In front of the NK apparel company, Nikolai's sleek black car came to a smooth stop. The moment the car came to a halt, Ivy opened the passenger side door to get out of the car. But soon she realised that the door is locked. She looked at him meekly.
"Mr. Knight, can I leave?" she asked him, instead of demanding him to unlock the door for her.He turned his head and gave her a look."You should have asked for my permission before trying to open that door. Looks like you forgot the rules the moment you steeped out of the Knight mansion. I think I should refresh your memory again" he spoke calmly, but there is an anger undertone to each syllable he spoke.Ivy became pale. She didn't mean to make him angry. But the car drive from his mansion to her place of work felt like hours instead of the half an hour it took for them. His presence and his unique masculine scent dominated the car, making her feel restless and scared. She wanted to breath the fresh air which is not infiltrated by his scent. She is scared of him. Any sane person would be scared of the scary Nikolai Knight."No, no, Mr. Knight. I was just in a hurry. My boss was angry and he threatened to fire me If I don't come to work faster" she explained hurriedly before he decided to punish her.Nikolai gave her a calculating look, before speaking."Is it? Then you can go" he said before unlocking the door. But just before she could step out of his car, he stopped her by holding her wrist.She froze with fear and looked at him with wide eyes."Don't try to act smart, Pet. After your work, someone will pick you up. Remember, I still have that lover boy in my warehouse. Now we don't want anything to happen to him, do we?" he reminded her that she should behave. Even if she tries to tell anyone about what happened, no one will help her. Everyone is scared of Nikolai.Ivy's eyes became moist when she remembered how pitiful Jason's condition is. She wouldn't do anything to harm him."I promise Mr. Knight, I will be obedient. Please don't hurt Jason" she promised.Nikolai let go of her wrist. Strangely, he didn't like her begging for another man."Leave" he snapped when she didn't make any moves to go.Immediately Ivy left. She hurried inside the company. All the while she could feel his intense gaze upon her back. She took a deep breath only after she entered inside the elevator. Being with Nikolai is making her feel like she is in the biggest rollercoaster ride in the world. Too scary for her sanity.The moment she steeped out of the elevator in the design department, she was bombarded with the yelling and cursing of her boss."You irresponsible i*iot, how careless can you be? You know what day is tomorrow but still you have the nerve to take a leave? I will make your life a living hell if we lose this competition tomorrow" her boss snapped at her. He is breathing fire and his spit flew in every direction when he is yelling at her. Her coworkers just looked at the scene with amusement. Ivy is a junior and everyone treats her like she is a dumpster where they can dump their extra work."Mr. Josh, I have already submitted the final drafts to the production department. I am sure the dresses which we will be showcasing tomorrow will be ready by now. All we have to do now is to tell the models to wear them to check if they need any alterations" Ivy explained calmly.She used to be scared of Josh before she met Nikolai. But after she met Nikolai, she is not as scared of Josh as before. He seems like a harmless fly infront of the Hades. She didn't let her composure break even after facing so much harshness from Josh.On the other hand, Josh relaxed after he heard her explanation. The design department of the NK apparel company has tens of designers. All of them submitted their drafts to their big boss, whose face none of them saw. Only Ivy's designs were shortlisted, making her a target of bullying from everyone in the department. She is new to the company but her designs were finalized for the competition which is a dream for every designer to participate in. So Josh took the credit for those designs, claiming that it's his draft. No one dared to question him. And Ivy is scared to stand up for herself for the fear of loosing her job."Then why are you standing here. Go and inform our models to come and try the dresses for tomorrow. Don't mind calling Stella, our shows stopper. I will call her personally" with that said, Josh retired back to his cabin."Look at her, she thought she is something special when her drafts were chosen. Look at how miserable she is" her colleagues taunted Ivy, who just stood there without speaking a work. She calmly went to her cubicle and picked up the file she needed before walking away. Before Nikolai, their hurtful words used to make her feel inferior. But now, their words seems useless to even feel bad about. She tasted real fear and misery in these three days.For the rest of the day, Ivy was very busy. The costume department did a great job in bringing life to Ivy's drafts. Every dress they sewed is a master piece.Ivy is friendly with the costume department team. She always has a smile when suggesting some changes, and she is very polite unlike her colleagues."Miss Stella, this way please. I have specifically designed this dress for you. I am sure you would look like a vision in this dress" Josh's loud flirty words polluted the calm environment of the Costume department. Ivy resolved herself to face more yelling from him.Mrs. Luna, a woman in her early thirties is the head of the costume department. She is the head of the person who gives life to the designs the designer draws on the papers. She particularly likes Ivy, who is sweet and very beautiful. And she dislikes Josh, Ivy's boss. Josh is in his early thirties. He is not exactly fit, but not fat as well. The suits he wears don't fit him properly and his small noticeable belly protrudes out. He is a sleeze bag and selfish."Here he comes" Luna muttered with annoyance.Ivy gave her a small smile, exactly sharing her thoughts.Josh escorted their shows stopper Stella who is going to showcase their center piece. Stella is tall with long legs and is beautiful in her own right. Ivy worked with Stella a few times, and her experience with Stella was far from good. Stella is arrogant and looks down upon people who are not rich and lack power. People like Ivy."Stella, my dear. Look at this center piece. Isn't it stunning? I am sure you would look breath t
Ivy was checking everything to make sure that tomorrow's event will go on smoothly. "Ivy, I have done my part. Will meet you tomorrow at the venue. I am going home now. You should go too" Luna suggested.Ivy smiled at the kind lady. Luna doesn't know that she cannot go back home but she is a captive of the scary Nikolai Knight. Ivy is not eager to go back to his mansion. Instead, she is happy to work overtime, without it looking like she is doing anything wrong and testing his patience."I am almost done Luna. I will see you tomorrow" Ivy replied softly.Satisfied with the reply, Luna left Ivy alone.Ivy made sure that everything was in order, before she packed her drafts and turned to leave. It's almost eight in the evening, so almost the entire company is empty. Only a handful of employees are seen. Ivy stepped into the elevator after she texted Shawn that she finished her work and she is ready to go back to the Knight mansion. Just as soon as the elevator car started descending,
"Mr. Knight, it looks like someone intentionally tempered with the elevator. Look at this wire. Someone used scissors to cut it. This ceased the electric supply to the elevator and it stopped abruptly" the elevator maintenance guy shared what he found out.Nikolai didn't like what he heard. 'People in this company feel like Ivy is their punching bag. It's time to set some rules in place ' he thought darkly."I temporarily fixed this wire so that we can help the lady who is stuck in the elevator. It will take a couple of minutes to restart the elevator" the maintenance guy said.In the elevator, suddenly the lights came back to life. Ivy blinked her eyes to adjust to the light. Before she could gather her bearings, the elevator started moving and before long the elevator doors slid open in the lobby.Ivy was still disoriented. So the doors opened, she saw a man standing with his legs apart and his palms buried in his slack pockets. For a moment she mistook the man as her best friend J
The next morning, Ivy requested Shawn to drop her near the venue where the design competition is held. It was still early, but she doesn't want to do anything wrong. All the costumes and the necessary items were already sent near the venue. Moreover, she couldn't sleep the previous night. She was worried about Jason. He is her best friend and the only male with whom she was comfortable with. No one knows that she developed deep seated fears because of what she witnessed ten years ago. She saw the brutality of the four men and how Nikolai's mother was tarnished. At times, Ivy still could hear Mrs. Knights cries for help ringing in her ears. Since that night, Ivy started to steer clear from men. Her interaction with them is as minimal as possible. And she would always try not to anger them. She is scared that they would do something bad to her if she angers them. "Ivy?" Luna's voice snapped Ivy out of her head.Ivy shook her head to clear her mind from the past. "Luna, you are here t
"Quick, Kneel and beg Miss Stella right away" Josh demanded again.Ivy couldn't do anything to persuade Stella. She has nothing to convince the model. Her pride is already battered by how Josh and others treat her in the company. She is not going to lose much if she kneels and beg Stella now. This would be the most degrading moment of her life and she might never be able to forget this day and this moment. But she is helpless. She cannot let this affect the competition or she can pay fifty million.She looked at Luna, who is giving her guilty looks. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and are now watching her most humiliating moment. She closed her eyes tightly and willed herself not to cry. Slowly she started going down to her knees.Stella looked smug while Josh is smirking. Luna is guilty. While the others are watching everything with amusement. But before Ivy's knees touched the floor, a firm hand stopped her descent by holding her elbow and pulling her up back to her fee
No one moved a muscle after both Josh and Stella were thrown out of the company. This is how Nikolai deals with people who try to outsmart him. He is known for his ruthless reputation. He proved it once again."Get back to your work. We have to show to attend" Nikolai snapped.Immediately everyone got back to their work. Ivy and Luna looked at each other, still reeling in shock. Ivy pinched herself hard to wake herself from this alternate world. But nothing changed. Nikolai was still standing right infront of her. She never thought that he would help her. This is really a shock to her."Are you planning to stand there all day?" Nikolai asked Ivy.Her already wide eyes became comical. She shook her head. At once both Luna and Ivy jumped and moved at once. They both collided with eachother in their haste to get back to their works. Both of them stumbled. But soon righted themselves. After a couple of minutes, Ivy realised that they don't have a show's topper as Stella was fired. She
"New designer, Ivy Johnson" When Nikolai introduced Ivy as the designer, she was pleasantly surprised. She was not expecting him to acknowledge her work. Just like how Josh did, she thought Nikolai might downplay her part. But to her surprise, he proudly announced her as a designer who is capable of designing dresses to compete in such a prestigious competition.The sounds of applause that echoed all around her made Ivy extremely emotional. She never thought that she might get a chance to present her designs at such a platform like this. The admiration she was receiving now made her skin break into goosebumps. She looked at Nikolai with gratitude and some complicated feelings.'Who are you? You kidnapped me and held me captive against my will. You don't have to help me today. I already agreed to help you. Moreover you have Jason as a hostage to hold against me. Then why? All my life I lived under the fear of the knight family. I only ever had one dream. And that is to become a good d
"Miss Johnson, do you know who I am" Richard asked Ivy with an even tone, but he couldn't hide a hint of displeasure upon her dismissal. But Ivy is too scared to care about offending him. She couldn't wipe away the memories of that night and the face of the man with a mask from that fateful night. 'Can it be a coincidence? How can this man resemble so much with that monster from that night. Am I over thinking? But not only Mr. knight, I lost so much that night' she thought as the images of that night started to play in her mind. Fear like she never thought she would experience again started to make her feel paralysed. The images of her mother leaving her last breath made her feel breathless. She found the restrooms and locked herself in one of the stalls, hiding from that man and trying to make sense of what she just saw. 'I am trying to forget everything from that night. Too much is riding on the truths from that night. My night mares started to become better. Dad is trying his b