The Chairman's First Love

Chapter 5: Got Hired

"You know... the other day, I think I saw him," Chloe said and the doctor slowly got his mind back to focus on the present.

"Are you sure?" Patrick was startled. He stared at her intensely, hoping that she was just joking. Chloe looked up and slightly nodded her head.

"He entered the Zen Global Corp building. I didn't see his face though."

"Then, you're not sure. Is that why you applied for the job there? Because you thought you saw Aaron Zender went into that building?" Patrick sounded a bit annoyed.

"No. Of course not. I need the job. That's why I applied there," Chloe assured him.

"Chloe, we just talked about you moving on just now. And now you're telling me that you might have met Aaron again? This is not healthy and you knew it. That guy had disappeared for a solid five years and he never contacted you even once. Who knows if he already had someone else right now. Maybe a girlfriend or probably a wife. Who knows if he already had kids now. Stop trying to find him again. Just forget about your revenge. Haven't you heard that quote saying that the best revenge is no revenge? Heal yourself from the pain. Move on and be happy with someone else who would cherish you better."

'That someone is me,' his heart murmured while looking at her with expectance eyes.

"I know... I know... I'm just saying it. I was probably mistaken. That guy was probably not even him," Chloe replied.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Chloe. What if you found him again and suddenly come to know that he was now happily married to someone else. Could you accept that?" Patrick's word pinched her heart a little.

Honestly, Chloe thought she might not be able to accept that too. How could she? Her life crumbled down right after Aaron left her. That was the worst phase of her life. The thing that hurt her the most was not because they broke up. It was the fact that he left and disappeared just like that after the breakup. He gave her no chance to reach him again. Things got worse after she found out she was pregnant and he was nowhere to be found. He left her to settle that matter alone. If somehow she found him again and he was happy with his life now, would that be fair for her?

"Stop trying to find him again. Save yourself from the heartbreak. You don't have to go through another misery for that guy. It's not worth it," Patrick advised her gently.

"You're right. I won't try to find him again. I promise," Chloe said vaguely.

Patrick sighed a little because she sounded hesitant. But, he didn't want them to argue that night. It was hard enough for him to be able to spend time together with her because of his busy schedule at the hospital. Thus, he didn't want to waste that opportunity by quarrelling with her.

***

The next day, inside the Chairman's office of Zen Global Corp, Aaron Zender stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the room, staring at the view of the whole metropolis. His office was located on the top floor of the company building. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Aaron instructed domineeringly.

Mr Benedict, one of the managers from the human resource department came in and went to approach him slowly. He handed Aaron a file.

"This is the shortlisted candidates, sir."

Aaron opened the file slowly and scanned the candidates one by one. There were only three candidates, so he didn't take long to scan all of them.

"If you are satisfied with the candidates, we will let them know immediately to come for the final interview," Mr Benedict said more.

Aaron halted when he read the resume of the last candidate. The name of that person caught his attention. 'Chloe Mendoza?' He mumbled her name inwardly. Then, he immediately checked her alma meter. 'Metro National University?' His mind went wild. He checked the photo of Chloe that was provided in the resume. It really did look a bit like that girl he left five years ago.

Mr Benedict stared at Aaron who had his brows knitted while staring at the resume of the last candidate.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" He felt malaise. The chairman's expression looked a bit tense.

"I want her. No need for the final interview. Tell this woman that she's hired," Aaron gave back the file to Mr Benedict.

The manager was bewildered but he didn't dare to ask Aaron why he chose Chloe without hesitation. He assumed that his boss was probably just like that woman since she was indeed quite beautiful. Black wavy hair, petite face, fair and flawless skin, and her innocent-looking gaze was what made this woman look like a little goddess. That was why during the interview, he eagerly asked her if she had a boyfriend or not because he had a hunch that the chairman would take interest in her. Obviously, his guess was right.

That night, Chloe received a text message from the Zen Global Corp company, saying that she was hired for the position she applied for before. She was instructed to report for duty immediately starting tomorrow.

"So soon? Isn't there supposed to be another interview? Is this real? How come I was suddenly got hired? Aren't they supposed to shortlist the candidates first?" Instead of being happy, Chloe felt strange after receiving the text message.

The next morning, she came to the company and reported herself to the front desk. The receptionist told her to go directly to the top floor using the VIP elevator and said Mr Matthew was waiting for her there. When Chloe arrived at the top floor, the place was eerie quiet. There were only three office rooms and a big meeting room there. She saw a wide desk beside the Chairman's office and thought that was probably her place. She was right because Mr Matthew directly escorted her there.

"This is your desk. These are all the files that you need to check daily and make a report for the Chairman. He just came back from Country H, so I'm not sure if he's used to the way we do things here. So try to adjust yourself according to his preference, okay? And by the way, here is his personal profile. Read that before you go inside to report to him. I'll go in first," Mr Matthew briefed her while handing a thin file containing the Chairman's personal information. He then entered the Chairman's office to tell the boss that his new secretary had arrived.

Chloe slowly opened the file and got her eyes widened when she saw the name of the Chairman. 'It can't be him,' her heart was in a fret. The name of her new boss was Aaron Zender. She could feel her hand slowly tremble while holding the file. She checked his alma meter and it was Haveston University of Country H.

'Probably not him. It's not Metro National University. But Aaron moved away during the third year. I didn't know where he moved. Could it be to Country H? Why is there no picture of him at all?' Chloe's heart was pounding in nervousness. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. A moment later, Mr Matthew came out from the Chairman's office.

"Miss Mendoza, you can come in now," he said.

Chloe slowly entered the Chairman's office. Her gaze was down all the time to avoid looking at him instantly. Actually, she was too scared to meet him. She was not even sure if this Aaron Zender was the same Aaron Zender that used to be her boyfriend five years ago. But she had a very bad feeling about this.

Mr Matthew closed the door of the office, leaving Chloe alone with Aaron inside. She slowly looked up and met Aaron's gaze. They stared at each other for a solid ten seconds before Aaron beckoned her to sit on the chair in front of his desk.

'F*ck. It's really him,' Chloe muttered in her heart with her eyes staring down the desk of her new boss. She may not have seen him for five years, but there were not many changes in his facial feature. He still looked the same to her, just a bit mature. Slowly, she rolled up her eyes to peek at him for a split second and noticed he was actually staring at her deeply with a stern face. Chloe quickly looked down on the desk again, avoiding meeting his gaze.

'Should I pretend like I don't know her? This is so strange and awkward,' Aaron grumbled internally, feeling agitated that Chloe didn't even look at him in the eyes. He noticed that she was looking at him just now, but then again it was only for a split second. He cleared his throat a few times before he started talking to her.

"I saw inside your resume that you studied at Metro National University for a total of five years. I thought the business course in that university was only four years," he made a remark that sounded like a query.

This time, Chloe bravely looked him in the eyes. 'You want to know why? I'll tell you why then,' she muttered internally. How absurd fate was to her. Last night, she just made a promise to Patrick that she would never try to find Aaron again. But fate was playing a game with her and suddenly making him her new boss today.