No One’s Pov

Vivien stood frozen in front of the heavy office door, her hand hovering over the handle as her heart pounding loudly. Please don’t let him be in a murderous mood,please, please... she prayed fervently, squeezing her eyes shut.

Before she could even bring herself to knock, Dominic’s deep, voice rang out "Come in."

Vivien flinched. Taking a sharp breath, she slowly pushed the door open and slipped inside. The air in the office was so thick with tension. Keeping her head down, she quietly slid into her chair at her own desk, trying to blend in with the furniture.

Glancing up through her glasses, her eyes landed on Dominic’s assistant. The poor man looked absolutely miserable. With those massive pitch-black circles carved around his eyes, he looked like he just woke up from his grave. Holy mac and cheese, how badly is this corporate devil making him work? Vivien thought in horror. Is sleep deprivation a legal form of torture in this country?

Suddenly, a freezing glare fell directly on her. She felt Dominic’s piercing eyes boring into the side of her face and snapped her gaze back down to her blank paperwork, pretending to be deeply fascinated by a staple.

"You’re dismissed," Dominic commanded smoothly.

The assistant nodded weakly, his posture slumped. "Yes, boss..." he muttered, turning to walk away.

Noo! Don’t leave me alone with this grumpy suit! Vivien cried out internally, her soul practically reaching out to grab the assistant’s jacket. Take me with you to the zombie realm!

"Seems like you had fun chitchatting with your ’friend,’" Dominic said, his deep voice dripping with sarcasm. He leaned back in his chair, his siren eyes narrowing. "So much fun that you didn’t even notice the time."

Vivien gulped, her throat incredibly dry. She slowly forced her head around to face him, putting on a forced smile. "Ah... yeah! Actually, it was just an old classmate, you know... from back in the day..."

Dominic slowly raised an eyebrow, his jaw ticking violently. An old classmate? That Enzo kid? The possessive fury in his chest burned hotter.

"It’s just... we met after so long," Vivien babbled on, her panic making her speak without thinking. "I kind of missed him, so we just got caught up in-" She stopped abruptly. The more she talked about missing another man, the darker and uglier Dominic’s expression became. His eyes looked like they were ready to summon a thunderstorm. Vivien wisely decided to shut her mouth.

"If that’s the case, then why not let him pay your rent too?" Dominic hissed. "You clearly enjoy his company. You don’t have to stay here and waste my time."

Vivien’s eye twitched. She desperately wanted to stand up, slam her hands on his desk, and scream, YOUR TIME?! You are literally the one wasting MY time, making me cook and run around like a maniac! Yet, remembering that this man was the real-life manifestation of Dante, she forcefully swallowed her pride. "I apologize, boss. It won’t happen again," she murmured, bowing her head.

Dominic let out a scoff, looking away from her. "Whatever. And about your food from earlier... it’s completely hideous. Anyone eating it will probably die. So from now on, don’t feed anyone else. You are not allowed to kill my employees with your toxic cooking."

Vivien’s mouth twitched violently. Hideous?! The entire third-floor staff was practically crying tears of joy over those plates! A wave of pure annoyance washed over her. If it was so bad, then why was he even making her do it?!

"Well, boss," Vivien said, adjusting her glasses with a sarcastic smile. "Since my cooking is so dangerously lethal, then I should probably just stop cooking altogether to save your employees’ lives- "

Before she could finish her sentence, Dominic’s sharp gaze snapped back onto her, cutting her off instantly.

"You should practice more and work on your skills," he commanded, his deep voice leaving absolutely no room for negotiation. He leaned forward, his eyes locking onto hers with a strange intensity. "So from now on... only I will taste your cooking."

Grumpily, Vivien slumped back into her office chair and aggressively tapped at her computer keyboard. But the moment Dominic looked away to read a document, she stealthily slid her phone out from under a stack of folders.

Suddenly, her screen began to light up with tons of notifications, the numbers climbing higher and higher every second. Vivien quickly tapped on the app, and a wide satisfied smirk spread across her lips.

During her quick walk back from the cafe, she had used a burner account to upload the photo she took. The picture perfectly captured the internet’s favorite, well-behaved, "sweet and innocent" elite heiress, Amelia, sitting intimately in a coffee shop with a notorious gang boss.

The post had absolutely blown up, spreading across the social media like wildfire. Vivien scrolled through the comment section, biting her lower lip to suppress a loud laugh.

Trending Post: Netizens Expose the "Perfect" Amelia

@BakingQueen99: Wait... isn’t this the same girl who literally posted a 10-minute vlog last week crying about how she accidentally stepped on a snail? 💀 Now she’s casually having iced lattes with a guy who looks like he eats concrete for breakfast? The duality is insane.

@WebNovelAddict_22: Girlie thought she was the main character in a dark romance novel LMAOOO. Look at her face, she looks like she’s about to cry because his aesthetic doesn’t match her beige Instagram feed.

@DramaCollector: Not the "pure, high-society heiress" meeting up with an actual underworld thug in a public cafe!! 😭 Concrete proof that wealth can buy luxury but it clearly cannot buy basic survival instincts.

@Pixel_Perfect: Look at the way she’s pointing her manicured finger at him. Someone tell her that if he snaps his fingers, her entire designer wardrobe is going to end up at a landfill site. The secondhand embarrassment is real.

@ChanaAndCustard: She really went from "Daddy’s little angel" to "Local Mob Boss’s assistant manager" real quick. Someone check on her family’s stocks before they plunge to zero tomorrow morning! 😂

Vivien was shaking with silent laughter, her chest heaving as she kept reading the brutal roasts.

Suddenly a shadow loomed directly over her desk, bringing a sudden chill into the air.

Vivien froze. She slowly tilted her head up, her eyes wide behind her glasses.

Dominic was standing right in front of her, staring down with a terrifying glare. "If you are quite finished with your phone," he said, his deep voice dropping, "then pack up your things and follow me."

Vivien didn’t dare say a word. She quickly stood up, shoving her phone into her pocket. Before she could even grab her notepad, Dominic casually took off his suit jacket and tossed it backward. It landed perfectly in her arms.

"Hold that," he commanded smoothly, walking toward the private elevator.

Vivien grumbled under her breath but gripped the fabric tightly. As they stepped out of the elevator she intentionally slowed her pace.

Remembering her realization from the cafe she made sure to keep a very distinct, safe three foot distance behind him.

Dominic, walking ahead, immediately noticed the sudden gap between them. He could hear her footsteps lagging behind, and it made the possessive irritation in his chest flare up instantly. First she runs off to meet a ’friend,’ then she ignores me for her phone, and now she’s actively trying to stay away from me? She was truly testing the absolute limits of his patience today.

Without warning, Dominic stopped dead in his tracks.

Vivien, who was busy staring at the back of his neck and calculating how to quit her job, didn’t react in time. THUD. She crashed directly into his hard muscular back.

"Ouh..." she muttered, staggering backward and rubbing her sore nose, her glasses shifting sideways on her face.

Dominic slowly turned around, towering over her as his dark eyes locked onto her frantic face. "If you walk this slow," he hissed, his voice laced with a cold threat, "I will personally make sure you have to walk for the rest of your entire life. Do you understand me?"

Hearing his warning, Vivien’s survival instincts instantly kicked out. Holy mac and cheese, he’s going to break my legs!

"Understood, boss! Crystal clear!" she squeaked out, quickly adjusting her glasses and taking three steps forward, closing the distance until she was practically standing right against his side.

Dominic stared down at her for a brief second, his jaw relaxing just a fraction. Highly satisfied with her sudden obedience and the fact that she was finally close to him again, he turned back around and smoothly continued walking toward his waiting car.

Soon, the luxury car pulled up to the entrance of an exclusive restaurant. Dominic strode insideand Vivien followed tightly at his side, still holding his jacket. A waiter bowed deeply and led them down a private hallway into a beautiful VIP room.

A man was already waiting inside. He looked to be in his late thirties, possessing a dashing smile and an aura of wealth that marked him as one of Dominic’s closest and most important business clients.

As the doors opened, his eyes traveled past Dominic and locked onto Vivien, his smile widening in sudden surprise.

"Hello, Mr. Valente! It’s wonderful to see you," the man greeted smoothly, standing up to shake Dominic’s hand. Then, his curious gaze shifted entirely to Vivien. "And this lovely young lady might be...?"

"My personal assistant," Dominic said flatly, his tone leaving no room for gossip. He pulled out a chair and sat down, gesturing with a tilt of his chin for Vivien to sit in the chair directly beside him.

The client looked completely unconvinced, a knowing glint flashing in his eyes, but he wisely chose to let it slide.

As the two men opened their folders and began their intense business meeting, discussing stocks, Vivien’s stomach suddenly let out a tiny rumble. Her eyes widened and she quickly pressed her hand against her stomach to muffle the sound.

She realized that she hadn’t actually eaten her own lunch at all! She had been way too busy playing detective, tracking that damn Amelia to the cafe, and connecting the dots of her messed-up life.

Dominic didn’t miss a single thing. Even while nodding along to his client’s proposal, his eyes darted down to Vivien’s slumped posture and her slightly pale face.

Without interrupting the client, Dominic raised a single hand. A waiter instantly stood at his side. Dominic quietly leaned over and murmured a few quick instructions into the waiter’s ear.

A few minutes later, the waiter returned, placing a steaming, beautifully arranged plate of food directly in front of Vivien. The rich aroma instantly hit her nose, and Vivien froze. She stared down at the dish in absolute, utter shock.

These were the exact items she had ordered the last time they had eaten out together.

Dominic smoothly slid the plate closer to her, his face completely expressionless as he turned his attention right back to his client, not saying a single word to her.

Vivien didn’t need to be told twice. Her hunger completely overrode her suspicion. She picked up her fork and started eating, her cheeks immediately puffing up like an adorable starving hamster as she stuffed her face. Wait a minute... she thought, her chewing slowing down for a split second as she glanced at his sharp profile. Did he seriously remember my exact food order from last time? No, no, that’s completely impossible! A cold-blooded man like him doesn’t just memorize his assistant’s favorite menu items... right?!

Across the table, the client watched the entire silent exchange unfold. A slow amused smirk spread across his lips.

For years, everyone in the high-society business world had viewed Dominic Valente as a cold machine- a single, stone hearted billionaire who would live and die alone with his money.

The client had honestly believed this young man would never find a woman capable of breaking through his walls. But looking at the protective way Dominic sat beside her, and how he had effortlessly anticipated the nerdy girl’s hunger without her even saying a word...

The client chuckled quietly to himself. It seemed Mr. Valente wasn’t made of stone after all.

Yet, He wasn’t the only one who witnessed everything

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TO BE CONTINUED