Billion-Dollar Secret

Chapter 3 - Into his World

Sophie’s POV

A week later, it was my first day at Russo Holdings. My stomach had been doing somersaults since I woke up. I stood in front of the mirror adjusting my blouse up for the tenth time.

“Too tight,” I said, pulling it down.

“Too loose,” I pulled it back up.

“Oh my god, Get it together Soph.”

The thoughts in my head started again. What if I mess everything up? What if they all see that I don’t belong here? I was going to lose my mind before I even got to the office.

Downstairs, Damian was already in the kitchen making breakfast. He looked calm and put together like always, who could’ve guessed the CEO of one of New York’s biggest companies would make his own toast.

We sat across from each other, eating eggs and toast.

“You’re gonna make a hole through that blouse.”

“Huh?” I looked down at my hands. I have been picking on the sleeve. “I’m nervous.”

“I know.”

“You’re not helping.”

A smile spread across his face. “You’ll be fine Soph. Just take it one step at a time.”

His words helped a little.

But when we pulled up in front of Russo Holdings , my nervousness returned.

The building was huge. Glass covered almost the entire exterior, reflecting the morning sunlight. I took a deep breath before getting out of the car.

Damian walked me through the building and introduced me to some employees before bringing me to two men standing nearby.

“First day?” One of them asked.

I looked at him.

He was tall and intimidating, with a serious expression that made it seem as if smiling would physically hurt him.

“Gabriel Morales,” Damian introduced.

“New PA?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes”, Damian answered.

Gabriel gave a single nod before looking directly at me.

“Does she know what she’s doing?”

I blinked.

Damian’s expression changed slightly, “She’s learning.”

“Right”. He looked at me again, “Then I hope she learns quickly. Damian doesn’t have time to babysit anyone.”

I forced a smile. “Good thing I’m not asking him to”.

For a moment, Gabriel simply stared at me.

Then another man stepped forward with a playful grin.

“Oh, I like her already.”

He held out his hand.

“I’m Victor Monroe but you can call me Vic. Don’t mind Gabriel, he is always like that. Welcome to the madhouse.”

“I definitely won’t.”

Vic laughed, “Welcome to the madhouse.”

“That’s comforting.”

“Give it a few weeks. You’ll understand”

Damian’s phone began ringing.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

Vic immediately stepped beside me.

“I can show you around while the boss handles his important CEO business”.

“I think I can manage.”

“Oh, I know you can but where’s the fun in that.”

Before I could answer, he was already walking away. I followed him

Vic showed me around the different floors, pointing out offices and telling stories that made me question how Russo Holdings was still functioning.

“These meeting rooms are for the board members, CEO and the executives. The others are basic meeting rooms.”

“They are pretty spacious”

“Yes they are, one time I hid in one of these offices and fell asleep.”

I turned to him. “You fell asleep at work?”

“I was tired.”

“So was everyone else.”

“When I woke up I saw that Damian had organized a search party because I was missing for hours”

“What? That’s crazy “ I laughed

“You can’t blame me, it was too cozy.”

I chuckled, “Advice of the day: don’t fall asleep here.”

“You’re a fast learner.”

Damian walked towards us, “Everything okay?”

Vic grinned, “Just showing Sophie around”

He turned around to look at me, “Stay away from the west wing.”

I frowned, “Why?”

“It’s mostly executive offices.”

“And?”

“And you don’t need to be there.”

“Okay.”

Vic raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

By the time we got back, I felt relaxed. I was glad that at least one person made me feel welcome.

I stopped in the doorway. Damian stood by the window, a file open in his hands.

Sunlight caught his sharpened jaw line.

His sleeves were rolled up. I stared for a while. He looked up.

“Are you coming in or are you planning to stand there all morning?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I was just…”

“Staring?”

“No.”

His smile widened, “sure”

I walked in quickly. He showed me my own workspace right next to his office.

Later in the afternoon, Damian had a long meeting so he told me I could head back home. I took a cab to my house, still thinking about my day.

I went to work every morning, slowly getting used to Russo Holdings and my new responsibilities. Vic had already started saving me a seat at lunch. He made the office more interesting while Gabriel remained quiet as ever.

Damian was surprisingly patient with me. He didn’t treat me like I couldn’t handle things because I was new. He encouraged me every time.

By Wednesday, I knew which conference rooms Damian preferred, which coffee he liked during long meetings and which expression meant I would be given another task.

On Friday evening, the thought of leaving my little apartment behind felt more real than I expected.

I spent the weekend packing my things into boxes, preparing to move to Damian’s house.

As I folded one of dad’s old shirts into a box, I paused.

He remembered how I took my coffee. He even called to make sure I ate lunch on the days I got too busy. I smiled as I folded another shirt. You really did have good friends, Dad.

Maybe living with him won’t be as strange as I thought.

I walked into Damian’s home. It was more of a mansion than a house.

I stepped through the front door, dragging my suitcase behind me.

The house was strangely quiet.

The lights were on. I moved forward and saw a shadow in the living room.

I tightened my grip on my suitcase, “Damian”. There was no answer.

I slowly moved into the room. I set my suitcase down. Then I heard something. A faint movement from the living room.

My heart started racing. Someone was here.

I quietly opened the closet and grabbed the first thing my hand found, which was a baseball bat.

I held it tight.

“Stay still!”, I shouted.

The figure froze, I raised the bat. “Who are you?”