Chapter 2 The Missing Resume

• What do you do when you wake up beside the one man capable of destroying your entire career?
• My gaze remained fixed on the man sleeping beside me.
• Ethan Dennis.
• The mysterious billionaire CEO of Orion corporation. Young , cold , powerful.
• My boss! .
• The most feared businessman in New York.
• You didn’t just work for Ethan Dennis. You survived him.
• The same man who fired three employees once because they were a minute late.
• My entire body froze.
• I stared at him.
• I didn’t mean to stare. It wasn’t allowed. Not at work, not like this. But here, in this stupid hotel room that smelled like expensive cologne and champagne gone flat, I couldn’t help it.
• At work, Ethan Dennis looked untouchable ,always sharp suits, emotionless eyes, clipped words.
• But here…
• His face was calm , relaxed in sleep , completely unaware of what was going on inside of me .
• The lines around his mouth were gone. The jaw that usually looked carved from stone was slack. For the first time, he looked human. Almost like the kind of man you could talk to without rehearsing your words.
• The bedsheet was pulled down on his waist, revealing the thin old scar on his left hand.
• I had never noticed it before. At work, his hands were always hidden under cuffs, always moving papers, always signing things that changed people’s lives. That scar looked old. Like something from before he was Ethan Dennis, CEO of Orion. Before he became untouchable.
• For few seconds my brain refused to process.
• " How did this happen? . I murmured within myself as I tried to remember the flashes of what happened last night.
• I remembered being at the company's end of the year party, taking glasses of champagne from the waitress, being drunk , entering a room away from the crowd.
• Then the rest was a blur.
• I couldn't remember enough, that alone terrified me.
• I was the careful type. I always follow company rules.I was the girl who stayed late to fix other people’s slides and left before anyone could ask me to stay for drinks.
• "No ,no ,no ". I whispered to myself
• This couldn't be real.
• But , funny enough it was .
• Because I was on bed with him and I was completely naked.
• The word naked felt wrong in my head.I wasn’t supposed to be here. He wasn’t supposed to be here. We weren’t supposed to be anything to each other beyond employer and employee.
• I gently pulled the bedsheets closer to me, as if it could undo what has already happened. I started thinking of a way out.
• I can't stay here. I can't let him see me , because I was definitely going to loose my job.
• Carefully and gently I slid out of the bed like the sheets were made of alarm. Being careful enough at every single step I took, afraid he might wake up .
• My heart was hammering so loud I was sure it would wake him. Every movement felt too slow, too clumsy, like I was underwater. The floor was cold against my feet. The air felt heavier, like the room knew what I had done and was judging me for it.
• Luckily he didn't wake up .
• I gently picked up my scathered clothes from the floor. I dressed facing the wall with my hands shaking. Afraid he might wake up and catch me.
• Dressing was worse than undressing. Every button, every zipper felt like it took a year. My shirt was inside out. My skirt had a stain I didn’t want to look at too closely.
• One heel near the chair.
• The other by the couch.
• I didn’t even remember taking them off. That scared me more than anything.
• My thoughts were unforgiving.
• I shouldn't have come to the party at all .
• I shouldn't have drank the champagne.
• I should have been home, in bed, watching something stupid on my laptop, pretending I didn’t care that everyone else seemed to have a life outside of work.
• " No" . This never happened. That was what I told myself, because that was what I needed to believe.
• Then , another thought came to me.
• What would happen if he remembers?.
• Would he fire me?.
• Will he pretend nothing happened?.
• I didn't know which possibility frightened me most.
• I gently grabbed my bag and my heels off the floor not daring to look back . The door seems very far but somehow I made it .
• Slowly and carefully.
• Each one heavier than the last.
• When I finally reached the door .
• My right hand wrapped around the handle.
• It was cold.
• I paused. I wanted to look back.
• To make sure he was still asleep.I looked back.
• Dennis was still very much asleep.
• I opened the door and ran out.
• The hallway was empty. Too quiet. My heels clicked too loud against the marble floor, and I kicked them off, carrying them on my hands like that would make me less noticeable.
• When I finally got to my house, my apartment was quiet. Too quiet. Like even the walls knew what I had done and didn’t want to talk about it. My keys slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor, but I didn’t bother picking them up.
• I forced myself to move. Dropped my handbag carelessly on the floor . My heels came off next. I headed straight to the bathroom.
• The shower came down with a huge force. I stood there , letting it drop on my skin over and over again as if it could wash away what had happened last night.
• As if it could erase everything.
• But it didn't.
• After I felt like I had stayed enough in the bathroom, I turned off the shower and stepped out , wrapping my towel tightly around myself.
• I walked into my room slowly, like I was afraid the night would repeat itself again.
• Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
• My breath stopped.
• For a second I thought it was him.
• But when I went to open the door, the person I saw standing there made me exhale in relief.
• Ivy .
• My best friend.
• Ivy walked into the apartment carrying two shopping bags.
• The moment she stepped inside, she looked exhausted but focused.
• And worried.
• “Olive?”.
• I forced a smile.
• She followed me into my room and sat beside me on the bed.
• "You're back."
• "Are you okay? You look terrible."
• "I'm fine, just tired''.
• She studied me like she knew something was off, but thankfully she didn’t push further.
• Then suddenly her expression changed like she remembered something important.
• " Olive , my resume you know I would be needing it tomorrow right?'' .
• My stomach dropped. I had completely forgotten about it.
• " Yes , yes,”.I said too quickly.
• I grabbed my handbag from the floor immediately and opened it.
• I searched for it , but couldn't find it.I checked the side bag, but still couldn't find it .
• I frowned.
• I emptied everything on my bed .
• Lip gloss , Powder.Phone charger , papers
• But no resume.
• I checked again.
• Then again.
• Still nothing.
• The room felt smaller. My breathing got faster.
• Ivy's face changed instantly.
• " Olive".
• I looked up slowly.
• "I can't find it " , I told her.
• "What?".
• What do you mean you can't find it ?.
• “That’s my interview copy!” Ivy snapped.
• Her voice got louder. Sharper.
• " You know I have an interview tomorrow . How do I go about it? How could you be this careless?. Ivy angrily shouted and blamed me .
• " I know"
• " So why can't you find it?.
• Her voice got louder . She stood up.
• "I'm sorry, I will fix it , okay''. I tried to calm her down.
• " How?.
• " I will reprint it".
• " What if that was the only correct copy?,How could you be this careless?. Ivy blamed me.
• The words stung more than they should have.
• Because she was right.
• I was careless.
• I opened my mouth to argue, to say something, but nothing came out. Because she was right. I had been careless. With her resume. With everything.
• Ivy stared at me, angry and frustrated.
• Then she shook her head.
• “Unbelievable.”
• She turned and walked out .
• The door clicked shut behind her. Louder than it should have.
• I sat there alone, surrounded by the contents of my spilled handbag.
• I tried to remember if I had dropped it somewhere else, but I couldn't remember.
• Earlier that Morning……..
• Ethan Dennis woke up that morning.
• The woman was gone.
• He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes like he was trying to shake off the night. The room smelled of stale champagne and the scent of her perfume.
• His gaze swept across the room.
• Then something caught his attention.
• A paper lying beside the bed.
• He bent down and picked it up.
• A résumé.
• His eyes scanned the top.
• Ivy Cole .
• He sat there for a long time, just staring at the name.
• A knock came at the suite door.
• Daniel his personal assistant stepped in.
• “Good morning, sir.”
• He held out the resume.
• “Take this.”
• The assistant collected it carefully.
• His expression turned cold and commanding.
• " I'm giving you twenty four hours to find this lady''.
• The assistant nodded once. No questions. No hesitation. That was how it worked with him. You don't ask why. You just do it.
• After Daniel left the suite, Ethan looked once more at the empty side of the bed.
• The woman had vanished before sunrise.
• But she had accidentally left behind enough information for him to find her.So he thought.
• Outside the suite.
• Daniel stared at the résumé.
• Then he picked up his phone.
• "Find this woman."
• A few minutes later, the first search result appeared.
• IVY COLE.
• And the hunt for the wrong woman officially began.