Stop! Mr. CEO

Ding! A notification came in. It was an email from Henderson Group. a multibillion-dollar company that produces all types of food products. It is a very big company that has branches all over the world, and the headquarters is located in New York City. "Dear Miss Elizabeth Felix, You have been offered a job at the Henderson Group as the secretary to the CEO. You are to resume work on Monday. Contact Mr. Daniel on +1 *** ***** 1 when you get to the company. Best regards. Henderson group." Ever since Elizabeth quit her job due to s****l harassment from her former boss, she has been desperately looking for another job, but to no avail. She was so devastated until her rich friend, Vernonia, came to her aid. She assured her that she was going to talk to her childhood friend, Alexander Henderson, to offer her a job. And she got it! Elizabeth was so excited and full of joy. ‘Finally! I got the job," she let out a sigh of relief. … Day of resumption Elizabeth woke up to the sound of her alarm ringing. Her alarm went off at 6:30 am, but she had been subconsciously snoozing it. She picked up her phone and looked at the time. "s**t!" She exclaimed when she realized that the time was 7:30 AM and she had to report to her new place of work in thirty minutes. Jerking up from the bed, she quickly rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. After brushing her teeth, she rushed back to her room; she didn’t have enough time to shower. She trudged to her dresser and moisturized her skin. She pulled up her braids into a bun, wore the clothes she had pressed the day before, fitted her feet into her court shoes, and hung her bag over her shoulder. And that was it; she was set to go. She rushed back to the dresser and looked at herself in the mirror one last time before dashing out. "Goodluck on your first day at work!" Her mom yelled just as she opened the front door. "Thanks mom." She yelled back before stepping outside and shutting the door behind her. She rushed to her car, entered it, turned the key in the ignition, and the engine rolled to life. On her way to work, she stopped at the sign of the red light. Shortly after, another car bumped into hers. She got furious and quickly hopped out of her Honda Civic 2000 model and confronted the driver of the Rolls Royce Phantom that bumped into her car. "Are you blind? Why did you come so close to my car and scratch it?" She snapped. Elizabeth might be an easy-going person, but once trampled upon, she fights like a tiger. "Pay her off and end this. How much does she want?" The boss sitting at the back said, arrogantly. Infuriated by his words, she yelled. "Do you think you can look down on me just because you are rich and ride in this luxurious car?" "It’s just a little scratch; why are you making a fuss about it? And by the way, I am offering you money for damages." "I don’t need your f*****g money!” She ranted as she kicked the car with her foot. "What I want is an apology, you f*****g arrogant rich retard." Before she knew it, there were sounds of car horns coming from the lane they were in. Hoisting her head to look at the traffic light, she realized that the signal had turned green. "This i***t is lucky," she thought, as she darted her gaze back to the car and proceeded to give it a last foot kick. "You are lucky I’m late for work. If not, I wouldn’t have let you get away with this." She hissed before rushing back to her car. With frustration clawing at her chest, she turned on the ignition and powered up the road. When she arrived at the Henderson group building, her jaws dropped. The interior was more elegant and luxurious than the exterior. Henderson Group was a much bigger company than her former place of work. This is a dream come true, she thought, as she made her way to the waiting area and sat down on one of the benches. She tugged her phone out of her bag and dialed the number that was attached to the email. "Hello, good morning. It's Elizabeth Felix on the line." She said, When someone picked up. "Oh, Ms. Felix. Where are you?" A male voice said over the phone. "I’m in the waiting area on the ground floor." She informed him. "I’ll be with you shortly." He assured her and hung up immediately. Shortly after, a short man with a few bald spots who appeared to be in his early forties approached her. "You must be Ms. Felix, right?" he inquired while darting his eyes between her face and the plastic card he was holding. It seemed like he was trying to compare something. "Mr. Daniel, right?" she asked, as she extended her hand forward for a handshake. "You are welcome to the Henderson group." He said, as he accepted the handshake, a face-splitting grin tugging at his lips. "This is your company ID card." He said, as he handed her the plastic card in his hand. Collecting the ID card and glancing at it, her face lit up with impish glee when she saw her face and details printed on it. "Follow me, please." Mr. Daniel said as he turned on his heels and started walking away. Elizabeth quickly trailed behind him, as he led her to the elevator, and they went up to the 40th floor. They walked down the hallway and stopped in front of an office door. Alexander Henderson, CEO of Henderson Group was boldly inscribed on the door. Mr. Daniel pulled out his card and swiped it on the card lock system. "Mr. Henderson is in a meeting right now. The meeting won’t take long. But before he comes, I’ll give you an orientation.” He told her as they stepped inside the office. Elizabeth looked around; there was a door inside the office that led to an inner office. A desk and chair were facing the inner office. "This is your own office and that is your desk." Mr. Daniel said, as he pointed towards the desk. "The inner office is for the CEO." They walked over to the desk and sat by it. In one hour, he was able to explain the basics she needed to know about the company. He also gave her the company handbook to study on her own. Mr. Daniel left her alone in the office; he said he needed to attend to something and instructed her to wait for the CEO. Shortly after, while she was reading the handbook that was given to her, she heard the door click open, and the sound of the door opening was followed by footsteps. She looked in the direction that the footsteps were coming from without lifting her head. She could see long legs covered with blue tuxedo pants, walking majestically, like a king, towards her. Hoisting her head up to see who it was, her heart skipped a beat and she froze in place when she saw the person standing before her. It was the man she had a clash with in the traffic! Could he be Alexander Henderson? Her new boss? She panicked as she continued staring at him. He had recognized her in an instant, and he glared at her with blue eyes, which she would describe as the color of a midwinter sky. "What are you doing in my office?" He snarled, confirming her guess. He was her new boss! "I’m—I’m—" She stuttered. "Are you by any chance the new secretary?" he asked, his thick eyebrows fusing together in a frown as he awaited a response. She nodded her head nervously. Running his fingers through his brown hair, he gawked at her in bewilderment. "This is absurd! Why would Veronica recommend this type of person who obviously lacks manners? What if she chases all our clients away because of her lack of self-control?" Before she could reply, Mr. Daniel bustled inside the office, a confused look spreading across his face. He had heard what Alexander said from the door. "Mr. Henderson, what is the matter, sir? Is there any problem?" Mr. Daniel asked as he darted his gaze between him and Elizabeth. "Yes, there is a problem!" Alexander exclaimed. "And the new secretary here is the problem!" Mr. Daniel’s gaze settled on Elizabeth. "Ms. Felix, please, can you explain what is going on here? What did you do to offend him?" "Uhm… something happened on our way here. His driver mistakenly bumped into my car, so I shouted at him and hurled insults at him.” She explained. “I swear I didn’t know he was the CEO." She was full of regrets and was so scared that he would fire her. She needed the job; she couldn’t afford to get fired on her first day, not when she had loads of bills to settle. Flicking her gaze to Alexander, she pleaded, "Please don’t fire me. I promise to be very good and do everything perfectly. I’ll do anything you want. Everything!" "I’m not petty. You are only here for the sake of Veronica in the first place. There are other people who are more qualified than you.” He said, with a calm voice. “If we had held a screening process, I am very sure that you would have stood no chance." The harsh words he spat out didn’t match the manner in which he said them.