Chapter Three: The Blacklist

~ ZEPHYRA LIONE

I was sipping lukewarm coffee in my office, doodling some designs on paper and humming a song, when Elara barged in, waving her phone like it was on fire.

"Zeph, did you mess with Kairo Draven?"

I looked up slowly. "Kairo what? I don't know. I've messed with a lot of people. Why? What's wrong?"

" Is that even a real question? Have you forgotten who Kairo Draven is? Kairo Draven, CEO of Dravencorp!" Elara said, almost screaming.

" Chill girl, I never met him face to face. How am I supposed to recognize him? Did I mess with him?"

She groaned and shoved the phone into my hand. A headline glared back at me: "What is the relationship between Kairo Draven and Zephyra Lione?" with a freeze-frame from the auction night beneath it. His face was unmistakable. That emotionless statue of a man who smirked at me like I was nothing.

I hissed under my breath. "That jerk. That was Dravencorp's CEO? What a shame."

"So you do know him?"

"We met at the auction," I said, dropping the phone onto my desk. "He stole my elevator ride, outbid me for the book I wanted, and now that I know that he's Kairo Draven, he must have recognized me that night and then acted like he didn’t know who I was."

Elara groaned again and dropped into the seat across from me. "If you didn’t get the book, you should have just let it go. That's how auctions work. We have bigger things to deal with now due to whatever you said to him that night."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that we've been kicked out of the Dravencorp luxury mall project."

I blinked. "Excuse me? But we didn't receive an official notice, did we?"

"No, we didn't. I found out through a news article. The same mall we’ve been planning our spring launch for. We just got dropped, Zeph. Investors are threatening to pull their support if we don’t make things right with Kairo. We've done a lot for our spring launch to go just like that."

I slammed my coffee cup down. "And what? They expect me to beg him for a space in the mall? To apologize to that overgrown ego in a suit?"

"Zeph, this isn’t just your pride. This is our brand. Our image."

"No. You know what? If he wants to play dirty, I can be worse. Let’s see how he likes being dragged through the mud."

Elara sat up straight. "Don’t do anything reckless. Please Zephyra. I'm begging you, not now."

"I won’t. Trust me. Go do your job."

Her phone rang just then. She sighed, shot me one last look of concern, and walked out.

The moment the door shut behind her, I locked it. Doing reckless things? That was my specialty. I would never had made it this far if I didn't take reckless decisions.

I took a deep breath, grabbed my phone, and hit Live.

---

"Guys," I began, my voice calm but cutting, "I heard I've been removed from Dravencorp's new mall project. And guess what? I found out through the news. No courtesy call. No email. Just headlines. Are they even professionals?"

The comments began flying in. Curious, confused, angry.

"Let me tell you about this so-called businessman, Kairo Draven. He might look all polished and powerful, but underneath that suit? He's cold. Unkind. And maybe just a little scared of women who talk back."

I let the silence hit for just a second.

"You all saw that video, right? The one they tried to spin? That was from an auction. He stole my elevator ride at Celestine Hotel—literally blocked me from getting in. Is that a gentleman? No. That’s just ego with a credit card."

My viewers were spamming laughing emojis and angry faces.

"And that book? Dalia Rose's unpublished designs? You know how much I wanted that. I’ve admired her for years. He saw that. He smirked. And he still took it. Deep down, I know he wanted me to beg for it, because I didn't, he used said he won't pity me. Do I look like I need his pity just for the book?"

I leaned closer to the camera.

"Let me be clear. I don’t want anything to do with Dravencorp. I won’t work with Kairo Draven. Ever. I don’t care what the board or investors think. If you have a crush on him, I suggest you rethink your decisions. He might be pretty, but he’s poison."

The comments exploded.

"He sounds horrible."

"Boycott Dravencorp."

"Zeph we’re with you!"

I ended the live with a smile.

If he wanted to drag me down, I'd make sure he came crashing too.

---

~ KAIRO DRAVEN

I turned off the live video before she finished her last sentence. The iPad slipped from my hand and landed on the desk with a dull thud. My hands tightened into a fist and I clenched my teeth in anger.

That crazy woman. How dare she?

How dare she go live and tarnish my name like that? Twist a petty elevator moment into a national scandal? I’d never seen anyone so bold and so... foolish and reckless.

The door opened.

"Sir," Percy said, stepping in, his face tense. "The executive board is coming in. Now."

I straightened. "Let them in."

The board members entered one by one, each with a face that screamed disappointment. I barely greeted them.

Mr. Vance, the head of the board, went straight in. "I'm sure you've seen the news. This is unlike you, Mr. Draven. Why are you playing children’s games with Zephyra Lione?"

I stared at him, silent. This wasn't really unlike me. I usually get anyone who disturbs me out of my way, but this was the first time, the person I'm targeting is ruining my image too. Making me feel like I messed with the wrong person. She was the problem.

He continued, "Investors are threatening to drop out of the mall project. The bank is pulling out if this scandal doesn’t end. They don’t want to be caught in your crossfire. If this doesn’t stop, the luxury mall project dies."

The others nodded grimly.

Then they walked out.

I slammed my fist on the table.

Zephyra Lione. That woman had single-handedly dismantled months of preparation with one Instagram live.

"Sir," Percy said carefully. "Her brand is affected too. She won’t be able to survive the full backlash either. Eventually, she’ll want peace. I can reach out to her secretary. Maybe we can find a solution... together."

I exhaled and nodded.

He walked out.

I leaned back in my chair.

All my hard work, going down the drain...

All because of one woman I met that night.