Falling in love with my Arrogant Boss

Chapter 4

AMBER'S POV

“F*ck all women!” I heard the booming voice of Mr. Perault when I left his office; his voice almost thundered throughout the 8th floor.

I hurried back to my workstation and immediately sat down in my chair, the nervousness in my chest still not subsiding. Mr. Perault is very scary when he is angry. He’s like a tiger that will eat me alive. Maya came to me, noticing my anxiety.

"Amber, are you okay?" Maya asked.

"Maya, Sir Phillip scolded me!" Suddenly, the tears that have been wanting to come out of my eyes, not only because of being annoyed with Sir Phillip but also because I know that this is my last day at this job, flooded my face. I was hired for a job after a few months of applying, but this incident happened. The corporate world is definitely not for me. I think I am more suitable for being a street vendor. Graduating from college was really useless to me.

"Don't worry, Amber, you're not the only one who got scolded by our grumpy boss. Almost all the women here have already cried because of his rudeness. Hmpp, he’s really a woman hater!" Maya frowned.

"Maya, ummm?" I said shyly.

"Why, Amber, what did Sir Grumpy do to you?" Maya asked.

"He insulted me because I entered his room and then—"

"OMG, Amber, you entered the forbidden area?" She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh yes, because they said there were urgent files that he requested, James was not at his table when I went there. But I knocked, and he let me in, so I went in. Is that bad, Maya?"

"Amber, good luck. Today might be your last day. Sir Phillip will definitely find a way to get you fired from the company.” Maya's concern is obvious.

I suddenly started to cry, not because I was leaving the company, but because I knew that I had lost the chance to have a permanent income to help Mom, who is still struggling to find a more high-paying job.

"I was the one who resigned, Maya. I couldn't handle Sir's insults anymore, so I answered him when he told me that I was like a slut and that I was seducing him!" My tears continued to flow from my eyes.

"And what did you say to him?"

"I said I wouldn't seduce an old, grumpy man like him."

Maya's eyes widened, and she covered her gaping mouth with both hands.

"Gosh, Amber, you're different! It's like you rushed to war when you said that. You are so brave, Amber. Sir must be seething with anger right now!”

"Well, Maya, if I said that, it wouldn’t matter anymore because I am already resigning. I don't care about him anymore. It just really hurts me because this is my first job and it gave me the opportunity to work and help my mom. I was just unlucky to meet an arrogant boss.

Maya sighed. I took a tissue from my table and wiped my tears. Ma'am Megan suddenly came out of her office and quickly went to where Maya and I were. Our other colleagues on the 5th floor are also looking and have obviously already heard the news of what happened between me and our boss.

“Amber!” Maya and I turned at the same time to the rushing Ma'am Megan. "What happened? James called me; Sir Phillip is having a crazy rage in his office!” I felt nervous; my heart started beating faster in panic.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was forbidden to enter the office of Mr. Perault.”

"What? You went inside his office? Eh, why? Where was James? Why didn't you give him the files?" I don't know if Ma'am Megan is mad at me because her voice is high or just confused by the incident. James suddenly came and approached us. I can already hear the whispers of my other colleagues who are at their respective tables.

"Ma'am Megan!" James called, who was already panicking as he approached us.

"James, what happened upstairs?" Ma'am Megan asked worriedly.

"Ma'am Megan, Sir Phil had a raging fit upstairs, then left immediately. Amber, what really happened?"

"James, it was him who verbally attacked me first, and I fought back because I couldn't handle Sir's insults anymore!" I stopped crying. I'm also tired of repeatedly explaining myself to them. I wish I had just recorded what I needed to say so that whenever someone asks, I can just hit the play button.

"Guys, please go back to your respective areas!" Ma'am Megan shouted at my colleague, who was starting to get curious and becoming noisy. "Come to my office, Amber and James. Maya, go back to work!” Ma'am Megan ordered us.

"Girl, you can do it!" Maya told me before going back to her workstation.

When I entered Ma'am Megan's office, I burst into tears again. I repeatedly apologize for what I did.

"It's not your fault, Amber. Our CEO is just really grumpy. I'm not mad at what you did. Actually, I admire you because of your courage." Suddenly, Ma'am Megan's reaction changed. "You've got guts, girl, even saying that Sir is an old, grumpy man." My mouth formed an O when she started laughing, and even James laughed with her, too.

"You're different, Amber. If you saw how Sir raged inside his office, you might have wished to just sink and be eaten by the earth. Even Sir Dominic can't stop him from his fit of rage." James mentioned to me before who Sir Dom was. He was the owner of the company and Sir Phillip's father.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Ma'am Megan answered it.

"Hello?" It was suddenly quiet after a while. "Okay, I'll go upstairs, sir." Ma'am Megan hung up the phone and looked at both James and me.

"James, go upstairs; Sir Kevin is looking for you, and as for you, Amber, Sir Dominic is calling for you." I felt nervousness in my chest, thinking that the big boss would surely scold me.

James and I went up to the 8th floor together. James met Sir Kevin outside of Sir Phillip's office. I don't understand why Sir Kevin couldn't stop smiling at me when he saw me. I expected him to be mad at me.

"James, please take care of Phil's office. The things he broke are scattered, including the documents he tore up; kindly check each of them, because I'm leaving. Tito Dom is in the conference room,” Kevin said as he looked at me and held out his hand. "By the way, I'm Kevin; I'm the cousin of the old, grumpy man you named." I suddenly blushed with embarrassment. They are cousins, but they are different. This one looks happier than that Phillip Perault, who seems to have been conceived out of spite. I think Sir Kevin is in his late thirties.

I was forced to shake hands with Sir Kevin as I bowed in shame.

"I'm Amber, sir. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused." I looked into his eyes; he looked kind, so my fears disappeared.

"It's okay, it looks like my cousin has found his counterpart. Congratulations, you are the only girl who was able to fight against him."

"H-huh, sir?" I asked, confused.

"Nothing. Anyway, please go to the conference room. Uncle Dom, Phil's father, is waiting for you." Sir Kevin left me stunned and took James into Sir Phillip's room. I feel very nervous now. Maybe I will be scolded because I insulted his son. But again, I already resigned, so why should I be afraid?

I knocked three times on the door, then I heard a voice from inside the room letting me in. I gently turned the lock on the door and slowly entered. I saw Sir Phillip's old father sitting in the middle of the wide conference room. He’s handsome and elegant, despite his age. I tried to smile sweetly at him even though my chest felt like it was going to burst with nervousness.I knew that he was going to talk about the incident earlier; that's why I was summoned.

"Have a seat, young woman." He pointed to a chair next to him that surrounded the large, oblong table. I followed and immediately sat in the chair near the old man. He extended his hand and smiled sweetly at me; he looked like Sir Phillip, a handsome version of the arrogant CEO. "I am Dominic Perault, Executive Chairman of the Board and the father of Phillip." I reached for his palms, knowing that the old man could feel the tension in me.

"Good morning, sir." I bowed down immediately; I couldn't stand his gaze on me. I felt like I was going to be murdered.

"Relax, young lady." I looked at him, and he was smiling at me. Why does he look kind, unlike Sir Phillip? I noticed that there was a folder in front of him, and it had my name on it. "So you're new here?"

"A-ahm, it's been one week since I started work here, sir."

“I reviewed your 201; so you are twenty-four years old, and you underwent heart surgery more than three years ago. This is your first job, right?”

"Yes, sir." I'm nervous about why he needed to review my records. It just nodded, and Sir Dominic let out a sigh. I bowed down again.

"About what happened a while ago, Ms. Miller, I know it's not your fault. My son is a woman-hater.” I suddenly looked up, and Sir Dominic was smiling at me.

"I'm sorry, sir; I didn't mean to insult your son; I insulted you."

"Shh, it's okay. I know my son; he is harsh on women. I should apologize, Ms. Miller.”

"You shouldn't apologize, sir. You weren't the one who hurt me." I smiled at the old man.

"Thank you, young lady. The reason I called for you is because I want to offer you to be my son's secretary," he said next.

"Huh? Me?" I pointed myself out.

"Yes, you."

"But why? You know that your son was very angry with me. I'm sure he'll be angry, and besides, sir, I said I'm going to resign." Sir Dominic sighed.

"Because you're the only girl I've seen fight him. Everything changed with my son because of his being a woman-hater. I want to change him and bring back his old self. Phillip used to be kind and loving.” Suddenly the eyes of Mr. Perault became sad. "I miss my old son."

"Why did he become a woman-hater and arrogant, sir, if you say that he used to be kind?" I couldn't resist asking, even though Ma'am Megan had already mentioned what happened to Sir Phillip's love life and why he was so rude to us.

"Phillip was still young when my wife left me and went with another man. That was his first heartbreak. Phillip grew up without a mother. He hates his mother. I tried to fill in my wife's absence in his life, but it wasn't easy for both of us. I became busy with my business. But Phillip didn't grow up to be a woman-hater until he was in college. His first girlfriend broke up with him because of my son's possessiveness. Phillip began to resent women.”

I was quietly listening to Mr. Perault, looking at his face, which was showing sadness for his son.

Mr. Perault made me feel at ease while he was telling me the life story of his son, Phillip. It was said that Phillip fell in love with his secretary before the once-energetic and loving Phillip returned. But one day, he caught his soon-to-marry secretary sharing a bed with someone else. Phillip was so angry with her that she wasn't even given a chance to explain.

"That's why I want you to be Phillip's secretary. Since he and his fiance broke up, he didn't have a female secretary that lasted anymore. They only spent a week, and after that, they were resigning in tears. Until he chose James to be his secretary."

I let out a deep breath.

“But, S-sir—"

"Please, Ms. Miller. I want Phillip to learn to be with women again.He needs a female secretary. I will triple your salary if you would just accept my offer.” I suddenly swallowed because of this offer. I need money for Mom and me, but I also have my pride. I would rather help Mom sell goods in the market than be with the grumpy Phillip Perault.

"I'm sorry, sir, but my decision is final. Thank you for your offer; even though I'm only a fresh graduate, you're ready to trust me." I'm just poor, but I won't let a Phillip Perault step on me again.

Disappointment was visible on Sir Dominic's face. I also regret rejecting his offer, but I don't want to be stressed by being with his son. It might hurt my heart if he becomes my boss; it's a waste of my surgery.

I said goodbye to Sir Dominic, who gave me a calling card to call him in case I changed my mind.