Stop! Mr. CEO

2| Learn French.

Despite the fact that Alexander said those harsh words to her, Elizabeth couldn’t do anything but bow her head and thank him repeatedly. At least she still had her job; that’s what mattered the most.

Alexander’s gaze swept from her head to toe, burning her skin. Then he darted his eyes toward a pile of paperworks sitting in one corner of the room.

Pointing at the pile of paperworks, he ordered. "Sort them out in one hour, and bring them to me."

"Sir, these paperworks are numerous, and it is nearly impossible to sort them out in that time frame." She protested.

"I am your boss, and whatever I tell you to do, you have to do it. You have no right to complain." He snarled before dashing to his office.

"Try as much as possible to get on his good side." Mr. Daniel advised, before turning back and leaving the office.

Heaving a sigh, Elizabeth sauntered to where the paperworks were and heaped them up in her arms before walking back to her desk and placing them on it.

She sat by her desk and gazed at them for a few seconds before she started working on them.

She worked as fast as she possibly could without resting. And in 1 hour, 20 minutes, she was able to finish.

Leaping to her feet, she heaped them in her hands and carefully sauntered to his office.

She drew in a deep breath, trying to cool off her nervousness, before she knocked on the door.

"Come in," Alexander said almost immediately.

Opening the door while there was a heap of paperwork in her hands was an extreme sport.

But luckily, she was able to pull through without the papers slipping out of her hands.

"I'm done, sir." She said this nervously as she approached his desk while looking around the office.

The office screamed luxury, and it was the most beautiful office she’s ever been to.

Alexander was seated behind his luxury glass desk, glaring at Elizabeth as she approached him.

The look on his face made her shudder, stopping her from taking in every detail of the office’s decor.

He raised his head to look at the clock mounted on the wall. "You are 20 minutes late," he said.

She chewed on her bottom lips. "I tried my possible best to finish on time."

He glared at her before darting his gaze to the paperwork that she placed on his desk.

He picked up one of the paperworks, and as he skimmed through it, he asked. "Aside from English, what other languages do you understand?"

"English is the only language I understand, sir." She said this while picking her nails out of nervousness.

"Just English?" He asked, his brow furrowed. "How then are you going to communicate with our foreign clients and shareholders?"

She swallowed against her dry throat. She was too perturbed to speak.

Alexander shook his head before pulling out a book from his drawer and tossing it at her.

"Read and understand it before tomorrow." He said.

Biting her bottom lip, she crouched down and picked the book up from the floor before straightening back up.

She looked at the book and read the title inscribed on it.

"Learn French."

Wait, was she supposed to learn French in less than 24 hours? Does this jerk think she was a robot?

"Why are you quiet?" he asked, cutting through her thoughts.

"Nothing sir. I'll try my best." She said quietly.

"Good." He glared at her before dismissing her. "You can go."

"Thank you, sir." She said with a small voice, before turning on her heels.

She couldn't wait to get out of his office and out of his sight. Her heart has done nothing but beat fast against her ribcage out of nervousness since she stepped inside his office.

Staring at her retreating figure, he murmured something, but loud enough for her to hear.

"What an incompetent secretary. I am only doing this for the sake of Veronica." He said.

She halted. The words he said stung her, and she could feel the rage rising in her body.

She wanted to spin around and go nuclear on him, but she couldn’t.

She needed that job, she reminded herself.

So, drawing in a deep breath to cool the anger rising inside her, she continued waking while fighting the urge to turn back and yell at him with every fibre of her being.

She went back to her desk and started studying the book he had given her.

Learning wasn’t too hard for her because she was smart and a fast learner. When it was time for her to close, she went into his office to let him know that she was going.

"I’m leaving now." She informed him, but he didn’t bother to look at her when he gestured at her, telling her she could leave.

She stared at him for a few seconds. What he said to her earlier was still fresh in her heart, and all she wanted to do was inch closer to him and smack him hard on his face.

But she couldn’t do that; she needed her job, she reminded herself.

With frustration clawing at her chest, she dashed out of his office.

When she got home, what welcomed her were loud screams booming inside the house.

Her parents were at it again. They were arguing.

Her parents didn’t have a great marriage. They were always arguing and fighting.

But one thing she was thankful for is that no matter how intense their fights get, they have never resulted in physical violence.

These two should just get a divorce, she thought as she trudged to her room. She was too stressed to intervene.

When she entered her room, she ripped her clothes off of her body and slumped on the bed, heaving a sigh of relief.

She would finally get to rest, she thought.

She was recalling everything that happened at work that day when her phone suddenly started ringing, pulling her back to reality.

She glanced at her screen, and Veronica’s name flashed on it.

She picked it up and put it over her ear.

"Hello b***h!" Veronica beamed over the phone.

"What’s up, V?" Elizabeth said, dryly.

"Why is your voice low? How was your first day at work?" Veronica asked.

Elizabeth wanted to tell her everything that happened, how badly Alexander treated her, and how much she dislikes him, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to cause another problem because she was sure Veronica would confront him if she told her.

So, she just hid her pain and chuckled softly.

"I had a great day at work. The CEO was nice to me," she lied.

"Alex f*****g Xander was nice to you?!" Veronica exclaimed. "That f*****g narcissist? Well, I am impressed but surprised at the same time."

Oh, she already knows the type of person that a jerk is, Elizabeth thought.

"I am tired, V. I have to go; we’ll talk some other time." She quickly said

"Alright, good night. Love you." Veronica said.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I love you too."

They both said their goodbyes and hung up.

Elizabeth was about to fall back on the bed and sleep when she suddenly remembered the assignment her boss had given her.

"s**t!" She groaned, then reached for her bag and tugged the book out.

She studied the book all through the night.

She dipped her legs in water, washed her face at regular intervals, and did weird things just to prevent herself from sleeping.

She did all that just to be able to finish learning and impress her boss.

Maybe he'll be lenient with her once he realises how hard she works, she thought.

When it was morning, she took a quick shower and prepared for work.

On her way out, a sweet aroma filled the air and made its way to her nose.

She couldn’t resist.

She trudged to the kitchen and peered inside.

Her mother was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

The moment she appeared in the doorway, her mother saw her, and her face lit up. "You are set for work already?" She asked her, then gestured for her to inch closer. "Come and have some omelet. I made it for you."

"Good morning mom." Elizabeth beamed as she walked further into the kitchen, while trying her best to avoid eye contact with her mom.

She had dark circles under her eyes as a result of the sleepless night she had, and she didn’t want her mother to notice them.

But she failed to hide it from her mom; she noticed it.

"Lizzy, what happened to you? Didn't you get enough sleep?" She asked, a worried expression masked on her face.

Elizabeth started cracking her brain, thinking of a lie to tell her mom.

She must not tell her mother how she tried to finish learning French in just one night. If she did, She would also have to explain that it was her boss who asked her to finish learning it before she resumed work.

That information would make her mother jump full steam on the worry train, and she didn’t want that.

"Lizzy! Am I not talking to you?" Her mother asked, cutting through her thoughts.

"Sorry, mom, I slept late. I was so immersed in a movie that I didn’t even know time had gone." She quickly found a lie to tell.

"Alright, eat up before you run late." Her mom said.

She was relieved that her mother had bought the lie.

So, easing on one of the stools by the counter, she devoured the omelette and topped it with a cup of coffee before she headed out.

Alexander was already at the office when she arrived.

She entered his office and greeted him, but he didn’t respond to her greeting.

Instead, he looked at her from head to toe, then proceeded to ask her a few questions in French.

Much to his surprise, she responded perfectly.

He was impressed, but he didn’t show it to her, of course.

"I didn’t sleep last night because I wanted to make sure I finished learning before today." Elizabeth told him. She wanted him to be proud of her.

He glared at her and then clapped his hands mockingly. "Oh, I am proud of you, Ms. Felix. You should win the best employee award of the year." He said, sarcastically.

Her expression went blank.

What was she thinking? She should have known that she wouldn’t get an appraisal from him. What a jerk, she thought.

She was still lost in her thoughts when he tossed another book at her.

"Learn this before tomorrow." He ordered.

She was on the verge of tears when she picked it up and read the title inscribed on it. "Learn Italian."