Emily's office~
After ending the call, Emily sighed deeply, rubbing her throbbing neck. Her eyes swept across the office she had called home for the past two years, the place she would be leaving in thirty minutes.
She felt bad, hurt, and utterly at a loss. If only this were for a promotion, or maybe for advanced training, which the company usually organized at intervals, but no… it was not.
Melissa's gaze followed her every move, questions brimming in every glance. But, Emily decided to play it by ear; she had let her unstable emotions ruin everything, and now she couldn't bring herself to explain.
Melissa's fist clenched and unclenched. If she had suspected Emily Winters of hiding something serious before, she was now certain Emily was concealing an earth-shattering secret about herself.
Her brow furrowed in thought. "What was that about… marriage?"
"Married who?"
Melissa stared at her friend, who seemed to have changed overnight; her frustration bubbled over—but more frustrating was the fact she was already packing up her things to move over to the last floor… the CEO's office when she couldn't understand what was going on.
"Emily Winters, are you finished?" she shrieked, her furious tone echoing through the small office.
Emily paused briefly but, without a word, she continued to pack her possessions in that office with great care and precision.
Not able to take it anymore, Melissa shot to her feet and held her hands. "What is going on?" she demanded.
Emily's shoulder sagged tiredly. "Can I crash at your home for a few nights to calm my mind?" she asked softly.
"That's not the problem, but the fact you are a mess is worrying," Melissa explained.
"Don't worry, I will explain everything when we get back tonight," Emily said glancing around the office. "Let me handle this transfer first."
Melissa sighed, her gaze a mixture of worry and concern. "You don't have to overthink it… there's always a way out."
Emily scoffed silently. "A way out? I doubt that is possible." Yet she nodded faintly acknowledging her friend's words.
Melissa helped her gather all of her possessions in the office into a box. "All set," she said.
Emily nodded and lifted the box. With an exaggerated sigh, she slowly made her way out, several colleagues watched her with complicated, unreadable expressions.
Once out of the office and away from prying eyes, Melissa hugged her lightly. "Believe in yourself, you'll be fine. Otherwise… make the CEO fall in love with you. Everything will work out," she whispered.
Emily choked on her saliva as she stared at her friend, bewildered, while her eyes scanned around the hallway. "Seems you really want to lose this friend of yours finally."
Melissa shrugged. "What's wrong with thinking about it that way? Maybe he has finally taken a liking to you to ask for you to be reassigned to his office."
"Melissa, I had a vision of you losing your job because of your mouth."
Melissa laughed softly. "Not when I am about to have a girlfriend who is the CEO's wife," she said with a smirk.
"In your dreams," Emily retorted, and she exhaled deeply. "I've got to run along."
"Alright, see you after work," Melissa said as she watched her walk toward the elevator.
Emily stepped into the elevator without a glance back; she could still feel Melissa's worried gaze trained on her, and there was no doubt she might cry if she looked back.
Immediately, the door slid shut with a thud; she took a deep breath, hoping to calm her fraying nerves.
With no need of lingering on the inevitable, she pressed the elevator for the last floor. Box in her hand, she leaned on the wall, watching as the numbers climb…with each floor, she drew closer to the office every employee of Sterling Group both feared and respected.
Emily was battling with her thoughts until the elevator dinged. As the doors slid open, she stepped out.
With dragged, heavy footsteps and a heart pounding harder than a drum, Emily walked toward the CEO's office, her hands clutching tightly the small box containing her belongings as though her life depended on it.
With every step forward, her mind swirled with anxious thoughts and questions of why and how, yet no answer seemed near.
She had spent four years working at Sterling Group, diligently doing her job, staying out of trouble, and avoiding the high-profile figures that managed the company.
But now, she was being pushed right into the lion's den.
Have I offended anyone in the past?
Or is someone out to get me?
Stepping past the Secretariat unit, her footsteps echoed softly down the hallway, slow and hesitant.
She could feel the curious gazes of several colleagues as she passed by. Some whispered; some merely watched, but she had no option other than to ignore them all.
Stopping outside the large, imposing double doors of the CEO's office, Emily's footsteps faltered briefly.
The male receptionist outside gave her a quick glance before nodding. "You may go in. The president is expecting you."
Her thoughts raced. "Who keeps a male receptionist other than the golden son of the Lucian family?"
Emily swallowed hard; her palms slightly damp. She inhaled deeply, squared her shoulders, and knocked twice.
"Come in," a deep, commanding voice responded from within.
With one last resolve, Emily pushed the door open and stepped into the wide office, her box still in her hand.
The air inside was cooler, a stark contrast to the warmth outside. The office was massive, its furniture and fittings screaming luxury and state-of-the-art decoration.
A massive bookshelf on the left-hand side of the room housed various books and volumes from various fields of study.
The blinds were drawn to minimize the rays of sunlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The large polished mahogany table sat at the center with several folders and files arranged in order.
A personal laptop on the left side and a desktop on the right side of the table…a scene that made Emily wonder if he works with both at the same time.
Emily's eyes quickly swept across the room before they landed on the man sitting behind the desk.
Lucian Sterling.
Her new boss.