a statue near the large floor- to - ceiling windows as usual staring at the beautiful view of Manhattan - the magnificent buildings and skyscrapers. Guess he found slight peace starin

as handsomely dressed in a well fitted grey suit, sunglasses placed on the table. He sat holding his hands together in front of him, and he didn't look up when Elena entered. Elena sat down quietly adjusting her gown. Moments later, the door slammed open. Immediately the atmosphere of the Conference hall changed . She turned her head to see who entered then froze. A tall woman entered gracefully with a commanding aura and a kind of negative vibe. Her silver hair was tied in a perfect bun, her posture was captivating and her steps were smart and precise. She wore a dark green suit with matching tailored pants and black heels. Her eyes seemed manipulative, aged with experience and intelligent. It was Maria Cross. Andrew's mother. The co-founder of Steele and Cross Enterprises. Elena immediately stood, but Maria lifted her hand. "No need to be formal", she said with a faint smile. "You must be Elena Santiago " "Yes ma'am. I am" "Ok". Maria sat down across Andrew then smiles shortly . "You called for this meeting. Please state your purpose". Andrew nodded. "Yeah I did. And the reason I called for this meeting on a short notice is that I want to refresh our public relations approach this month instead of next month. I require the projections, SWOT analysis and executive proposals ready by Monday". Elena blinked. "This Monday, Mr Cross?" "Yes", Andrew replied coldly. "And you'll lead the presentation you have four days to prepare" Elena's heart skipped and her eyes widened in surprise. "Would I do the whole campaign projections alone?" "You'll oversee the running". He said ."But the implementation and execution would be done by you." Maria simply raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Elena gathered courage then said, "Sir, it's an honor to handle it but I haven't refreshed a complete public relations approach before. Can't this task be given to..." She couldn't complete her sentence, Andrew interrupted. "You've taken care and done other tasks well so far. What's the problem now? Take this as your next test ", he said coldly. Maria's eye remained fixed on Elena. She studied her closely like an opponent trying to know the weakness of his opponent. "Miss Santiago", she said finally, her voice firm. "I've witnessed hundreds of assistants move in and out of this premises. But the ones who remain are not the ones who do it easily. They are the one who face and go through a lot inorder to get the job done. They don't quiver at challenges, they face it to the very end and overcome it". Elena's jaw tightened, and she nodded briefly. ", Understood ma'am" "Good. Now get to work. I'll be reviewing your work myself on Monday 9a.m sharp.", she said, voice laced in seriousness. Elena tried to compose herself. She tried not to reveal the panic in her. Her heart just kept beating. "Yes ma'am", she managed to speak. Maria turned to face Andrew. "I'll be downstairs with Emily". After she left the conference room, Andrew stood, adjusted his suit, wore his dark sunglasses then said, "Don't fail. Complete the task" he spoke plainly and walked out. Elena didn't say a word. She just stood still, thinking about the issue on ground. How was she going to do all that work in just a space of four days. She wasn't a machine but a human. "Oh God!!!!", she lamented, placing her right hand on her forehead. *Elena's Office - 1:00p.m* Elena sat on her chair, hands tapping relentless on her keyboard with her glued to the screen. She was so focused with completing the task that she skipped lunch break. She was gathering data, charting timelines and connecting with team members she didn't know. Everything felt hurried and stressful but she was determined to complete her task. Failure wasn't an option. She had to deliver no matter the cost. But some issues were beginning to pop up. She had mistakenly overlooked a minor error in the Galadis data and now it had escalated into a major complication. Her heart beat like a frantic drum. "Try fix it, Elena", she whispered to herself while scratching her head. "You can do this" She didn't realize the time until it was 5:35 p.m. She had to present the draft to Andrew by 6p.m and she barely had enough time to finish up her work. She ran through the final file, did some corrections on the graphs and uploaded it to the company's network. Then she dashed off to the top floor. She ran like someone being chased. *Andrew's office - 6:06p.m* "You're six minutes late", Andrew said immediately she stepped into his office. "I had to make some corrections on a date inaccuracy", she said between breaths. "I didn't want to bring any incomplete work". She said, handing the tablet to him and wiping sweat off her face with her handkerchief. And