Chapter Four
716 Words
The doors of Voss Industries opened like they were expecting me to fail.
I stepped in anyway.
Because at this point, turning back would just be embarrassing.
The lobby was… too much.
Too clean. Too quiet. Too expensive.
Even the air felt like it had a salary.
I walked toward reception, adjusting my bag strap like confidence could be worn.
“Okay Elena,” I whispered. “Be normal. Be professional. Don’t get rejected at the entrance of your own job.”
A receptionist looked up.
Perfect smile. Perfect posture. Perfect everything.
“Yes?”
“I’m here for my first day,” I said.
Her fingers paused on the keyboard.
“Name?”
“Elena Cruz.”
She typed.
Then paused.
Longer pause.
I stood there suddenly very aware of my breathing.
“…ID, please.”
I handed it over.
She scanned it.
Typed again.
The silence stretched.
I forced a small smile.
“Is this the part where I find out I’ve been accidentally hired or accidentally arrested?”
She didn’t react.
Of course she didn’t.
Finally—
“You’re cleared,” she said.
Then added:
“Top floor orientation. Elevator 3.”
I nodded.
“Great. Love a building that sends you straight to the sky.”
She slid a thick folder toward me.
“You’ll also need this. Contract. NDA. Compliance documents.”
I picked it up.
It was heavy.
Too heavy.
“…this feels like I signed my soul in advance,” I muttered.
No reaction.
Of course.
I walked toward the elevators.
Folder in hand.
Life slightly spiraling.
“First day,” I whispered. “And I already need legal protection.”
The elevator area was quiet.
Too quiet.
Too polished.
Too many people who looked like they didn’t know what failure was.
I checked the folder again.
Pages. Too many pages.
“Who reads all this?” I muttered.
No answer.
Because everyone here looked like they did.
Ding.
Elevator 3 opened.
I stepped in.
And froze slightly.
A man was already inside.
Tall.
Still.
Calm in a way that didn’t feel normal.
Black suit.
Hands in pocket.
Expression unreadable.
Not doing anything.
Just existing like the space belonged to him.
I nodded politely.
“Morning,” I said, stepping in.
He looked at me.
Not rude.
Not friendly.
Just observant.
Like I had interrupted something quiet.
I pressed the top floor button.
Doors closed.
Silence.
Heavy silence.
The kind that makes you aware of every breath you take.
I shifted slightly and lifted my folder.
“I just got this,” I said lightly. “It looks like I signed my life away before even starting.”
No response.
Of course.
I smiled awkwardly.
“First day things,” I added. “Paperwork is already threatening my existence.”
Still nothing.
Weird guy.
Probably legal or finance.
They always look like that.
The elevator moved upward.
Smooth. Silent. Expensive.
I exhaled.
Then continued, because silence was getting uncomfortable.
“I heard the boss here is intense,” I said casually. “Like… really intense. People say he doesn’t joke around at all.”
That got nothing again.
I shrugged.
“Honestly, I just hope I don’t get a crazy manager. That would ruin my entire life schedule,or some crazy boss that sees everything I do as incorrect like as if bosses can't be wrong” I pause noticing that I was yapping way too much
“I just hope my boss is normal. That would be refreshing.”
A pause.
Very faintly
The man’s expression shifted.
Almost nothing.
But I didn’t notice.
Because I was already talking.
The elevator slowed.
Top floor.
I stepped forward.
“Anyway,” I added quickly, “good luck with your day.”
Ding.
Doors opened.
I walked out.
Behind her, the man remained still.
His eyes stayed on the space she had just occupied.
For a moment.
Longer than necessary.
Then he finally looked forward again.
Expression unreadable.
But something had shifted.
Because someone had just stood next to Adrian Voss—
and talked about him like he was a rumor.
Without even knowing it.
The doors closed.
Elena Cruz walked into Voss Industries’ top floor…
completely unaware she had just shared an elevator with the man she called “intense.”
- Writer
