’t get any job anywhere in New York. I had made sure of that and if someone recruits her, I will kill him.”