Chapter 4
Eloise's POV
The anonymous message stayed in my head all night.
While sleeping, brushing my teeth.
Even while standing in front of my wardrobe the next morning deciding what to wear.
«Stay away from Zev Castor.
You just walked into a fire you know nothing about.»
It should have sounded ridiculous.
Instead it felt like a warning.
One I couldn't afford to ignore.
"You look stressed," Ivy said as we entered the company lobby together.
"I wonder why."
"You're still thinking about the message."
I glanced at her. "Wouldn't you?"
She sighed quietly but didn't answer.
The elevator doors opened on the executive floor and I stepped out while Ivy continued to her floor.
And immediately the atmosphere hit.
Tension.
Everybody moved quickly.
Phones ringing.
Assistants rushing around.
Maya looked up the second I entered.
"Thank God you're here."
I frowned. "What happened?"
"Board meeting in thirty minutes."
Oh.
That explained the panic.
"You need to organize these files before Mr. Castor gets here."
I immediately dropped my bag and moved toward the desk.
The next twenty minutes disappeared beneath paperwork, schedules, financial reports and trying not to lose my mind.
And somewhere during all the chaos...
Zev arrived.
I didn't notice him immediately.
I only realized he was standing beside my desk when his cold voice cut through the room.
"The projections."
I lifted my eyes quickly.
Gray eyes.
Perfect suit.
Cold as usual.
I handed him the completed file immediately.
He flipped through it once before speaking again.
"These numbers are misplaced."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
"The fourth quarter projections."
I moved closer quickly to check.
Then I realized...
they weren't misplaced.
"They're in the appendix section."
"Which is the wrong section."
Oh God
"I'll fix it," I muttered.
"You'll learn eventually," Zev said flatly, "that repeating someone else's incompetence doesn't make you less incompetent."
And just like that... My morning was ruined.
Again.
The conference room was massive.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city while executives filled the long table one after another.
Most of them are older.
Experienced.
Powerful.
Yet the second Zev entered...the room changed.
Conversations lowered instantly.
Everybody straightened.
Even the atmosphere felt tighter somehow.
I sat quietly near the end of the table organizing documents while secretly observing everything.
And honestly?
Watching Zev inside the boardroom felt different.
Scarier.
Inside his office he was cruel.
But here?
He was completely in control.
One executive began presenting projected numbers nervously.
Halfway through, Zev interrupted him.
"These figures are unrealistic."
The man paused immediately.
"We based them on last quarter's..."
"You based them on optimism instead of data."
The executive swallowed hard.
"I can revise them."
"You should've revised them before embarrassing yourself in front of this board."
" You're fired."
Nobody spoke.
Nobody defended the man.
Nobody even looked surprised.
I glanced around the room slowly.
They were afraid of him.
And the terrifying part?
Zev didn't even raise his voice.
Everything he said remained calm.
Which somehow made it worse.
The meeting continued for almost two hours.
By the end everyone looked mentally exhausted.
Including me.
The second we stepped out of the conference room Maya exhaled dramatically beside me.
"Still alive?"
"Barely."
She chuckled quietly as we walked back toward the executive floor.
"You handled it well."
" I was terrified the whole time."
" You will get used to it."
"I don't think I want to."
Maya smiled.
"That was actually one of his calm meetings."
I stared at her.
"You people are living in fear."
"Correct."
I laughed against my better judgement before finally sitting back down at my desk.
My feet already hurt.
My brain hurts.
And somehow it wasn't even noon yet.
The phone on my desk rang.
I picked it up immediately.
"Yes?"
"Come to my office."
Click.
Of course.
No explanation.
Just stress.
I stood up slowly before walking toward Zev's office.
When I pushed the door open
I stopped in my tracks.
Caelis Veran sat casually across from Zev.
The man looked effortlessly expensive.
Dark tailored suit.
Sharp features.
Calm intelligent eyes that immediately landed on me.
And unlike Zev...
Caelis actually looked human.
"You called for me, sir?"
"The Morgan files."
"I already organized them."
"Coffee first."
Naturally.
Because apparently I had become everyone's unpaid café worker.
I turned toward the office kitchen silently.
By the time I returned, Caelis and Zev were discussing something quietly.
Their conversation stopped the moment I entered.
Interesting.
I placed the coffee down carefully.
"Thank you," Caelis said smoothly.
I blinked slightly.
Basic politeness inside Zev's office felt shocking now.
His gaze lingered on me briefly.
"You're Eloise Ashton."
"Yes."
"Interesting."
I frowned slightly.
"Why does everybody keep saying that?"
Caelis grinned slightly.
Before he could answer, Zev snapped without looking at me.
"Because you ask too many questions."
I tightened my jaw immediately.
God.
This man truly enjoyed irritating me .
Caelis looked amused.
Zev finally glanced toward me.
"The revised projections."
"I'll finish them immediately."
"You should've finished them already."
"I was in the board meeting taking notes for you."
"And yet somehow you're still behind."
I genuinely wanted to throw the coffee at his face.
Instead I forced a professional smile.
"Of course, sir."
Then I walked out before I lost my job.
The second I sat down Maya rolled her chair closer to my desk.
"You met Caelis."
I stared at her immediately.
"How do you know that already?"
"Because literally everybody saw him enter Zev's office."
Fair enough.
I lowered my voice slightly.
"He seems... different."
Maya laughed quietly.
"Different from Zev?"
"Yes."
"Well most humans are."
I laughed before I could stop myself.
"So what's their deal?"
Maya looked around carefully before lowering her voice too.
"Those three are close."
"Three?"
"Zev. Finn Rowe. Caelis Veran."
Recognition hit me instantly and I remembered how he stared at me yesterday.
I blinked slowly.
"They're friends?"
"Not normal friends."
Something about her tone caught my attention immediately.
"What does that mean?"
Maya leaned closer.
"People in this city don't mess with them."
"Because they're rich?"
"Because they're powerful."
A strange feeling settled inside me.
"They built everything together?"
"No," Maya whispered. "But somehow they're always connected."
I frowned slightly.
"That's oddly dramatic."
"You haven't been here long enough yet."
Before I could ask another question, Maya stood up again.
"Anyway, try not to annoy Zev today."
"Too late."
By evening the executive floor had mostly emptied.
The sky outside the windows had already darkened while I finished organizing the final files from the earlier board meeting.
My phone vibrated again.
Ivy.
"For the love of God, please tell me you're leaving."
"Almost."
"You said almost forty minutes ago."
I sighed tiredly while gathering the last folder.
"I just need to drop these files inside Zev's office."
"Eloise you..."
"I know. Five minutes."
I ended the call before she could continue complaining.
Then I walked toward Zev's office.
The lights were still on.
But when I knocked...there was no response.
I frowned slightly.
Weird.
I pushed the door open carefully and it was empty.
Probably another one of his random disappearances.
I stepped inside and placed the files onto his desk.
Then my eyes caught something framed near the bookshelf.
And instantly...
I stiffened.
Harold.
My father.
A younger version of him stood beside two other men inside an old photograph.
One of them looked strangely familiar to Zev.
Older.
Softer.
Possibly his father.
But why was Harold in the picture?
Confusion tightened painfully inside my chest.
I stepped closer unconsciously.
The photograph looked old.
Important somehow.
The office door suddenly clicked shut behind me.
My heart jumped violently.
Then Zev's cold voice filled the room.
"You're becoming very comfortable inside my office, Miss Ashton."
Slowly I turned around.
And immediately regretted it.
Because the look in Zev's eyes had gone dangerously dark.
