Chapter 8: CEO And Assistant
1111 Words
Aria stood frozen inside Damien’s private office.
Her eyes met his.
The silence stretched between them.
“I…” she began.
Damien closed the door behind him and looked at the photograph in her hand.
“I believe one of the rules was quite clear.”
Aria slowly placed the picture back on the shelf.
“I wasn’t trying to snoop.”
His eyebrow rose slightly.
“No?”
“The door was open.”
“It was.”
“And I was curious.”
“I noticed.”
She sighed.
“I know I broke your rule.”
For several seconds, Damien simply watched her.
Then, to Aria’s surprise, he walked past her and picked up the same photograph.
It showed him standing beside a smiling teenage girl.
“My younger sister,” he said quietly.
Aria blinked.
“I thought…”
“My ex-girlfriend?”
She nodded awkwardly.
A faint smile crossed his lips.
“So did everyone else.”
His gaze lingered on the picture.
“Her name was Amelia.”
“What happened to her?”
The warmth in Damien’s eyes faded.
“That’s enough questions about my family.”
Aria immediately realised her mistake.
“I’m sorry.”
He returned the photograph to its place.
“This conversation never happened.”
Without another word, he walked toward the door.
“We’re leaving.”
“Where?”
“The office.”
“You start work today.”
⸻
Ashford Tower buzzed with activity as Damien’s car pulled into the underground parking garage.
Employees greeted him the moment he stepped out.
“Good morning, Mr Ashford.”
“Morning, sir.”
Everyone stopped talking when they noticed Aria walking beside him.
The whispers began immediately.
“Isn’t that his fiancée?”
“She’s beautiful.”
“Why is she here?”
“Maybe she’s just visiting.”
Damien ignored the stares and entered the executive lift.
Aria followed.
“You didn’t say I was starting today.”
“I changed my mind.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“This isn’t punishment for entering your office, is it?”
He looked straight ahead.
“Perhaps.”
⸻
The executive floor became unusually quiet the moment they arrived.
Every employee stood.
“Good morning, Mr Ashford.”
Damien acknowledged them with a nod before walking directly into the conference room.
Nearly twenty senior executives were already seated around the enormous oval table.
Conversations stopped the instant Aria entered behind him.
Confusion spread across the room.
Damien placed a file on the table.
“Good morning.”
Nobody answered.
Instead, every eye remained fixed on Aria.
Damien spoke calmly.
“Before we begin…”
“I have an announcement.”
He looked toward Aria.
“Effective immediately…”
“…Miss Aria Bennett will serve as my executive assistant.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then—
“What?”
A middle-aged executive stood abruptly.
“Mr Ashford, surely this is a joke.”
“No.”
Another executive frowned.
“With respect, sir…”
“She has no experience at this level.”
Someone else added,
“She isn’t even an employee.”
The room quickly filled with murmurs.
Damien remained perfectly calm.
“I wasn’t asking for opinions.”
One man leaned forward.
“Sir…”
“Everyone knows she’s your fiancée.”
“This appointment appears… inappropriate.”
Several others nodded in agreement.
Aria felt every pair of eyes judging her.
Gold digger.
Favouritism.
Unqualified.
She could almost hear the words forming in their minds.
Before Damien could respond, an older executive wearing an expensive navy suit smiled arrogantly.
“My name is Richard Collins.”
He folded his hands confidently.
“If Miss Bennett wishes to become the CEO’s assistant…”
“…perhaps she should demonstrate she’s qualified.”
Several executives nodded.
“A reasonable suggestion.”
Richard smiled.
“After all…”
“We can’t allow personal relationships to influence company decisions.”
His gaze shifted toward Aria.
“Can we?”
The challenge was obvious.
Damien was about to speak.
Aria gently placed a hand on his arm.
“I’ll answer.”
Damien looked at her.
She gave him a small nod.
Then she faced the room.
“Mr Collins.”
He smiled smugly.
“Yes?”
“I reviewed yesterday’s quarterly financial report while waiting outside.”
His smile widened.
“And?”
“I noticed something strange.”
Richard’s expression remained confident.
“What exactly?”
Aria walked toward the presentation screen.
She picked up the remote.
“May I?”
Damien nodded.
She projected the financial report onto the screen.
“Page twenty-seven.”
Everyone turned.
Aria highlighted a section.
“This department claims to have spent £4.8 million on overseas consultancy services.”
Richard folded his arms.
“Correct.”
“But…”
She changed the slide.
“…according to your supplier records…”
“…that consultancy firm dissolved eighteen months ago.”
Silence.
Aria continued.
“Which means Ashford Group has been paying millions of pounds to a company that no longer exists.”
Several executives frowned.
Richard’s confident smile disappeared.
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
Aria calmly displayed another document.
“This is the company’s dissolution certificate.”
She looked directly at Richard.
“Would you like me to explain where the money actually went?”
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
The room fell completely silent.
Aria continued before he could answer.
“Or perhaps…”
“…you’d like to explain it yourself.”
Richard’s face turned pale.
“I…”
He looked around desperately.
“I’ll have to check the records.”
“No need.”
Aria smiled politely.
“I already did.”
She held up one final document.
“The payments were authorised with your digital signature.”
Gasps echoed around the conference room.
Every executive turned to Richard.
He opened his mouth.
No words came out.
Damien leaned back in his chair, watching the scene unfold with unmistakable interest.
For the first time since the meeting began…
A slow smile spread across his face.
Richard Collins had spent years humiliating junior employees during board meetings.
Today…
A woman everyone believed had been hired through favouritism had reduced him to complete silence.
The room remained deathly quiet.
Then Damien spoke.
“Mr Collins.”
Richard looked up weakly.
“I suggest you prepare a very detailed explanation…”
“…before Internal Audit prepares one for you.”
Richard sank back into his chair.
Humiliated.
As the meeting resumed, the whispers around the table had changed.
No longer about Aria being the CEO’s fiancée.
Now…
Everyone wanted to know who she really was.
- Writer
