EXECUTIVE AFFAIRS

CE ENC

uilding,her chest thump

interview just fi

applicants? The R

odded

retary position," she said, barely

I was held up

is is one of the major transgressions in the corpora

ointed her to t

ened the straps o

large office bustling with various activi

ked on t

Com

ened th

g Sir, she

lp you? Alex

ted on the marble as she

e for the

lms ti

to face her. His voice was cli

Ruby stammered

es on her as he folded his arms across his chest. "You have

he was not ready for this. But then wasn't

I am not incapable. I worked hard to get here. And if y

d, but he was quick to conceal it

t think for a second that I can tolerate mediocr

ess. Hired? Just like that? Before she could even comprehend what was happening,

exited the building that afternoon. She was hired by

imple it is?"

around here then, cause

walked the busy streets of Manhattan, she couldn't also shake off the feeling that she had just stepp

*

ed back-not physically. But the memory of the nights under the neon lights, dancing for strangers just to pay the bills. She ha

he history of the company. Brushed up on workplace etiquette and practiced how to answer cal

struggled at first, feeling the heat of his gaze every time she did something wrong. But beneath his cold exterior she began to

nding on a razor's edge. One mistake can bring you down. But she wou

, but his sharp eyes didn't miss anything. If he asks for coffee, it must be strong, black, and just the right temperatu

ents, and practicing how her voice should sound when answering calls. For the first time she went a d

like we have

ly against the elevator wall. She didn't notice him app

tted, "I think I did e

"But don't get comfortable. Success is

alked away without another word. Leavi

*

y one step ahead. He was still a mystery, though, but she saw a small crack on his armor-on the rare oc

ky Lee, reappeared in his life. Her presence was like a storm cloud, creating doubt and tension. But e

he beginning of a fight for his place