I had to crane my neck to look up at the huge skyscraper standing proudly before me. Molded with sleek glass, it reflected the whole city against it. And a huge OC Textiles sign was hung at the top of the building. My new office.
I wasn’t hoping for anything to turn out well, because from experience, I knew my wish wouldn’t get sanctioned anyway. But that didn’t tame the nervous flutters in my tummy. I wasn’t even sure if I’d have to work here, or they’d consider my request and transfer me elsewhere.
Let’s see what happens.
Having my fingers crossed, I blew out a breath and walked inside. And I was left in awe.
From the dark marble floor and classy contemporary interior to the polished dark wood ceiling, everything was stunning and spotless. I didn’t know an office could be this beautiful.
When I approached the receptionist, she was up to her feet with a bright smile plastered on her face, even before I could reach her. As if she was just waiting for my arrival.
“Welcome to OC Textiles, ma’am. How may I help you?” she greeted with a polite nod.
“Hi, I’m Emerald Hutton. Today’s my first day.Could you please tell me where I should go first?”
Her nod was eager. “Yes, yes, of course. Can I see your joining letter, please?”
“Yeah, sure. Here.” I handed her the letter.
She didn’t even read it properly, just swiped her eyes over it and gave it back to me. “All right, kindly please follow me, miss. Let me show you to the boss’s office.”
Nodding, I did what she said. But before we could even cross the lobby, we halted in our tracks.
A frown set on my forehead as I stared at the tall caramel eyed man walking towards us with a happy face. When he nodded at the receptionist, she flashed me another smile and walked away.
“Caleb? What are you doing here?” I glanced around. “Are you here for a meeting or something?”
He chuckled. “First of all, welcome to the office. And as for your question, no, I’m not here for any meetings or anything else. This is my office.”
I opened my mouth, processing his words. And then it hit me. “Your office? That means you’re my boss now?”
He shrugged. “In a way, yes. I’m the CEO of this company. But you don’t have to worry about that. Think of it as your own.”
“Wait a minute, I’m not catching up here. What’s going on? I mean, you weren’t even shocked seeing me here.” With narrowed eyes, I tilted my head.
“Because he already knew of your arrival,” a voice said behind me. A deep voice with a hint of a Greek accent I wanted to hate.
Not losing my composure, I turned around. And there he was. Towering over me in his three-piece charcoal suit, he looked as heart-stopping as ever. I didn’t dare show the effect on my face as the memories of that night hit me.
Stay cool, Em. Focus on the current situation.
But how could I when those stormy grays stared at me like I was the only person around him in the entire office he could see?
“Hello, Emerald,” he said, a formal smile on his lips.
Emerald? No Rosebud now?
Ignoring him, I turned to Caleb. Seeing my questioning stare, he nodded, confirming his cousin’s statement. Of course he’d know. He was the CEO after all.
Then something hit me. “You’re the CEO of this company, that means—you transferred me here on purpose, didn’t you? And how did you even know I was one of the newcomers?” Everything turned more vogue for me. What was happening here?
He shifted, glancing over my shoulder. “The decision to transfer some staff was totally for official reasons. You were about to be transferred to another city. But when your papers caught my attention, I thought, why not bring you back to the city? As we have one branch over here. And you’ll also be comfortable staying close to your family.”
His reasons didn’t convince me. And the burning stare at the back of my head didn’t let me concentrate either.
“Such a coincidence, isn’t it?” Was he telling the truth? But why would he lie to me?
He coughed. “Yeah, it is. But I’m happy you’re here. Tess was missing you.”
“I hope you got your answers, Ms. Hutton?”
I turned around. The side of his lips twitched, gray irises twinkling with something. Ms. Hutton? Was he playing with me right now? Because I could see it in his gaze. They were weaving some web, but what? I couldn’t figure it out.
He took a step closer and tucked a strand behind my ear. “Did you like the office, Rosebud?” his rough voice whispered, stormy grays roaming my face.
My breath caught in my throat.
First Emerald, then Ms. Hutton, and now back to Rosebud. What was he doing?
I slapped his hand away and stepped back before I lost my sanity. “It doesn’t matter if I liked it or not. It’s not that I’m working here, anyway.”
I ran away from my home to New York just to stay away from him. I hurt my family and friends just to be away from him. And now my fate has brought me here, in the company his cousin owned. I couldn’t let this happen. Though it wasn’t his company, it was one of his family member’s. Avoiding him wouldn’t be an easy thing for me if I stayed. And considering his weird behavior towards me recently, I didn’t believe he’d keep his distance.
He tilted his head, giving me a challenging look. “And who told you so?”
I raised my chin, even though that didn’t help with his over six feet height. “I did. I won’t work in this company. I’m going back to New York.”
At the mention of New York, he tensed. But only for a second. The next moment he was in utmost ease as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry to inform you, Ms. Hutton. You can’t.”
“What do you mean? You can’t force me to work here.”
“Did you read the rules and conditions before you applied and accepted the job?”
I frowned. “Yes?”
A tiny smirk tugged at the edge of his mouth. Something dropped in the pit of my stomach. “Then you must’ve read about the three months contract. In which, you agreed to the condition that you can’t leave this job at least for ninety days after accepting the offer. So that means, Emerald Hutton—” he closed the gap again, holding my gaze, “—you can’t leave this company and this city at least for three months.”
I gaped at him. Speechless. How could I forget about the clause? Because at that moment, it wasn’t a big deal for me. I wouldn’t have left the job even if it was for some years instead of just some months. But now…
“I don’t care about the contract. I’m resigning and no one can stop me. And how do you know about this contract, anyway?”
“I know a lot of things. And you will have to care, Ms. Hutton, if you don’t want a big red mark on your career.”
“I-I…” I didn’t know what to say. He had a point. Breaching this contract could be a big thumbs down for my career.
The look of triumph in his orbs vexed me.
And then I remembered his words.
“You can’t escape me anymore.”
No. I can’t let that happen. But what can I do?
I turned to Caleb, and before I could ask for help, he put his hands up. “I’m sorry, Em. I can’t help you with this. The contract states that, just like the employee can’t resign before the estimated time, the employer can’t fire them until it’s for something major.”
But it is a major issue for me! I wanted to scream.
“Please, is there nothing you can do? You could transfer me somewhere else,” I requested.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Em. And why transfer, though?”
“Uh, nothing. It’s just…” My voice trailed off.
“Are you scared of something, Ms. Hutton?” Ace appeared before me. “Is there anything that you think you can’t handle?” He cocked his head.
My jaw clenched. What was he trying to do? Was he challenging me?
“I’m not scared of anything or anyone!”
“You sure about that? Because it seems like you’re desperate to escape the city. What are you afraid of?” he fired back.
Something squeezed in my chest. His questions pricked me. Did he really not know why I wanted to escape this city so desperately?
“I’m not escaping anything. I’m not a coward!” My eyes burned as I defended myself.
“No? But you’re behaving like one.” As soon as he said that, regret flashed over his features. “Emerald, I didn’t mean…”
“You know what, Achilles Valencian? Go to hell!” Sending him a glare of wrath, I turned around and stormed away.
Watching the whole city from the balcony helped me cool my nerves. When I found this balcony empty, I decided to take a breath in the fresh air. But his words kept echoing in my head.
Though Ace’s words stung, he was telling the truth. I was running from someone, him. I was a coward. I just didn’t have the courage to be around him more than I could handle. More than my heart could handle.
But now that a challenge was thrown in my path by him and my fate, was I ready to accept it?
My phone beeped.
Ace: I’m sorry.
I glared at my phone as if I glared at him instead.
Sorry my foot! He did it on purpose. To hurt me. He knew it was a sore subject for me. Though he never mentioned it, I knew, somehow deep down, he knew of my feelings for him.
That was years ago! Yes, years ago. I reminded myself.
I didn’t know what changed, and why he was after me. But whatever he wanted, he wouldn’t get it.
Gripping the phone tight into my fist, I typed.
Whatever you’re trying to do, you won’t succeed in it. I won’t let it happen. Just three months, and I will be free of this contract soon. You can’t make me stay here forever.
Yes, I decided to face it. It was high time to face my fears. I didn’t even have any choice. Maybe, just maybe, I could finally move on facing my fears? Who knew? And in these three months, I could stay with my family. Plus, Tess’s wedding was approaching. So, in a way, there were a lot of positive sides if I stayed back and worked here.
It was just a matter of three months, anyway. I could do it.
After spending some time on the couch, I went back inside and found Caleb’s assistant, Liza.
Once she gave me a tour and explained my job here, we stopped at the management department. With dozens of cubicles, dozens of people were working tirelessly on their given tasks.
“So, Liza? Where will I work from?” I turned to the tall blonde.
“Your office is on the forty-eighth floor.”
My eyes narrowed. “Office? Shouldn’t I get a cubicle like the others? I mean, I’m just a new employee, assisting the head designers.”
“You’re right. But the boss has given you an office so you don’t have any kind of discomfort. And trust me, you will love it.” She smiled.
Caleb? But wouldn’t that be partiality? I shrugged. A personal office didn’t sound so bad.
I wonder if Tess knew about my job in Caleb’s company.
When Liza took me to my office, she was right. I fell in love with it at the first sight. It was decorated in a combination of white and blue. The plush couch, the shelf, and even the beautiful paintings on the walls. It also had a floor to ceiling window from where I could see the world beneath me.
I breathed in awe as I took in the beautiful view of the busy city from the window. It was like a customized personal office. As if someone decorated every single thing with utmost care and affection.
I must thank Caleb for this. Getting my own personal office kind of reduced the bitterness of the argument I had with his frustrating cousin.
Once Liza left me on my own, I put my head into the work. It was a little difficult at first, but it all turned manageable with time. But it needed hard work. Piles of files were stacked on my white desk. I didn’t even realize when the sun set in the jam of the work. And as a newbie at this, I was lacking speed.
A knock on the door made me look up. A blond head peeked through the door before he strolled in with a small box in his hand. Blue eyes twinkled with felicity.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Came to see how my little sister is doing on the first day of her office. Why? Is there a problem?”
I rolled my eyes and jutted my chin to the box. “What’s in it?”
“Cupcakes. I thought you’d like some after a day full of work,” he said, opening the box. The mouthwatering sweet aroma of them had me salivating. Only then I realized how hungry I was.
“Thanks.” Grabbing one, I took a bite.
“So? How was your day? Did you like the office?” Tobias asked.
“Other than the shock I got after knowing that I was brought here on purpose and who the owner is, everything else was pretty good. The people over here are very nice and humble.”
He nodded. “I heard what happened. But I don’t have any complaints about their decision. We can have you closer to us, after all.”
I shook my head. I knew none of my family members would see any problem in it. For them, whatever Caleb did was right. I couldn’t even stay upset with him for it. He didn’t know my reasons. If I were in his place, maybe I would do the same.
“Hey, I know what you’re thinking. But don’t worry. I’m sure Achilles won’t do anything that will make you uncomfortable. I can talk to him if you want?” he offered, concern laced his face.
“No need. It’s not like I’ll have to face him everyday. Not that I care, but it’s good that Caleb is the owner of this company and not him. So, there is nothing much to worry about. I won’t see him often.”
“Who told you Caleb is the owner of this company?” He raised his brow.
I frowned. “What do you mean? He’s the CEO, right?”
Tobias nodded. “Yes, as a CEO, he manages everything. But he’s not the owner. Achilles owns this company. He bought it.”
