The sound of heels clicking on marble echoed through the lobby of Easton Media Group. Ava Sinclair kept her pace steady, her chin lifted, her steps sure—even if her heart was anything but calm.
Every morning, she walked through these doors with the same thought: I have to make this work. No matter what.
She passed the reception desk, nodded at the security guard, and entered the elevator without a word. She didn't need to. Everyone here knew her by now—the woman who took a sinking company and started to turn it around.
But they didn't know the full story. They didn't know why she worked late, why she never took sick days, why she never mentioned family or her past.
They didn't know she was the daughter of Jonathan Sinclair—the man whose fall from grace had once made headlines.
The elevator opened to the 18th floor. Ava stepped into the open-plan office and walked directly to her corner glass desk. She placed her coffee down, slipped off her blazer, and opened her laptop.
Within seconds, her day began—emails, calls, a schedule filled with back-to-back meetings. But as she typed, her eyes flickered to a photo tucked inside her planner.
Her father.
He used to sit at the head of his own boardroom table. A kind man, full of pride, full of plans. Until one deal went wrong—one contract signed under pressure, and everything crumbled.
And the man who signed off on that deal, the one who pushed her father to the edge?
Damien Blackwood.
Ava clenched her jaw.
She was twenty when it happened. One day she had everything—status, respect, a future built by generations. The next, she had nothing but shame and headlines.
She had to leave school for a while. Had to work odd jobs to survive. But she returned, graduated with honors, and clawed her way back.
Now she was here. And she was finally building something of her own.
But the past wasn't done with her yet.
Later that afternoon, Ava stepped out onto the office terrace for a quick breath of fresh air. The city buzzed below, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
"Trying to disappear again?"
She turned, startled, then smiled.
Julian Rhodes leaned against the doorway, his tie loosened, hair tousled like always. He had that casual charm that made people comfortable, and Ava had known him long enough to know that behind the easy smile was someone who saw more than he let on.
"Maybe just trying to breathe," she said softly.
Julian stepped closer. "You've been pushing hard lately. Even for you."
"I have to. This company doesn't fix itself."
"You already fixed more than anyone expected."
She looked at him. "That's not enough."
There was silence between them. Familiar. Almost safe.
Julian had been there when it all fell apart. A family friend turned lifeline. He helped her find work, encouraged her to go back to school, and stayed by her side through everything.
Sometimes she wondered if she owed him too much. If maybe… he felt something more.
Julian reached out and brushed a hair from her cheek.
"You know," he said gently, "you don't always have to carry everything alone."
"I'm not," she lied.
He smiled sadly. "You are."
That night, Ava sat at her small apartment desk, her laptop open to a new email from Easton's board.
Subject: Upcoming partnership proposal – Blackwood Holdings.
Her fingers froze above the keyboard.
Her heart stilled.
No. It couldn't be.
She clicked the attached document. There it was, in bold letters.
Blackwood Holdings. CEO: Damien Blackwood.
The man who ruined her father. The man who stood on top of the pile of everything she lost.
Her eyes stung, but she didn't let the tears fall.
So. This was how the universe worked.
He was circling back into her life, uninvited.
Ava closed the laptop slowly, her mind already moving.
If Damien Blackwood wanted to be part of her world again…
Then maybe it was time she stepped into his.