Chapter 6 MY NIGHTMARE COME TRUE

Emily

It was almost eleven in the morning when I finally arrived at Davenport Incorporated, nearly two hours late on my first day.

I stood outside the building for a moment, adjusting the strap of my bag before walking through the glass doors. I had imagined this moment so many times but none of the versions came close to the reality.

I approached the reception desk and introduced myself.

The receptionist looked at me, then at the clock on the wall.

“You're late.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be taking this job seriously. There are so many people who are eager to work for this company and didn't get the chance. Or are you some kind of nepo baby for everyone else to babysit?”

I lowered my eyes. “I'm really sorry.”

She stared at me for another moment before shrugging. “Whatever.”

She picked up a badge from the desk and handed it to me.

“This is your access badge. You'll be working at the general secretary's office.”

“Thank you.”

I took the badge and stepped away from the desk, only then realizing she hadn't told me which floor I was supposed to go to.

I looked around the enormous lobby, wondering where I was supposed to start. After wandering around for a while and taking the wrong turn twice, I finally found myself in the employee lounge. I approached a young man on his laptop on one of the fancy couches.

“Hey, Could you please direct me to the General secretary’s office? It’s my first day…”

He didn’t let me finish. He adjusted his glasses and pointed me toward the elevators without looking at me.

“Ninth floor,” he said.

“Thank you.”

I hurried toward the elevator and pressed the ninth floor. When I finally reached the office, one of my colleagues greeted me and showed me to an empty desk. I had barely placed my bag down when the supervisor appeared at my side.

“Emily Calder?”

“Yes?”

“Come with me.”

She led me into her office and motioned for me to sit.

“There has been a change,” she said. “You're to report to the CEO's office immediately.”

I stared at her.

“The CEO?”

“Yes. Take the elevator to the executive floor.”

I nodded slowly, but my mind had already reached the worst possible conclusion.

He was going to fire me.

Of course he was.

I had nearly crashed into his car on my way to work, fainted in front of him, caused him enough trouble to end up taking me to the hospital, and then showed up late on my first day. If there was ever a reason for someone to fire an employee, I had managed to provide several of them before lunchtime.

As I stepped into the elevator, I tried to think about how I would tell my parents.

They had been so proud when I got the job. Now I was probably about to lose the job on my first day.

I took a slow breath and practiced what I would say.

I'm sorry, Mr. Davenport. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

Maybe if I apologized sincerely enough, he would understand.

Maybe he had a good heart.

After all, he had taken me to the hospital.

But I quickly pushed the thought away.

He had probably done it because he was a decent citizen. It had nothing to do with me being his employee.

I had read about Allen Davenport before my interview. He was one of those mysterious CEOs people rarely knew anything about beyond his business success. But one thing was clear, he didn't tolerate mistakes or give second chances.

That didn't exactly give me much hope.

The elevator doors opened. I stepped out and walked toward the CEO's office, my heart beating harder with every step.

At least, I thought, if I lost my job today, I would finally have an answer to the question that had been haunting me since I saw him.

Was Allen Davenport really the man from my nightmares?

I reached his door and knocked.

“Come in.”

I pushed the door open. Micah Voss was standing in front of the desk with a tablet in his hand. And across from him stood Allen Davenport.

The moment I saw him, everything inside me went still. My fingers tightened around the door handle. I wasn't hallucinating. The man from my dreams was real.

He was standing right in front of me.

“Emily…”

Allen suddenly rose from his seat, concern immediately appearing on his face.

“I mean, Miss Calder. What are you doing here? You should be at the hospital. Did the doctor tell you it was okay…”

His voice faded into the background as my mind raced. I knew I hadn't imagined him, not when he looked exactly like the man who had haunted my dreams for years. Those iron-gray eyes and that familiar face were real, standing right in front of me, yet I couldn't understand how that was possible.

I couldn't let myself faint again. I couldn't stand there and act like a frightened child. There was no such thing as a man returning from a dream to haunt me. There was no such thing as death repeating itself.

I forced myself to breathe.

“Emily…”

Micah's voice pulled me back. He gently touched my shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

I looked at him. Allen Davenport was standing a few feet away, watching me carefully.

“Do you need to go back to the hospital?” he asked.

I shook my head quickly.

“No, I'm good.”

My voice sounded steadier than I felt.

For a moment, I considered asking him whether we had met before. Maybe there was something about his face that explained why he looked so familiar. But I couldn't bring myself to ask. Instead, I turned toward him.

“Thank you for bringing me to the hospital.”

He gave me a small nod.

“It was the least I could do for my new assistant.”

I blinked.

“Assistant?”

“Yes.”

I looked from him to Micah and back again.

Allen continued calmly, “From today onward, you'll be working under Voss.”

I stared at him.

Working under Voss?

That meant I would be in this office, near him, every day. Both men seemed completely unaware of the panic building inside me.

“You're taking the rest of the day off,” he added. “Go home and rest. Report back when you're feeling better.”

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

How was I supposed to work in his office every day when the man standing in front of me was the same man who had been killing me in my dreams for the past two years?

My nightmare was no longer waiting for me when I closed my eyes. It was standing right in front of me.

And this was just the beginning.