The conference room felt colder than it should have not because of the air-conditioning—but because of the silence that had settled before anything even began.
Ava sat near the far end of the long glass table, hands folded tightly in her lap, trying to make herself smaller without realizing she was doing it. Everyone else in the room looked like they belonged there. Sharp suits, confident postures, voices already low with quiet corporate familiarity.
She didn't, she had been told only one thing:
"Mandatory executive-level meeting."
That alone made her stomach uneasy.
Across the room, Richard Hale sat with his usual composed posture—but it wasn't convincing anymore. His fingers kept tapping lightly against the table. His tie was slightly too tight. His gaze kept flickering toward the door like he was waiting for something he didn't want to arrive.
Ava noticed it and that alone unsettled her more than anything else. Richard Hale didn't look nervous, ever.
Then the doors opened everything stopped instantly even conversations that were halfway spoken died in people's throats.
Ava looked up—and felt it immediately, the atmosphere shifted not in sound but in presence.
A man entered first, tall, controlled and dressed in a way that made everything around him feel slightly less important.
He didn't look around the room,he didn't need to people were already reacting to him.
"Mr. Volkov," someone said immediately.
Then another voice.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Volkov."
Ava blinked slightly "Volkov", 'Alex Volkov' so that was his name. He walked straight to the head of the table and sat down without hesitation, as if the entire room had been built for that exact moment. Behind him, two men followed one looked amused, while the other looked like he hadn't smiled in years.
Damien leaned slightly toward Mason.
"That's him?" Mason whispered
Damian didn't look away from Alex and replied
"Unfortunately for everyone here… yes."
Mason exhaled slowly.
"He looks like he charges people for existing in the same room as him."
Damien replied flatly,
"He probably does."
Ava didn't hear them.
Her attention was already locked forward.
Because the moment Alex Volkov sat down—
Something strange happened inside her chest, fear? admiration? No it was something worse...familiarity, she frowned slightly why does it feel like— No.
That didn't make sense she had never seen him before. Had she?
Alex opened a file calmly, he flipped through it once then spoke.
"Let's begin."
His voice hit the room like something physical, Ava froze her breath caught before she could stop it. That voice her brows tightened slightly she had heard that voice before somewhere.
But where? She searched immediately.
Work meetings?
No...
Company announcements?
No...
Phone calls?
No...
Nothing fit and yet—the feeling remained strong enough to make her uncomfortable.
Across the table, Alex's gaze lifted slowly and landed directly on her.
Ava didn't realize she had been staring until that moment their eyes met Instantly.
The room didn't change but something inside it did. Ava blinked first, looking away quickly, suddenly aware of herself.
Her heart had skipped without permission.
Why was he looking at her like that?
She swallowed quietly and forced her gaze back down to the table but the feeling didn't leave.
Across from her, Damien noticed the exchange immediately.
He leaned slightly toward Mason.
"…She's staring."
Mason smirked faintly.
"She looks like she just saw a ghost."
Damien replied,
"Or a problem."
Alex didn't break eye contact for as long as it lasted.
Then, just slightly—a smirk touched the corner of his mouth, it was barely visible then gone.
Damian noticed.
"…Did he just—"
Mason nodded.
"Yeah."
"Smirk?
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Mason leaned back.
"I don't know. But I don't like it."
Alex returned his attention to the file but every few seconds— his eyes moved again just a side glance always toward Ava, watching, measuring as if waiting for something.
Ava, meanwhile, was struggling to focus.
Because every time Alex spoke—
that feeling came back, that voice, that impossible familiarity. She pressed her fingers together under the table.
Where have I heard him?
She didn't realize she whispered it softly.
The woman beside her glanced over.
"Sorry?
Ava shook her head quickly.
"Nothing."
But inside her mind—it refused to stop.
Alex turned a page in the file,then another, then finally—he stopped, his tone shifted slightly.
"Mr. Hale.
Richard straightened immediately.
"Yes, Mr. Volkov."
Alex didn't look at him yet.
"Explain something to me."
"Of course."
Alex finally looked up.
"Why does an employee with consistent positive performance suddenly show a sharp decline in results immediately after filing internal complaints?"
The board room went silent
Richard blinked.
"I'm not sure what you're referring to."
Damien quietly slid a folder forward.
Without looking at it, he said,
"The complaint records you 'forgot' to mention."
Mason leaned toward Damien.
"Forgot is doing a lot of work in that sentence."
Damian muttered,
"I'm being polite."
Richard's eyes flicked to the folder.
For the first time—uncertainty crept in.
"That's internal documentation," Richard said carefully. "Performance evaluations can fluctuate."
Alex tilted his head slightly.
"Of course they can."
He paused then—
"But not in patterns that align perfectly with reported harassment filings."
The room went still again. Ava's breath caught, harassment? Her fingers tightened slightly, what was he talking about?
Richard gave a short laugh.
"There must be some misunderstanding—"
"There isn't."
Alex cut him off coldly
Ava looked at him again.
And this time—he was already looking back at her like he was checking whether she understood what was being said about her.
Ava froze slightly, wait... what… are they talking about?
Her name had been mentioned, termination, poor performance, complaints.
Her mind struggled to process it.
Then—
Alex spoke again.
"This employee," he said, tapping the file once, "has been marked for termination without board authorization."
He paused then, colder—
"And after filing complaints against her direct supervisor."
Ava's stomach dropped her head lifted slightly without her realizing her eyes met his again, longer this time confused and in shock 'Why are you helping me?'
Alex saw it immediately and for a brief second—his expression softened just slightly
Damien leaned toward Mason.
"…She's definitely reacting."
Mason muttered,
"I don't think she knows what she's reacting to."
Damien replied,
"Neither do I."
Richard's voice rose slightly now.
"This is being taken out of context. Miss Reynolds has never directly—"
"That's incorrect." Alex interrupted again.
And this time—a different file was placed on the table.Damian slid it forward without hesitation. Richard's confidence finally cracked.
Vanessa leaned slightly forward, curiosity now overtaking boredom. She glanced toward Ava then toward Alex and for the first time—her thoughts drifted somewhere entirely inappropriate because men like him didn't appear in her world often and men like Richard suddenly looking terrified in front of him—only made him more interesting.
She leaned back slightly, watching Alex with growing fascination, unaware of how badly things were about to spiral.
Ava, meanwhile, sat frozen still trying to understand why her name kept coming up.
Still trying to understand why this man—
this stranger—felt like someone her mind refused to forget.
Across the table, Alex finally looked at her properly again.
Just for a second and when he did—
that faint smirk returned because in his mind—she remembers him