Page 106 of Say My Name

Elena

The morning after Dominic fucks me on my desk, he challenges my financial projections in front of twelve senior executives.

He doesn’t hesitate when he reaches the revised debt assumptions. His tone remains even, his tie is perfectly straight, and nothing about the way he looks at me suggests he spent part of last night between my thighs.

“Your downside case assumes the current credit facility remains available through closing,” he says.

“It will.”

“Based on?”

“The lender confirmed it yesterday.”

“Verbally.”

I lean back in my chair, forcing a calm I don’t feel. “I have the written confirmation in my files.”

A few people around the conference table glance between us. This is familiar territory. Dominic questions the model, and I defend it, and everyone else waits to see which one of us wins.

He holds out his hand. “Send it to Evan.”

“Already did.”

The corner of his mouth ticks upward. “Then the assumption stands.”

I should feel relieved. Instead, I’m irritated by how easily we do this.

I present the rest of my analysis without missing a figure. Dominic interrupts twice, agrees with me once, and sends one section back to the operations team for review. By the end of the meeting, I’ve almost convinced myself last night didn’t change anything.

Then everyone begins gathering their laptops and papers.

“Elena, stay for a minute.”

It’s an ordinary request; he’s kept me back after meetings hundreds of times.

I wait until the door closes behind the last person. Dominic stays at the opposite end of the table, maintaining enough distance that no one walking past the glass walls would notice anything unusual.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m fine.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

“Yes, Dominic. I’m okay.” The lie is for both of us.

His eyes move over my face, checking the answer even though he has no reason to doubt me. He asked if I was sure before he touched me last night. He asked again after I locked the door and kissed him. He checked afterward too, while I sat on my desk with my skirt back in place and his shirt missing a button.

“I didn’t hurt you?”

“No.”

“Any regrets?”

My fingers tighten around my tablet. “You’re asking me this now?”

“You left before we could have the conversation properly.”

“We were in my office.”