Chapter 11
Ava stared at herself in the mirror as she stepped out of the bathroom. She had spent all weekend trying to convince Jude not to agree with Damon, but it felt like all her pleas fell on deaf ears.
Even after explaining her reasons to Jude, he reminded her of how it would benefit his pack and told her to put the past behind her and that she should forward and see the possibilities of the future.
It pissed her off. She hated that Jude could not see how cunning Damon and his proposal were.
She took out her blow-dryer to dry her hair and then proceeded to straighten it. She decided to tie it up in a high ponytail.
She proceeded into her closet to pick out an outfit.
Today was the beginning of her working with Damon. Although Jude didn’t see the problem with it, she was fully against it.
She couldn’t bear to stay in the same room as Damon, and now that was going to be her life for a long while.
She tried to cajole Jude to pick another person, but he stood firm, emphasizing the fact that Damon chose her and gave her no choice at all.
That was the first time he had acted that way to her.
He was usually affectionate and listened to her before making any decisions, but when the matter of the land came, he turned a deaf ear to everything she tried to tell him.
Her eyes finally landed on a black jumpsuit. It’d be perfect for her first day.
It accentuated her figure as it clung to her body.
Not showing off too much, but enough.
She paired it with a silver heel. She would rather not wear all black, not today at least.
She put on a nude lipstick, picked up her black purse, and headed to meet with Jude before she was on her way to Westwood.
She had a quick debrief with Alpha Jude on what she had to do throughout the week. He tried to kiss her as she came down, but she deferred it to a hug.
He tried finding out what was wrong, but she didn’t reply to any of his questions.
She made sure to avoid any of his touch and asked only about business.
After she had all the information she needed, she walked out of his office, grabbed a snack from the lobby of his office, and headed straight to her car.
She got in, took a deep breath, and started to drive in the direction she knew all too well.
Westwood, a place she had so many memories of. Mostly worse than good. She hated that Jude was the reason for her coming back. Not entirely Jude, but he didn’t even try to negotiate or stop it.
She took a deep breath as she took in the scenery of the place where she grew up. Admiring everything she hoped to leave as a child.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans for her, and she ended up back there.
She pulled into the parking lot of Damon’s office.
She sat in her car as she prepared herself for the whole day.
She looked over and saw the bagel she picked up earlier from Alpha Jude’s office lobby, and decided to munch on it before dealing with Damon.
She walked in the front door and headed over to the receptionist, stated her name, and asked to see Damon.
She was asked to wait a while as the receptionist confirmed with Damon’s secretary before she was asked to go up to meet him.
“Come in,” she heard a voice from the room as she knocked on the wooden door of Damon’s office.
She took a deep breath before turning the know and walking in to meet him, the devil himself.
She sat down opposite him and she stared at each other in silence for a while before Damon introduced himself.
“I’m Damon.” He stated as he stretched out his hands for a handshake.
“I know. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but I don’t usually lie.” She replied to him with a frown on her face, not accepting the handshake.
He chucked a bit before replying to her.
“We’re going to be working together a lot, so I suggest you get used to it and drop all that attitude.” He said, his deep voice rocking through her body with a slight smile on his face.
Her wolf hissed inside her head as she perceived his smugness.
Although she was still attracted to him, he was her mate after all, she still hadn’t gotten over what he made her go through when they were younger.
And she hated that he acted so naive about it.
About how he almost led her to take her life.
About how he made her growing up.
About how he made her leave her home, and her family.
But she didn’t put it past him to be that wicked. For all she knew, everything could be his plan.
She hoped that nothing would happen between them because in as much as she hated him, they were both werewolves, mated ones at that.
She promised herself that she’d keep herself under control as much as she could.
“Is that clear?” She heard Damon ask as he snapped her out of her reality.
“Did you just snap your fingers at me?” She asked with disbelief with a frown on her face.
“Well, I had been trying to call your attention, and you were zoned out.” He shrugged.
“Don’t ever try that again, n” she warned him sternly.
He frowned at her slightly, since he liked her, he was not one to take orders. He was the alpha after all.
Furthermore, he let it slide. She was already annoyed, and he would rather not escalate the matter. He was happy that his plan was working.
It had been a long week for Ava. She and Damon had found a way to work together professionally and respectfully, no more than that.
But she couldn’t wait for the weekend when she wouldn’t have to see his face for a while.
She had been ignoring Alpha Jude the whole week.
She only answered him when he greeted her and moved out of their bedroom.
She couldn’t stand him after what he did.
“Hey, Damon’s asking for you.” Will, Damon’s beta, informed her.
She nodded and stood for a while before heading up to meet him. She knocked and opened it after she heard his approval.
“So, uhm, I know this hasn’t been the easiest week for you. But I’d like us to celebrate the success of the first project.” He started
“A few of the workers are going for drinks at the bar, and I’d like for you to join us.” He stated as soon as she sat down.
She pursed her lips, thinking about it.
They had not seen each other eye to eye this week, but he was inviting her for drinks, She felt amused.
“Of course. I’d love to come.” She said as she let out a little chuckle, if she had also worked her ass off for this project, she might as well celebrate it too.
She regretted her words as soon as it left her mouth. Why on earth did she agree to drink with him, of all people? At least they would not be alone, that was a fair enough consolation.
“Cool, you wouldn’t mind riding with me, yeah?” He asked further.
“I have my car,” she said firmly, not giving him an ounce of amusement again.
“I’d like to drive you if you would accept.” He pressed further, not taking his eyes off her.
She finally agreed and excused herself to go and finish her work before they left.
She got into his car when it was time, while Will drove with the other two colleagues.
She felt him looking over at her a few times, maybe to start a conversation, until he finally turned on the radio.
She was happy. She questioned herself on why she agreed to this. Perhaps it was because of her anger at Alpha Jude.
“What would you like to have?” He asked as they sat round the table after arriving at the bar.
“Uhm a martini please, thank you.” She replied as she watched him take everybody’s order and walked to the bartender to place the order.
They started making small talk between themselves, but she held on to Will for herself as she would rather not converse with Damon at all.
The waiter brought their drinks, and she noticed he was drinking the same thing as her. She pretended to not notice and focused back on Will.
The loud clap of thunder shook through the whole bar as the rain increased vehemently.
It had been drizzling gently when they lady the office, no one would have imagined it would rain heavily.
They resolved they couldn’t drive back in the storm and decided to stay the night at the bar’s hotel.
It was just 2 rooms left, a two-bed deluxe room and a normal room.
So she stood by and watched Damon arrange that Will and the other 2 guys would be in the normal room and that they would share the two-bed deluxe room.
Although Ava was against it, she didn’t have much of a choice either.
She agreed she was already tipsy and needed to rest. Ava did not want to argue, all she needed was a place to lay her head for the night.
Soon they were settled in the room and Ava went to the bathroom to freshen up as it had everything she could possibly need.
Walking out of the bathroom, her eyes widened when she saw a shirtless Damon on the couch in the corner of the room.
Their eyes met and they stared at each other hard and long, his eyes left hers, darting across her body.
She had settled for the hotel’s robe, as her jumpsuit was too tight for her to go to bed in.
Ava knew she had to leave, or he had to leave, one of them had to leave as he strutted slowly toward her.
When he stood a few inches away from her, their eyes focused on each other, Ava knew she would go back on her word.
That look in his eyes was far from professional and respectful.