Chapter 5 To meet him

• When I woke up the next morning, fear was the first thing I felt. As soon as I was conscious, I remembered that I had to meet the CEO at 10 am. I quickly jumped out of bed and made my way to the shower. I needed to be extra early so that I could mentally prepare myself for what was to come.
• I retouched my lipstick, took a deep breath and walked through the company entrance. A few heads turned my way with admiration but I look straight ahead, ignoring some of them. All they wanted was a feast for their eyes, not caring how it affected others.
• I opened the door to my office. Kim was putting some books in order. She looked amazing in a blue blouse and a black pencil skirt hugging her slight curves. Her black heels were amazing but were no match for mine, or so I thought.
• “Good morning, Leanne.” She said, smiling. I knew she was faking it but I had no option but to play along. For now.
• I forced a smile. “Morning Kim. How are you today?”
• “Better than ever,” Kim said. “This company is perfect. I'm so happy I work here and want my stay to last forever.”
• “That's nice,” I said, going inside my office. I sat down and fished my personal drawer keys out of my black purse.
• “I've done everything you wanted me to do before you arrived,” Kim popped her head in and said excitedly. “Do you have anything for me to do right now?”
• “No,” I looked around the office. Everything was neatly arranged and I had already had my morning coffee. “I'll call you when I need you. Go to your desk, please.”
• I was thankful we didnt have to share the office. It'd have been hard to be around Kim for hours without killing her.
• “Thanks, Leanne. “ Kim said. “By the way, you're a very beautiful lady.”
• Yeah, I was not falling for that kind of flattery. Flattery gets people to many places but I was sure it would not get Kim to my good side.
• “Thanks Kim,” I said, faking a small smile. If I kept it up, my face would soon start aching. “You're very beautiful too.”
• “No, I don't think I'm as beautiful as you are.”
• It seemed Kim was a real attention seeker. I didn't have time to waste telling her how beautiful she was and how she should never think otherwise. Kim was trying my patience and it was tearing me apart. I was pretty sure she knew it. What game was this little girl playing?
• I smiled, opening my drawer. I pretended to search for something until I heard the door open and close. She was gone. I heaved a sigh of relief and shook my head. One day, Kim and I were going to have a big fight. That was inevitable.
• For the next one hour, I tried hard to focus on the paperwork I was supposed to work on. I spent the whole time worrying about what Zane Carrington could possibly want with me. I had no idea if the meeting was only between the two of us or more people would be involved.
• But something happened. Thirty minutes to ten, the meeting was postponed. I received a call from the CEO’s office telling me that I would be required to go there at 2, not ten as earlier communicated. I was annoyed because the only thing that did was to prolong my anxiety. The day had just started but I began to feel it was going to be a terrible one.
• I thought I had seen the last of Kim for the day but Kim appeared at lunch time, looking more beautiful than she did in the morning. I figured she retouched her make up every thirty minutes because her tanned skin was constantly glowing.
• “Good afternoon, Maya.” she said, that annoying smile flashing on her face. “I called New Hill restaurant and made a reservation for both of us. Can we go out for lunch?”
• “But you didn't ask me about it,” I said. “What if I had other plans?”
• “Do you?” She raised an eyebrow.
• “No.”
• “Alright. What difference does it make, anyway?” Kim said. “Or do you not want to go out with me? Oh my goodness, I'm sorry for troubling you. Please forgive me, Maya.”
• So much drama for nothing. It was giving me headache. I regretted asking her to use my first name.
• “Oh no, it's perfectly fine” I said, standing up. I was quite hungry, anyway. “I'll go with you, Kim.”
• “That makes me so happy,” she chirped.
• “My pleasure,” I said as we walked out of the office. This girl was everything I didn't want for an assistant. She was so devious and calculating but I was not going to let her bring me down. I was going to take her down instead. And if I had to fall, I'd fall with her.
• We passed the cubicle area where the junior employees work at in silence. I said ‘hello’ to some of the people I had not seen since morning. They didn't care about my greeting as much as usual since they were too busy trying to have words with my beautiful assistant.
• We met Harry in the parking yard. “Hey, ladies. How's it going?”
• “All's fine,” Kim said. “We're heading out for lunch.”
• “Wow,” Harry smiled, focusing on me. I noticed the amused gleam in his eyes. “I'm glad you finally got a companion, Maya.”
• “Same,” I lied. “I was so lonely before she came.”
• “Enjoy your lunch, ladies.” Marcus said resuming his walk, then stops. “Maya?”
• “Yes?”
• “You look lovely, today.” He winked and strode on. I thought I heard a tiny gasp from Kim. I glimpsed at her as the surprise vanished from her face, replaced by a smile I knew was forced. I knew it was killing her and for the first time I was glad that Harry was a big jerk who liked messing with people.
• “See, I told you.” My assistant said as we neared New Hill. “You're more beautiful-”
• “Don't,” I said and she didn't say a word till we were in the restaurant. I was not in the mood to deal with that teenage kind of stupidity. I was a twenty four year old successful executive not a thirteen year old teenager. We didn’t talk much as we ate and soon we were out of the restaurant. I could finally breathe.
• “We still have twenty minutes of lunch break,” I checked my phone as we exited. “Go ahead, I'm going to a pharmacy.”
• “You don't have to go alone,” Kim said with that sickening smile of hers. I had had just about enough of her. “I can escort you.”
• “The pharmacist is my friend,” I said. “I'm going to spend the time talking to her about some stuff. It'll be awkward for you.”
• I could tell by her expression that she knew that was an excuse but she left anyway. “Okay, have a good time, Maya.”
• I walked away, trying to calm myself. There was no way I can continue acting like we were getting along. All I wanted was to get rid of her.
• But how could I do it when I spent the previous week begging HR for an assistant? As far as I could see, Kim was not about to let herself make a mistake. She loved the job and I had a feeling that she loved mine even more.
• I went to the nearest pharmacy and bought some pain relievers before returning to the office. Kim didn’t say anything as I went to my inner office. After sitting down, I pulled out my phone to check how long I had left.
• 02:05 pm.
• My heart nearly stopped. I jumped out of the chair and stormed out. I hurried to the elevator. Thankfully, it was not in use. I got in and it took me to the top management floor.
• I murmured a prayer as I walked towards the CEO’s office. The name on the door had changed.
• Zane Carrington.
• I took a very deep breath before knocking. Zane Carrington was definitely going to kill me.