________Jenna’s POV
I stood awkwardly in the kitchen doorway, waiting for Damian to react.
My hands itched to do something but I held them behind my back as I waited for Damian to come closer and say something.
But he kept standing in front of me, his eyes blinking slowly as he looked at me and then at the food.
For a second, his eyes moved toward the mess behind me and I flinched. Even if I wanted to try and hide it now, there was no time to do that.
So I just waited for him to pass a judgement on me.
"You...have made quite a mess. You did not injure yourself while doing all this, right?"
Damian asked as he stepped inside his house.
I could see that he was trying his best not to look at the kitchen as he did.
I quickly apologized for the mess that I had ended up making.
"I am sorry about this. I did not realize how hard cooking would be..."
Cooking itself had not been hard.
It was a simple process of following steps (when they were available) for the most part. What was hard was how to manage things and how to keep the surroundings clean.
Damian just sighed before he walked over to me. His eyes told me nothing as he reached for my face and I closed my eyes.
I was not sure whether he wanted to slap me or do something else, so I just waited for his reaction. In the end, he just caressed my face before he swiped his thumb across it and picked up some flour from my face.
His touch was slow, lingering just long enough to make my breath stutter, as if he was fighting with himself not to touch more. He rubbed his hands together and I felt my eyes opening a little when I felt no pain and also felt his touch pulling away.
"It looks like you made a much heavier mess on yourself than on the kitchen. You should go and take a bath now."
Damian told me and I had a sudden feeling that the danger had passed.
I let out a relieved sigh before turning toward my room before I recalled that I had something to give to Damian.
"Ah, I made you some food. You should have some while I am having a bath....as for the kitchen...I will clean it up once I come back."
I promised Damian but he just waved his hand around.
"There is no need for that. I will get someone else to clean up this mess. You should quickly take a bath and then look at the articles that I brought back. They need to go out for publishing in 2 hours."
Damian told me and I nodded before I ran to the bathroom.
The shower took me a lot longer than I expected.
Flour had gotten inside places I had no idea even existed.
By the time I felt clean, half an hour had passed already and Damian had a small pile of paperwork in front of him.
I could also hear some noises in the kitchen that belonged to the cleaners and I tried to go there to check on them...only for Damian to wrap his arms around my middle and pull me toward him.
His grip was firm and possessive, like he had acted first and thought later.
"You should not show yourself to outsiders. We are trying to go for a mysterious image for you."
Damian informed me and I swore that his voice sounded tense and jealous for a second. It was the kind of tone someone used when they didn’t like others looking at what they considered theirs.
But as quickly as these feelings flashed in his voice, they were gone as well and he tugged me back to the couch.
When he did let me go, I suddenly found myself missing his warmth all around me. And I hated how much I missed it.
"Here, these are the articles...all the relevant ones at least."
Damian told me as he handed me a small bunch he had printed out.
Our hands brushed against each other as I took the offered articles from him to read them over. The tiny touch sent heat up my arm, and Damian’s fingers twitched like he almost wanted to catch my hand but stopped himself.
A lot of them were filled with provocations and things to make the readers gasp.
Most of the writers were also smart enough to pick up on the signs I gave them.
After making a few minor adjustments to the articles, I decided to hand it back to Damian.
He gave a quick read of those articles before he looked at me with a raised brow.
"Are you sure this is all you want to change? Don’t you think we should be a little more provocative with this?"
Damian asked in a tense voice. The sharpness of his tone didn’t match the way his knee brushed mine under the table and didn’t move away.
Unlike me, he was not as soft when it came to taking revenge.
But if he wanted to do this the proper way, then this was the best choice.
"If we attack Rose and Karl too openly, then people might start to feel sympathy for them. What we need to do is influence people subconsciously and set a narrative in their mind about what kind of person Rose and Karl are. That way, when we make our big counter attack, we will have the public on our side."
My plan was simple but effective and even Damian had to agree that this was the best way to go around doing things.
"Fine, I understand. As much as I want to take the Harvours out quickly, I do understand that it would be for the best to allow them some freedom. That way, their fall will be even sweeter."
Damian agreed with me, but the way he spoke sent shivers down my spine. Not fear this time, but anticipation — the dangerous, thrilling kind that only came from standing too close to someone powerful
A part of me warned me to never get on Damian’s bad side if I wanted to live.
"Thank you for doing things my way. We can post these articles now and wait for the charity party to come. I am sure we will have a lovely time during that party. But before that, I would like to visit the facility this charity is supporting."
I told Damian and he nodded.
"Alright, I will arrange something for you."