The next morning arrived with the kind of tension that curled around Aria's chest like a vice. She stood in the mirrored elevator of Wayne Corp, smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt while mentally repeating the company motto she had read last night: "Excellence, Precision, Loyalty."
Except loyalty, she figured, had no bearing when your boss looked at you like you were his personal nemesis.
The elevator doors slid open, and she stepped onto the buzzing executive floor. Everyone moved quickly, heads down, fingers flying over keyboards, voices hushed. Today was different. The air itself seemed heavier, as if it knew something she didn't.
"You're late."
The voice sliced through the noise like a blade.
Aria turned sharply. Standing outside his office, arms crossed and jaw tight, was Darian Wayne. His suit was darker than the clouds outside, and so was his mood.
"I'm actually five minutes early," she said carefully, holding up her phone.
"To me, five minutes early is late," he snapped. "Inside. Now."
She followed him in, unsure whether to feel annoyed or intimidated. His office was as immaculate as he was clean lines, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a desk so wide it could double as a dining table. He stood behind it, typing rapidly, jaw clenched.
"I need those quarterly forecast charts restructured in twenty minutes."
"Twenty? Sir, the files haven't even.."
"I don't care. Figure it out."
She blinked. "But.."
"Aria." He looked up, his eyes stormy and unreadable. "Unless you want your internship to be cut short, I suggest you do what you're told."
She swallowed her words and nodded, backing out of the office and nearly bumping into Jude, one of Darian's younger brothers.
"Oof, careful!" Jude steadied her with a grin. "Damn, he's in full 'Devil Mode' today, huh?"
"You could say that," Aria muttered, trying not to crumble.
Jude looked genuinely sympathetic. "He just got off a call. A deal he's been working on for months went sour this morning."
"Oh." That explained the frostbite.
Jude lowered his voice. "Don't take it personally. He's… not himself when things go wrong."
But she was taking it personally. Because Darian Wayne didn't yell at everyone. He only targeted her. And right now, she was caught in the middle of a war she hadn't signed up for.
The next few hours were hell.
Darian nitpicked every file, rejected every submission she made, and barked instructions so rapidly she began to confuse her tasks. Her stomach growled she hadn't had time for breakfast but he didn't care.
Then came the breaking point.
She entered his office with the third version of a marketing analysis chart. Her fingers trembled slightly as she handed it over.
He barely glanced at it. "Wrong font. Again. Jesus, do you know how to read?"
Her cheeks flamed. "Excuse me?"
Darian stood abruptly, tossing the file on the desk. "You're wasting my time. I told you Helvetica, size 11. This is Times New Roman."
"I" Aria's voice cracked. "It's a minor mistake. I've been juggling three different departments since"
"I don't want excuses. I want competence. But maybe I was wrong to expect that from someone who got this job out of sheer dumb luck."
Her throat tightened. "You think I'm here because I don't deserve it?"
"I think you're here because HR has a soft spot for strays," he snapped.
Silence. Thick and sharp.
Something inside her snapped. "You know, being rich and grieving doesn't give you the right to treat people like garbage."
His eyes narrowed. "Careful."
"No. You're not allowed to bulldoze everyone just because you're hurting. You're the one who's out of control, not me."
For a moment, the room went still. A flash of something guilt? pain?crossed his face, but it disappeared just as quickly.
"Get out," he said quietly.
Aria didn't hesitate
The stairwell became her sanctuary. She sat on the cool steps two floors down, blinking rapidly to fight back tears. She hated that he got to her. Hated that she cared.
And still, somewhere deep down, a small voice whispered, He's not always like that.
She had seen the way Darian looked when he thought no one was watching when he was with his brothers, when he smiled at a passing intern, or when he stood alone by the window, eyes lost in memory.
There was more to him.
But she wasn't sure how much more she could take.
That evening, a storm broke over the city.
Darian stood alone in his office, staring out at the pouring rain. His tie was undone, his jaw aching from how hard he'd clenched it all day. The investment firm in Singapore had backed out at the last minute, costing him a multimillion-dollar merger. Six months of negotiations flushed down the drain.
But that wasn't what haunted him most.
It was the look in Aria's eyes.
He'd crossed a line. Again.
She reminded him too much of things he buried his wife, gone too soon; his guilt, still raw. He didn't want to feel anything again. Not for anyone. But she made it impossible. The fire in her, the way she stood up to him it shook him.
He wasn't sure whether he wanted to strangle her or kiss her.
And that terrified him.
He picked up his phone, thumb hovering over her name in the directory.
Then, without dialing, he dropped it.
Not yet.
Aria stayed late to avoid him.
The building was almost empty when she finally packed her things. Just as she stepped into the lobby, thunder rumbled and lightning crackled. The sky split open.
She groaned. She had no umbrella.
"Rough day?"
It was Ezra, another of Darian's brothers the calm one with a poker face and quick wit.
"Understatement of the year," she muttered.
Ezra offered her a small, folded umbrella. "Take it. And don't let him get to you. He's broken, not cruel."
She looked up at him, startled. "You sound like you pity him."
"I love him," Ezra said simply. "But even I know he's not easy. The only thing harder than working with Darian is… being him."
She hesitated, then took the umbrella. "Thanks, Ezra."
"Anytime, intern."
As she walked into the storm, her thoughts warred with one another. She had every reason to walk away from this job.
But something about Darian Wayne beneath the anger, the arrogance, the pain called to her.
And for the first time in years, someone like him… had finally met his match.