Chapter 355: Damien Lockwood Becomes A Corporate Supervillain

I woke up thinking Damien would be next to me, ideally with one arm around my waist and his face buried in the pillow.

He’d definitely look less intimidating than the guy who could make a whole boardroom rethink their careers just by raising an eyebrow.

But instead, I found an empty bed, pillows arranged suspiciously neatly, and a note on the bedside table saying breakfast was waiting downstairs.

There was even a little heart drawn next to the message, which really rubbed me the wrong way.

It made me think Damien Lockwood was getting all sentimental and leaving me handwritten notes while ditching me in bed.

I slipped on one of his shirts, which was delightfully loose and smelled just like him, and made my way to the dining area.

I planned to thank him for breakfast but also to demand an explanation for why he wasn’t there.

The explanation was waiting at the dining table, surrounded by enough paperwork to make me wonder if a whole law firm had mistakenly been delivered to our penthouse.

Two laptops were open beside a tablet showing colorful charts, while folders, legal pads, and neatly organized documents took up almost every surface area.

There was a cup of coffee next to Damien’s right hand, looking like it had been there long enough to be considered an archaeological find, and there he sat in the middle of the chaos, wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up looking like a really hot, overworked, stressed out CEO

I leaned against the doorway and took in the scene.

"I thought your new hobby was whipping up outrageous breakfasts for me, but it seems bringing down your dad’s empire is more your speed."

Damien didn’t even look up from his laptop.

"I can multitask."

I snorted, "Clearly. You’ve managed to forget your coffee, dismantle an entire company, and leave your boyfriend in bed all before nine in the morning. I’m almost impressed. You’re welcome to come back to bed, you know."

Damien didn’t look up from his files.

"Is that an invitation or just a distraction from the fact that I’m working myself to death?"

"Both, if it comes to that."

I walked over, grabbed his cold coffee, and took it to the kitchen before returning with a fresh mug.

Setting it next to his laptop, I climbed onto his lap without asking. One of the perks of living with Damien Lockwood was my newfound sense of entitlement to invade his personal space.

His hands found my hips without hesitation. "Good morning, Sunshine."

"Good morning, corporate supervillain."

I leaned in and unbuttoned the top of his shirt just enough to plant a slow kiss on his collarbone, enjoying the way his fingers tightened at my waist.

"Come back to bed with me," I murmured against his skin.

He tilted his head toward me, and I felt the faint brush of his breath in my hair.

"You’re doing that on purpose."

"Doing what?"

"Tempting me."

I lifted my head and gave him a look I thought was innocently profound, though the fact that I was sitting in his lap with my hands inside his shirt probably undermined my case quite a bit.

"I came downstairs to check on you. If you’re interpreting my concern as flirting, maybe you need to reassess your priorities."

Damien stared at me for a moment before his fingers found a sensitive spot at my waist, making me second-guess every choice that had led me to his hands.

"Damien!"

"You were saying?"

"That you’re a terrible person who should be reported to the proper authorities, you ass!"

He tickled my sides again, and I squirmed against him, laughing so hard that I nearly knocked over the fresh coffee.

He caught the mug just in time and set it aside, using my momentary distraction to pull me in for a kiss that completely derailed whatever argument I had prepared.

I had meant to make him take a break, not lose track of time, but Damien had this annoying knack for turning my perfectly reasonable plans into something that involved his mouth.

When we finally broke apart, I rested my forehead against his.

"The company will survive twenty minutes without you I promise." I told him.

"Will it?"

"Probably. And if it doesn’t, I guess we’ll just have to sell the penthouse and find a cottage in the woods to live in."

He smiled before kissing me again, more slowly this time, one hand slipping beneath my shirt to rest warmly against my back.

For several minutes, the paperwork was forgotten, which I deemed a significant improvement to office morale.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend was quite talented in many areas, and ignoring his responsibilities was clearly not one of them.

His phone started buzzing against the table.

Damien let out a sigh against my cheek before reaching for it, and I settled more comfortably against his chest while he answered it.

"Good morning, Naomi."

I couldn’t hear his assistant clearly, but the way his expression changed told me the conversation was about something more crucial than planning his lunch.

"Yes, the independent directors have confirmed their positions, and the revised governance documents are ready for review. Have the final reports been sent to the relevant shareholders?"

He listened intently, occasionally glancing at the charts on his tablet while I traced idle patterns along the seam of his shirt.

"Good. I want the remaining reviews done properly, no matter whose name is on the original approvals. Keep the competent executives where they are, but make it clear that their duty is to the company, not to any individual family member."

His tone was calm, devoid of theatrics, revealing quiet confidence. He clearly knew what he wanted and had finally gained the power to make it happen

I gawked at him confused, for all I knew...he’d pretty much had just said;

"Blah, blah, blah...rich people bullshit... Blah, blah, blah... businessy company shareholders crap."

Once the call ended, I lifted my head.

"So, if I’m understanding your new career path, you’ve become a corporate supervillain with better hair, except instead of wanting to take over the world, you’re forcing people to actually finish their paperwork."

Damien set his phone down next to the laptop.

"That’s a rather theatrical interpretation."

"You just said you would make people accountable for their paperwork. That’s practically a declaration of war in a room full of executives."

"My father relied too heavily on informal arrangements, personal loyalties, and decision-making that was rarely scrutinized. I’ve spent the last month ensuring the company isn’t dependent on those things anymore."

He went through it step by step while I remained cozied up in his lap, occasionally interjecting whenever he said something that suspiciously sounded like a villain laying out a master plan.

The independent directors and key shareholders had officially reinforced his position, which meant that getting rid of him would take more than just a quiet conversation between family members.

Several executives who had blindly served his father were reassigned or let go after proper reviews, while genuinely competent people had been retained with clearer guidelines.

Internal auditing systems had been strengthened, major contracts now faced tighter scrutiny, and the informal channels his father once used to manipulate decisions were steadily vanishing.

Damien had also strengthened partnerships with business allies who had their own reasons to prefer stable leadership at Lockwood Group.

This meant his position relied on trust from people who understood the company’s interests rather than just obeying the Lockwood name.

As I listened, I couldn’t help but feel impressed, despite doing my best to keep my sarcasm in check.

"So, if your father wakes up tomorrow and decides he wants his old job back, what then?"

"He can request a review through the proper channels."

"And if he wants you out?"

"He can make his case to the board, the shareholders, and anyone else who’s allowed to question the decision."

I considered this.

"That sounds incredibly inconvenient for him."

"It should be." Then he booped my nose with his finger, "Can you guess who I’m doing all these for, Sunshine?"

I smiled and pressed against his shoulder.

"Are you planning to conquer the world next?"

Damien looked at me as if he were seriously considering my question.

"The world has far worse accounting practices than Lockwood Group."

I stared at him.

That was undoubtedly the most concerning thing I had ever heard from my boyfriend, and believe me, I’d heard him say some strange stuff about reorganizing wardrobes as a form of stress relief.

I kissed him to keep him from elaborating more.

Naomi’s arrival later that morning cut short our second attempt at a peaceful breakfast. I guessed she’d developed a knack for spotting the signs of a less-than-productive meeting whenever Damien’s office door remained closed for too long.

She walked in carrying a slim folder, impeccably dressed and beautiful as always, her neat braids trailing over her shoulders as she glanced at the papers sprawled across the table and then at me perched on the edge of Damien’s desk.