My demanding CEO

Chapter 6: A Morning Encounter.

Tiara's POV

I woke up with a start, groggily reaching for my alarm clock. 7:45 AM. I was late. Yesterday's work had exhausted me, and I had overslept.

"Oh s**t," I muttered, rushing to take a quick bath and get dressed.

As I hurried into the office building, I collided with someone in the lobby.

"What the hell?" I shouted, startled.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" a deep voice replied.

I looked up, meeting the gaze of a tall, imposing figure. He was dressed in a sleek black suit, and his eyes seemed to bore into mine. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen him before.

"I'm sorry, I was in a hurry," I said, feeling a flush rise to my cheeks.

But instead of accepting my apology, the man's expression turned cold. "In a hurry? You're not even watching where you're going. Do you always walk around like you own the place?"

I felt a surge of anger at his tone. "Excuse me? I said I was sorry. What more do you want?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "I want you to pay attention to your surroundings. You could hurt someone."

I glared at him, my irritation rising. "I'm not going to hurt anyone. And even if I did, it's not like you're perfect either."

His eyes narrowed, jaw clenched. "And who are you to lecture me?" he asked, his voice rising.

I stood my ground. "I'm just someone who doesn’t appreciate being yelled at," I shot back.

Just as it seemed the argument was about to escalate, a calm voice interrupted us.

"What's going on here?"

We both turned to see Ethan walking toward us with a concerned expression.

"Just a collision, and I was advising her to watch where she's going. But instead of calming down, she’s lecturing me," Asher said, anger evident in his voice.

Ethan turned to me. "Tiara, why don’t you calm down and apologize," he said gently.

I looked at him, feeling embarrassed. "What? I already did apologize, but he's here shouting at me."

Ethan smiled and turned to Asher. "Asher, why don’t you let me handle this? You have a meeting to get to."

Asher nodded, his expression still icy. "Fine. Just make sure she watches where she’s going."

With that, Asher turned and walked away. I glared at his retreating figure.

Ethan turned to me with a sympathetic smile. "Hey, Tiara, are you okay?"

I nodded, still feeling a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

Ethan nodded. "No problem. Just be more careful next time, okay?"

I nodded again, feeling slightly chastised. "Yeah, okay."

As Ethan walked away, I couldn’t help but think about the encounter with that rude stranger. Who was he, anyway? And why was he so rude?

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I didn’t have time to waste on some stranger’s bad behavior.

I made my way into the office, greeting my coworkers with a smile. When I arrived at my desk, Jamie looked up from her computer.

"Hey, Tiara, what's wrong?" she asked, noticing my distracted expression.

I sighed and dropped into my chair. "I just had the weirdest encounter with some guy in the lobby," I said, recounting the story.

Jamie's eyes widened as I spoke. "Tall, imposing, and wearing a sleek black suit?" she asked, curiosity in her voice.

I nodded. "Yeah. And he had this really cold, condescending attitude."

Jamie’s expression turned serious. "Tiara, I think I know who that might be."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Jamie leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. "Asher Gold. He's the CEO."

My eyes widened in shock. "What? No way."

Jamie nodded. "I'm positive. The description matches him perfectly."

I felt a shiver run down my spine. Asher Gold—the CEO? I had no idea.

Just then, Emma walked into the finance department, a confident smile on her face. "Good morning, team. I hope you're all ready to tackle the Smith account project."

We all nodded, eager to get started.

"Okay, so here’s the plan," Emma began, gesturing to the whiteboard. "We'll be working on a comprehensive financial analysis—budgeting, forecasting, and risk assessment."

She started assigning tasks. "Jamie, I need you on budgeting. Mike, you're handling forecasting. And Tiara…"

Emma turned to me, her expression thoughtful. "Tiara, I need you to work on the risk assessment section. It’s a critical part of the project, and I know I can count on you."

I nodded, a surge of excitement rising in my chest. Risk assessment was one of my strengths.

"Here’s the file with all the relevant data," Emma said, handing me a thick folder. "I need a comprehensive risk assessment plan by the end of the day."

"Got it. I’ll get started right away."

Emma smiled, clearly pleased. "Great. Let’s get to work, team. We’ve got a lot to do before the deadline."