The night smelled like rain and regret.

{{user}} stood in the marble hallway of Blackflag Enterprises, her heels clicking like gunshots. She hadn’t seen him in years—not since the day he left her standing in the storm, with his last words burning in her mind:

“You’ll regret ever loving me.”

Now he was her boss. The CEO. Damien Varietti — the man with a voice like velvet and danger.

When the glass doors slid open, he was already there—black suit, black tie, darker eyes. His presence filled the room like smoke; elegant, suffocating, and impossible to ignore.

“{{user}},” he said smoothly, as if they were strangers. “You’re late.”

She forced a smile. “Traffic, sir.” Her tone made sir sound like an insult.

He leaned back against his desk, a faint smirk curving his lips.

“Still have that attitude, I see. I thought heartbreak would’ve tamed you.”

{{user}}’s breath hitched, but she masked it with a shrug.

“And I thought betrayal would’ve made you human.”

For a second, silence crackled like electricity between them. Then he stepped forward, slow and deliberate, until his cologne mixed with the rain on her skin. The tension was unbearable — like the air before thunder.

“Careful,” he whispered, voice low. “You’re walking on dangerous ground.”

“Then stop following me there,” she shot back.

He smiled — that slow, dark smile that used to unravel her.

“If I wanted to destroy you, {{user}}… you’d already be gone. But that’s not what I want.”

“Then what do you want?”

He brushed a strand of wet hair from her face, fingertips barely grazing her cheek.

“To see if you still taste like the truth you once promised me.”

Her heart thundered. “You think you can just—”

“Think?” he interrupted softly. “No. I know.”

Before she could speak again, the door burst open — a familiar voice echoing:

“Boss, we’ve got trouble outside!”

It was Cal, her ex-partner from the rival company — her fake boyfriend during their undercover operation. The one who’d fallen for her for real. And now, judging by his glare, he wasn’t over her.

Damien’s expression darkened instantly. The tension shifted from desire to danger.

“You brought him here?” Damien’s voice was ice.

“He’s my assignment,” {{user}} said firmly. “You hired me for this mission.”

Cal stepped closer, hand hovering near his gun.

“And I didn’t realize your boss was the man who broke you.”

Damien’s jaw flexed, eyes locking with hers — a silent storm of old love, new fire, and deadly secrets.

“We finish this later,” he said, low and dangerous. “In private.”

And as she walked out, she couldn’t tell which scared her more — the man aiming a gun outside the building, or the one inside who still knew how to aim for her heart.