C2 Owned by Design

Lila Carter had dealt with powerful men before. CEOs who thought their money gave them control over everything. Investors who spoke in numbers and forgot that cities weren’t just assets; they were homes, communities, legacies. But Maximilian Blackwood? He was something different.

He wasn’t just powerful—he was power. The kind that didn’t need to raise his voice to command a room. The kind that could destroy careers with a phone call. The kind that made a woman’s pulse quicken for all the wrong reasons.

And he was watching her again.

The meeting had ended thirty minutes ago, but Lila had stayed behind in the conference room to review notes. Or at least, that was what she told herself. In reality, she was avoiding the moment she’d have to ride down that elevator with him.

Of course, she wasn’t lucky enough to avoid him entirely.

“You’re stalling.”

The voice came from the doorway, smooth as silk and twice as dangerous. She looked up to find Maximilian leaning against the frame, his tailored suit sharp against the dim lighting.

Lila exhaled slowly. “No, I’m working. Something you might want to try.”

He smirked. “I own the work. I don’t have to try.”

She rolled her eyes and shoved her tablet into her bag. “Is there something you need, Mr. Blackwood, or do you just enjoy lurking in doorways?”

He didn’t move. Just watched her, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle no one else could see. “Why did you take this project?”

The question was unexpected. Too direct.

She adjusted the strap of her bag. “Because it’s the biggest urban design project of the decade. Because I built my career for a moment like this.”

His gaze didn’t waver. “And because you think you can do it without me.”

Lila scoffed. “I know I can do it without you.”

He stepped into the room, slow and deliberate, closing the space between them. Not enough to be inappropriate—just enough to remind her that he was there, that he was the one in control.

“Here’s the thing, Lila,” he said, voice low, almost conversational. “I don’t get ignored. And I don’t get replaced.”

She lifted her chin. “Sounds exhausting.”

A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes, but it was gone just as fast. “We can play this game, if you want. The whole I-don’t-like-you, you-don’t-like-me thing. But at the end of the day, I sign the checks, and you build my city.”

The arrogance in his tone made her want to throw her coffee at him. “Your city?”

He shrugged, unbothered. “You design. I own. That’s how this works.”

Lila took a step closer. “That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t just design buildings, Mr. Blackwood. I create legacies. And if you think for one second that I’ll let you steamroll over mine, you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

For the first time, his expression shifted. Not in anger. Not in irritation. In something much more dangerous.

Admiration.

And worse—interest.

“You’re right,” he murmured, tilting his head as if seeing her in a new light. “I don’t know who I’m dealing with. Yet.”

The word hung between them, heavy with promise.

Lila had spent her entire career building walls around herself. Around her work, her emotions, her heart. But as Maximilian Blackwood turned and walked away, leaving her standing in the dimly lit conference room with her pulse racing—she had a terrifying realization.

This wasn’t just business anymore.

This was a game.

And she wasn’t sure who would win.